Accepting as axiomatic that there are (at least) 10 sorts of scene within The Game, it's worth considering each sort in turn. But first- to recap the basic assumption: The Game is a story we all tell together & its scenes are variously called Encounters. Different encounters have different parameters - if The Game is to be holistic, entertaining & compelling it must address the different wishes of the players. Many players come to the game in search of one or another type of encounter that will best please them.
Experience suggests that the basic sort of encounter that players come to the table in search of is the Combat Encounter. In many ways older & experienced players may consider the Combat Encounter the most basic sort, possibly even the only sort. Since The Game descends in no small part from tabletop combat simulations it's natural that this aspect is often the focus of most rules & systems found in the sourcebooks & rules compendiums that we use.
A careful survey of the experience we have at the table tells a different story though - there are planning phases, explorations, conversations & exposition. Fights are often a centerpiece thought & it's common to consider the other elements of the game as leading toward a climactic battle.
So does this formula work because tension builds to conflict & conflict is most easily portrayed by fighting? Is fighting & the rules surrounding it just more interesting to play out Together. I have some thoughts but only thoughts, no real thesis as to why the Fight is the Thing - but I also think it's worth deconstructing some aspects of the Fight to see if the systems innate to it are transferable to another style of encounter- to see if you can make a compelling scene that is fun for the whole table to do Together.
To get to the bottom of this, my thought is to look at The Fight critically to see what parts of it are transferable. So here's the basic outline of Fighting - at least as it occurs in the Game of the North & its derivations.
A melee begins when two or more parties decide that violence must prevail. This is indicated by the rolling of Initiative. Initiative is the Set Induction which precedes all that follows, it is a boundary line that the melee occurs within. Having Initiative as a cue for the change of milieu is really a great innovation within the form - it's a well understood, identifiable marker that brings the scene into a different kind of focus. Where prior to this roll the Players may have described weeks & days over the course of a few minutes of narration, now events take on a diamond focus - seconds are meticulusly described over the course of many minutes, sometimes hours. This period, bounded by the initiative's beginning & ending is the most clearly delineated of the games-within-The Game by custom & preference.
In the North & its derived locales Initiative is rolled each round. If Initiative is the set-induction, the Round & the Turn are elements within the set that achievements are built upon. It's important to consider that once initiative is rolled - the players & the referee all have very clear objectives. These objectives may be the coalescing of a long campaign's adventures - or they may be incidental & immediate. The players may have tracked their rival to his lair, or they may have simple stumbled upon the perennial wandering monster. In both cases the objective is immediate - defeat the opposing side. To this end every player chooses their actions & settles upon their course using the turns they are granted within a round.
So far we have the boundary of the Game-Within-The-Game - Initiative & the objective of the Game-Within-The-Game - to prevail. Within this framework the players take actions. The round is a series of turns - both those of the players & those of the referee & each turn leads toward some kind of resolution. But how players use their turns is itself an interesting thing to consider. A Player who portrays a combative character may shoot arrows, strike with a sword or a laser-gun. Different sorts of players may conjure magical effects that in turn render the battle moot, or change the terms of hte melee so that the objectives are altered. A Player could put the opposing enemies to sleep & then the focus of the encounter is whether the Players deem it fit to kill the sleeping opponents or to dispose fo them in some less horrible way. A Player could shift the allegiances of opponents, creating separate fronts within the melee - or they could withdraw from the battle entirely. Each player contributes on their turn based upon a suite of abilities & the players have varied abilities that can change the mood & mode of the melee.
We could take this as the framework - The boundary & the focus granted by initiative - the framework & turn-based options presented by Rounds & Turns. The clear objectives that the nature of the encounter create according to its kind establish all the participants' goals. Finally - everyone is able to participate uniquely.
Building alternative encounters based upon this core understanding leads down several roads - lets us design different sorts of scenes in which participants set the scene, establish objectives, move forward in turns & contribute according to their own gifts.
No comments:
Post a Comment