tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post974299924234489247..comments2024-03-28T17:59:09.906+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: Transparent DMingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-87775308409868345392020-02-08T16:40:32.060+08:002020-02-08T16:40:32.060+08:00I don't really have a problem rolling in the o...I don't really have a problem rolling in the open but if I want it to be a surprise I'll usually just roll behind my hand or whatever.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-12120135410964820192020-02-08T15:11:10.414+08:002020-02-08T15:11:10.414+08:00I really dislike when there is a mechanic for it, ...I really dislike when there is a mechanic for it, like Fate. I prefer to just use it as a way of making the world richer. "Where are the orcs going?" "To the Tomb City of Candelabra!" Suddenly you're adding more depth to the world.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-44594924956627175152020-02-08T15:09:19.995+08:002020-02-08T15:09:19.995+08:00Yes, that's mostly how I use it - the "wh...Yes, that's mostly how I use it - the "where are the orcs going" thing is rare.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-38398899745893628582020-02-08T15:08:03.797+08:002020-02-08T15:08:03.797+08:00I don't make a secret of randomly rolling trea...I don't make a secret of randomly rolling treasure but I don't let them see the tables. Sometimes surprises are fun.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-85908988193069562142020-02-08T15:07:57.618+08:002020-02-08T15:07:57.618+08:00I don't make a secret of randomly rolling trea...I don't make a secret of randomly rolling treasure but I don't let them see the tables. Sometimes surprises are fun.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27469882063010084242020-02-08T14:00:32.709+08:002020-02-08T14:00:32.709+08:00Yes, narrative control is tricky. As a player, I l...Yes, narrative control is tricky. As a player, I like narrative control _when it's a regular part of a game_, but I really don't like when an apparently-trad GM suddenly says "so, what _is_ in the chest?" or whatever. Rob Alexanderhttps://mhuthulan.mediumquality.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-16897673402211281002020-02-08T13:57:55.096+08:002020-02-08T13:57:55.096+08:00I'm similar to you in this regard. I have a ra...I'm similar to you in this regard. I have a range of motives for being so, but the biggest is to help the the players know they're not on a railroad, that they have real agency. To be confident of that, they have to see the sausage being made.<br /><br />WRT narrative control, one guideline I've found useful is John Harper's "the line" for Apocalypse World — http://mightyatom.blogspot.com/2010/10/apocalypse-world-crossing-line.html "The line" is between letting players say things the character could already know at the point of the question, and letting players author things that haven't happened yet.<br /><br />In practice, I don't give out much narrative control in my vaguely-OSR games. Where I do, it tends to be around character backgrounds and contacts e.g. "Would you likely know anyone like that? Around here?" And if it's questionable, or they're asking for a lot, I use the equivalent of Burning Wheel "Circles" roll to see if they _do_ still know that person, and if that person is still a friend.<br /><br />(cf Burning Wheels' "Enmity Clause" — if you fail your Circles roll, the GM can still give you the contact, it's just that they hate you)Rob Alexanderhttps://mhuthulan.mediumquality.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-84613312648022127802020-02-08T05:38:29.269+08:002020-02-08T05:38:29.269+08:00I was one step ahead of you: http://monstersandman...I was one step ahead of you: http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.com/2011/09/wherein-i-drink-kool-aid.htmlnoismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-59314804775172574022020-02-07T23:10:03.502+08:002020-02-07T23:10:03.502+08:00There is also the way that modern indie games tend...There is also the way that modern indie games tend to have a tighter focus than most traditional RPGs. Old school D&D has a similar tight focus on exploration of dungeons and hexcrawls. <br /><br />I feel that later editions have lost that focus on exploration simply through moving from the fairly abstract combat of OD&D and Basic to longer, more tactical systems. <br /><br />When I run B/X, the speed of combat allows for the focus of the game to remain on exploring, with players able to cover a much greater area in each session. In more recent editions, so much more time is spent in combat than anything else. That means that not a lot of ground is covered in a session. Adam Baulderstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08247875453290704056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-44706471760433177812020-02-07T17:02:11.950+08:002020-02-07T17:02:11.950+08:00My style is very similar, except I don't norma...My style is very similar, except I don't normally do "Where do you think the orcs you just captured were going?" since I fear that would harm player immersion by pulling them out of actor-stance and into author-stance. I don't find that eg rolling random encounter checks openly harms immersion, it's just a "this area is dangerous!" signal, something the PCs ought to know. If the PCs really didn't know the area was dangerous I'd roll in secret. But generally I find that keeping the mechanics open helps, not harms, player engagement.