Recapturing Imagination
So if encounters take up a smaller part of the gaming session, what’s left?
What fills the void is roleplaying – characters interacting with NPCs, with each other.
What I haven’t done – and I’d like to do more going forward – is getting the players to help define the story a bit more. I was listening to episode 39 of the Narrative Control podcast, which talked about allowing players to ask questions of the GM as an action. For example, in a D&D 4.0 session, instead of moving to attack an enemy, you instead ask the GM a question. It could be something like “can I tip the bookcase in the enemy’s way to slow him down?”
Done right, it has the potential to bring the players into the narrative, even in a tactical combat heavy game, like D&D 4.0.
In reality, though, I like the power of imagination that narrative RPGs give both players and game masters. Given that I play a lot of PC games, I get enough visuals defined for me in my electronic gaming.
Being an all around gamer, I certainly enjoy PC games, handheld games and board games. But sometimes, you just want to see what your imagination sees, not what the artist or game designer hands you on a plate.
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6 comments
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Duncan
October 21, 2009 at 3:26 pm (UTC -7)
You should check out The HoneyComb Engine (http://www.honeycombengine.com/) being released by Corvus Elrod (for free!). He’s been working on narrative/storytelling RPG design for a while now. Might be right up your alley.
Chris
October 21, 2009 at 6:27 pm (UTC -7)
If you want a good mix of role playing and tactical, check out HarnWorld from Columbia Games. Incredibly detailed world that could actually be used in any campaign or with the HarnMaster ruleset. Honestly, it’s my favorite tabletop RPG out there, just hard to find players that have even heard of it.
cls
October 22, 2009 at 3:00 pm (UTC -7)
Yeah, I’m definitely more in the Narrative camp. Your post pretty well sums up my experiences with both types of gameplay. I like them both, but they’re pretty different. I’ve found that D&D 4.0 doesn’t scratch the RPG itch very effectively. It’s a tactical, fantasy combat game. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not what I think of when I think of a PnP RPG.
Max Heim
October 29, 2009 at 3:48 pm (UTC -7)
The hardest thing seems to be getting the players to *roleplay*. That is, to speak with the voice of their character, rather than as your buddy across the table. This goes for the GM, too — it needs to be clear when the GM is supplying information about what the characters see or hear, and when he is speaking as an NPC. I don’t know how you would go about enforcing this without getting all “Simon says” about it, but it seems to be a major impediment to getting into and staying into the story. That, and the long-winded but irrelevant talespinning that inevitably accompanies these get-togethers.
Maybe everyone needs to bring a costume hat, and the GM ignores them unless they put on the “character hat”. Of course the GM would need a whole box of hats…
Max Heim
October 29, 2009 at 3:56 pm (UTC -7)
I actually think the D&D 4 combat system is simpler, faster and less time-consuming than 3.5. Characters are limited to performing actions that fit into the grid, and doing their special feats, all of which is pretty well documented. This involves a lot less hemming, hawing, improvisation and special ruling on the part of the GM (and less opportunity for special pleading on the part of the players), and the math is certainly simplified. Anyway, I don’t see how the combat resolution system affects the roleplaying, particularly, other than by using up session time. But D&D encounters have always eaten up session time, going back to Greyhawk. If you don’t want long encounters, don’t ambush a party of 6 with 14 orcs. Attack with one Umber Hulk instead.
YS
November 12, 2009 at 1:46 am (UTC -7)
Thanks for this post, Loyd. You’ve absolutely nailed the reason why I don’t like D&D, and in a way better than how I would have been able to express that dislike.
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