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WotC's Nathan Stewart: "Story, Story, Story"; and IS D&D a Tabletop Game?
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<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 7668185" data-attributes="member: 7635"><p>I think what Mark is describing the classic Railroad/Sandbox scenario; who's the ultimate director of the narrative? In RRs, the story is built and the PCs interact with it. In SB, there is no set story and the narrative is only ever what the PCs do. I don't think either isn't role-playing, either isn't a game, and that one is inherently superior to one another (worst case scenarios for RR is the lack of meaningful choice, for SB its the lack of a focus which leads to choice paralysis). In fact, I tend to think both styles tend to mix far more than theorycrafters give them credit for. </p><p></p><p>My point was to say that when the rubber meets the road; both styles tend to meet in the middle, which blurs the artificial line between the two. I can post my campaign journal which records the events of every session, choices the PCs make, and reads like a story, hence it is Mark's definition of the Story. I could also post my DM notes, which shows the complex web of actions and reactions, planned encounters, "big bads", and seeds for future events, which if I organized, formatted, and laid out systematically would look an awful lot like an AP. </p><p></p><p>Really, without creating a truly artificial world where everything (from dungeon layout to encounters to treasure) is randomly generated, I can't imagine you separate the two. Hence potential (DM info that the PCs have yet to learn/experience) and actual (what they experienced) being little more than emphasis and verb tense.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 7668185, member: 7635"] I think what Mark is describing the classic Railroad/Sandbox scenario; who's the ultimate director of the narrative? In RRs, the story is built and the PCs interact with it. In SB, there is no set story and the narrative is only ever what the PCs do. I don't think either isn't role-playing, either isn't a game, and that one is inherently superior to one another (worst case scenarios for RR is the lack of meaningful choice, for SB its the lack of a focus which leads to choice paralysis). In fact, I tend to think both styles tend to mix far more than theorycrafters give them credit for. My point was to say that when the rubber meets the road; both styles tend to meet in the middle, which blurs the artificial line between the two. I can post my campaign journal which records the events of every session, choices the PCs make, and reads like a story, hence it is Mark's definition of the Story. I could also post my DM notes, which shows the complex web of actions and reactions, planned encounters, "big bads", and seeds for future events, which if I organized, formatted, and laid out systematically would look an awful lot like an AP. Really, without creating a truly artificial world where everything (from dungeon layout to encounters to treasure) is randomly generated, I can't imagine you separate the two. Hence potential (DM info that the PCs have yet to learn/experience) and actual (what they experienced) being little more than emphasis and verb tense. [/QUOTE]
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Community
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WotC's Nathan Stewart: "Story, Story, Story"; and IS D&D a Tabletop Game?
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