thread: 2009-05-04 : Dice and Cloud, the Death Threats thread
On 2009-05-19, Sean Nittner wrote:
Hey Vincent,
Thanks for responding. As a design goal I find you goals very admirable, specifically working towards making the fiction matter (e.g. the GM described a rocky ledge, so a player can turn that into a mechanical advantage by narrating his character standing on higher ground or perhaps knocking some one off said ledge).
Specifically, I see this as important to encourage "yes, and" behavior, so that if one player narrates an army of undead storming the castle, the next player cannot narrate his character taking a leisurely stroll through the castle gates, disregarding the previously mentioned army. Making the fiction matter helps make sure we're all playing the same game and not just wanking off to our own stories.
That said, Dogs for instance doesn't have any rules (at least that I remember) that specify how you must make your raises, blocks, etc, however in every game I've played the fiction has been a limiting factor. For instance, if we have established that a Dog's mentor is alive then that Dog's player doesn't have license to summon the ghost of his Mentor as an apparition to scare the townsfolk. Not because the Dog couldn't do that... but because he isn't dead. Maybe that is a weak example, but my point is that your games run better than I think you are giving them credit for. Yes, the players could just say "whatever" in their narrations, but I feel the common desire to share a rich story will prevent them from doing that.
Sean
