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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 9261798" data-attributes="member: 16586">Vincent Baker's unwelcome is the thing none of us would choose but is still compelling. It's also conflict-sustaining. It's all about resolving some basic issues that tend to rear their head in freeform play - mainly that when we all like (or at least feel for) each other's characters there is a tendency towards compromise and away from conflict.  That's where VB places the role of system - sustaining conflict and introducing the unwelcome (in a world where we all like and feel for one another [and want good things for the characters]).We can sustain conflict without formal systems (and especially mechanics) but it is far more difficult and involves a lot more negotiation. My home group is currently running a play by post Vampire game in 18th century Paris during the leadup to the French Revolution. During the prelude (where our characters are all still mortals) we are playing mostly freeform. We have character sheets the Storyteller is using to evaluate fictional positioning with, but no mechanics will be invoked until we are embraced. The level of coordination involved to initiate and sustain conflicts is massive and there isn't really the sort of unwelcome VB is talking about. In fact, it would be decidedly against the grain in this initial phase where we are setting things up for the Chronicle.I think a focus on what is theoretically possible largely misses the point anyway. Trying to depend solely on one single person to sustain conflicts in a way that feels compelling (while having to fight against their urges to push the narrative in directions that favor these characters they care for) feels incredibly fraught and far from ideal. Now if we embrace the profoundly welcome and engage in more a collaborative storytelling approach as my Vampire game does that's different, but like the point there is to have the welcome and compelling narrative that we would choose.</blockquote>

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