OK I just reread Wick’s article on the thumb and teacup as deadly weapons and this:

21 thoughts on “OK I just reread Wick’s article on the thumb and teacup as deadly weapons and this:”

1. They get to GM next session

2. Tim Franzke Yup!

3. They win.

4. One important reward that you’re missing is narrative spotlight.  Games like Leverage make framing scenes and taking narrative control both part of the mechanics and their own reward.  You’ll find this incentive especially true for players who take on supporting roles.  Generally these characters aren’t rewarded directly (other than potentially changing the outcome of a scene in their favor) but rather their reward is being able to take credit for the scene itself.

5. Derek Pounds I’ll have to check Leverage out.

   One of the things Wick says in his article is that spotlight is what is important in RPGs instead of game balance. I think that is a very important part of the GMs job to make sure everybody gets it.

   How would you use narrative spotlight in a formal player facing mechanism? 

6. Taking turns

7. … or not. Ever tried Sons of Liberty?

   Free far all, no turns, competitive roleplaying in a clockpunk American Indipendence War.

   A true battle of wits and creativity that I enjoyed thoroughly.

8. Tim Franzke

   I mean as a reward for doing certain in game things.

   How would you reward players making choices consistent with character’s motivations by giving them narrative spotlight? How would such a game mechanic work? More importantly, what would the rule look like?

9. Ezio Melega I will look it up. Thanks.

10. Josh Roby is the author ^^

11. I find getting an amazing story pretty rewarding.  Or evoking emotions, that’s worth sticking to a character.

12. Kevin Farnworth I totally agree. But if one could make rules that helped / rewarded players to make amazing stories it would be nice. That is what I am wondering about at the moment.

    The FATE point system works. D&D 5ed has Inspiration, which also works if people remember to use it (but is on very small scale). I have written moves for Dungeon World that reward storytelling with mechanical as well as fictional bonuses.

    The concern of this thread is: How big is the design space in this regard? Are the examples I gave in the OP it, or is there more?  What other theoretical areas in the design space can be opened up?

13. One much more small scale and more important thing in DungeonWorld or Burningwheel is that you need to describe what you do in order to trigger mechanics.

    That is hugely important for making people narrate more.

14. In 1001 Nights, everyone has a cup of gems/dice.  They take turns telling stories, and other players pass gems to the storyteller when they’re interested in the story.  Like, “Take this, I want to see if the baron gets what’s coming to him.”  “Here’s a gem because that thief sounds charming and clever, I want to hear more about her.”

    I think that’s rewarding good storytelling with positive feedback from peers, which is interesting.

15. I’m experimenting with giving players sole authorial authority for certain parts of the setting as advancement options with one of the games I’m writing. It’s a pre-apocalyptic setting with a timer of sorts running down to the apocalypse. As characters advance, they can set aside one small piece of the world (a precious treasure, a small village, a tradition, etc.) that will survive the apocalypse. 

16. PK Sullivan​ have you ever played Annalise by Nathan D. Paoletta?

    You could want to look into its “claim” mechanic.

17. Kevin Farnworth I like that idea. Its like DnD Inspiration but peer reviewed.

18. The best reward is often simply that the thing they attempt (that’s consistent with their motivations and furthers the plot) works; 

    even better when the description of their action and its effect is memorable.

    This is fundamental to RPG design: help the character succeed at things that are consistent with their nature and make those successes fun/exciting/memorable.  

    The other fundamental: provide an environment in which those successes further an engaging plot (it doesn’t have to be sophisticated, just engaging).

19. Michael D This means mechanical / numerical bonuses, I assume.

20. Wynand Louw Yes… And…

    Yes… in that the way RPG characters are constructed means their chosen characteristics and abilities are the ones that will work better or more reliably in a mechanical/numerical way. (This may well be the defining characteristic of RPGs.)

    And… the GM needs to reward the character’s actions with success (of some sort) in the fiction. The success can be small, (giving out big rewards gets boring fast – games need challenge) but it does need to be there. (Narrative rewards also have the advantage that they avoid the problem of power creep.)

    The way GMs respond to 7-9 results is a case in point.  I’ve seen GM’s gloss over the success side of 7-9 results in the fiction and focus straight in on the opportunity it gives them to cause problems for the character, with the inevitable consequence that the player of that character becomes disheartened.  Yet when those same GM’s give the success side of 7-9 rolls a little attention in their narration, the player’s experience becomes rewarding again. – The end results are the same, but the players experience is transformed. 

    PC games do this very well: giving the characters lots of small progress rewards (e.g. bust those three jewels, kill that mook, jump over that obstacle, loot that extra coin) that, although minor in themselves, hook the player into the game, while all the while maintaining a much bigger overall challenge.

21. /sub need to think on my responses.

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