Edit History

On 12/6/2023 at 5:47 PM, ABlotOfInk said:

Narrative games aren't always for new players! Sure you have a lot fewer numbers to keep track of, but roleplay in and of itself is a skill you have to build. There are a lot of people who flounder with what to do when given games that are too open, and struggle maintaining a character distinct from themselves. Narrative games ushine when players know how to balance pushing the envelope and pulling back for the sake of the collaborative storytelling. That's advanced stuff! Some people are better eased in with games that are crunchier and can sort of ease them in with more structure to start off with.

I don't think the problems described above are problems specific to "narrative games" (though, to be clear, neither Masks nor Fate are narrative or story games by about half the definitions out there), and I would argue that these problems are actually helped by "narrative games," not made worse by them. The conclusion here implies that a "narrative game" does not have as much structure as a "crunchier game," which is not only not true, it is typically exactly the opposite, especially when it comes to actual role-playing. Narrative/story games tend to forward the role-playing structure and prioritize it in play.

For me, RPG systems are like tools in the tool bag. I learn one and use it until it won't do what I want it to do, then I go get a new one. So, for me . . .

• When the point of the supers game is to explore the heroes' powers and what they can do with them in the world, I use Mutants and Masterminds 3e. I know the system, and it does what it does very well for us. I haven't ever tried to play this sort of game and found the system lacking in what I needed it to do.
   
• When the point of the supers game is focused on almost anything else, we use Fate Core. It is a sufficient tool for everything else we've needed it to do (unless, as I said above, the game is about answering questions like, "Exactly how much can I lift?"), and we know it very well.

I do love Masks and would second all the positive things everyone has said about it here, but playing teenagers is about the last thing I ever want to do. 😁

On 12/6/2023 at 5:47 PM, ABlotOfInk said:

Narrative games aren't always for new players! Sure you have a lot fewer numbers to keep track of, but roleplay in and of itself is a skill you have to build. There are a lot of people who flounder with what to do when given games that are too open, and struggle maintaining a character distinct from themselves. Narrative games ushine when players know how to balance pushing the envelope and pulling back for the sake of the collaborative storytelling. That's advanced stuff! Some people are better eased in with games that are crunchier and can sort of ease them in with more structure to start off with.

I don't think the problems described above are problems specific to "narrative games" (though, to be clear, neither Masks nor Fate are narrative or story games by about half the definitions out there), and I would argue that these problems are actually helped by "narrative games," not made worse by them. The conclusion here implies that a "narrative game" does not have as much structure as a "crunchier game," which is not only not true, it is typically exactly the opposite, especially when it comes to actual role-playing. Narrative/story games tend to forward the role-playing structure and prioritize it in play.

For me, RPG systems are like tools in the tool bag. I learn one and use it until it won't do what I want it to do, then I go get a new one. So, for me . . .

When the point of the supers game is to explore the heroes' powers and what they can do with them in the world, I use Mutants and Masterminds 3e. I know the system, and it does what it does very well for us. I haven't ever tried to play this sort of game and found the system lacking in what I needed it to do.

When the point of the supers game is focuses on almost anything else, we use Fate Core. It is a sufficient tool for everything else we've needed it to do (unless, as I said above, the game is about answering questions like, "Exactly how much can I lift?").

I do love Masks and would second all the positive things everyone has said about it here, but the idea of playing teenagers is the last thing I ever want to do. 😁

On 12/6/2023 at 5:47 PM, ABlotOfInk said:

Narrative games aren't always for new players! Sure you have a lot fewer numbers to keep track of, but roleplay in and of itself is a skill you have to build. There are a lot of people who flounder with what to do when given games that are too open, and struggle maintaining a character distinct from themselves. Narrative games ushine when players know how to balance pushing the envelope and pulling back for the sake of the collaborative storytelling. That's advanced stuff! Some people are better eased in with games that are crunchier and can sort of ease them in with more structure to start off with.

I don't think the problems described above are problems specific to "narrative games" (though, to be clear, neither Masks nor Fate are narrative/story games by about half the definitions out there), and I would argue that these problems are actually helped by "narrative games," not made worse by them. The conclusion here implies that a "narrative game" does not have as much structure as a "crunchier game," which is not only not true, it is typically exactly the opposite, especially when it comes to actual role-playing. Narrative/story game actually forward the role-playing structure and prioritize it over having sub-systems for grappling and thirty pages of equipment filled with firearms that are all, mechanically speaking, virtually identical. 😁