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01173759805310975320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27467428361199072682020-02-07T12:06:47.648+08:002020-02-07T12:06:47.648+08:00Ditto. I also hold the dice menacingly as I talk, ...Ditto. I also hold the dice menacingly as I talk, withholding the roll. It feeds back into that narrative and instills it with tension.mjuliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09710248588764690217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-10395197743246500322020-02-07T09:12:00.298+08:002020-02-07T09:12:00.298+08:00I'm also a proponent of rolling in the open, a...I'm also a proponent of rolling in the open, as well as telling any static modifiers for attack rolls, damage, etc. when I roll for NPCs. Still use a screen to hide my notes, though, and as a quick reference space for any rules or tables I want handy.<br /><br />Narrative control is a trickier point; I don't mind sharing some of that with my players, but players don't always enjoy being taken out of character like that, so I usually err on the side of only doing it for marginal stuff unless I know a player is fine with it.Ash Adlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09930777908505063233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-54886944808382029082020-02-07T08:35:06.432+08:002020-02-07T08:35:06.432+08:00What about Reaction Rolls? They're the main re...What about Reaction Rolls? They're the main reason I use a screen at this point.Owen Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02033345001593862263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-59373897903442606792020-02-07T07:53:47.194+08:002020-02-07T07:53:47.194+08:00Couldn't agree more on rolling in the open: it...Couldn't agree more on rolling in the open: it's by far the best way to raise the stakes. And the dice provide plenty of shorthand narrative when you don't have time to describe things. A roll of maximum damage is a grievous blow, and everyone knows it. <br /><br />I roll for wandering monsters in the open, but I don't tell the players the target number (either 1 or 6 - I'm not consistent between sessions); if they notice the roll, they'll work it out. <br /><br />I'm generally a bit more conservative on narrative control, though I *really* like seizing on something the players have just invented and have NPCs riff on it: "The Sighing Desert, you say! Did you pass through the Black Oasis?". But I'd keep a firm grip on my orcs' motivations.<br /><br />As far as exposed mechanic go, one thing I've noticed that my son and his friends absolutely love is randomly rolled treasure. They like that much more than carefully planted treasure, for some reason. It's probably just the excitement of the roll and the fact that it's more transparently a game - which isn't a bad thing, of course: games are fun!<br /><br />When I run sessions for *my* friends, though, I never randomly generate the treasure (beyond the coins in a bandit's purse or whatever). For some reason, I sense that they'd be a bit suspicious of that - and I like to keep them in the dark as to what's preplanned and what's improvised. If they end a session unable to remember whether the Sighing Desert was their invention or mine, that's all to the good! <br /><br />JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964744140140515737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-16718015904353546712020-02-07T07:04:37.572+08:002020-02-07T07:04:37.572+08:00Ok. Not my style, but whatever floats your boat. Ok. Not my style, but whatever floats your boat. Venger Satanishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04447932700800930510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-56269632363744905972020-02-07T06:12:55.716+08:002020-02-07T06:12:55.716+08:00I'm always struck my the extent of common grou...I'm always struck my the extent of common ground there is between OSR gaming techniques and Forge-ey, Story-gamey gaming techniques. Collaborative narration, director stance, and so on stand in direct opposition to the habits of the hobby against which both the OSR and the Forge were reactions: railroading, illusionism, and so forth. Picadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01244353406711565712noreply@blogger.com