Sept 26th, 2020
In researching this article, I was confused a little by how deep some theories can go. I was also somewhat shocked at how heated some of the discussions were getting as I read my way through the articles. I will be leaving an abundance of links at the bottom in case you want more information than my opinion will give you.
However, and more pertinent to the article we find ourselves in right now, I have decided to take the terms and ideas I was reading up on and make them into something slightly different.
Three factors can be used to detail your style of play:
· The Narrative, or How Real the Characters Are
· The Simulation, or How Real the World Is
· The Game, or How the Game Rules Support the Narrative and the Simulation
While I can easily define what each factor is, it is much harder to describe how they will affect your gameplay or storytelling.
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The Narrative
The first of our Style Factors is narrative. This is frequently the most fun, the most memorable and the most frustrating part of any campaign. Everyone loves the dastardly villain, the hilarious comic relief, and the group the players form in the story. We also dislike those players that decide not to even try to make their character come to life, to say nothing of a storyteller who puts no effort into memorable characters.
The narrative itself is the story, the moments everyone remembers. You could call them highlights or key moments but ultimately, they are simply whatever your players remember.
Think to any movies or shows you watch; what moments stand out to you? Is it the moment Tony Stark is sitting in his car driving around or is it when he shows up to beat the bad guy? Or is it when he goes through a montage of creating the iron man suit in his lab with Jarvis? I always remember that moment when his boot fires and smashes him into a wall. Priceless.
But that is the thing, the moments do not necessarily have to be crucial to the story, they only need to be memorable. In a tabletop session, these moments are as likely to be the defeat of the big bad as they are to be dividing up the loot. In fact, look back at any story you have told and see what moments players reminisce about. It will usually start with: "Hey, do you guys remember when..."
That right there, that is the moment your narrative got stuck in your players' heads. Now think harder about that moment. Likely it will involve characters, either NPC or PC, and a situation. So, people and a place. You could throw a thing in there too if you wanted. An unidentified magic item, a random computer virus during a hacking attempt or a sudden weather event.
Which of the following narratives sounds more interesting?
A) Randall walks into the bar, looking for a drink.
B) Randall, still injured from the fight in the alley, walks into the bar, looking for a drink.
C) Randall, injured and mourning the loss of his friend killed in the alleyway ambush, walks into the villain's bar, looking for a drink... And revenge.
It is not a difficult choice, right? Even if you aren't a fan of vengeance stories, there is simply more there to go on.
If you can populate your story with interesting characters, even if they were faceless assassins in a dank alleyway, you will always put out a more convincing narrative. But let us not forget the best tool in the storyteller's arsenal: the players. Allowing your players to grow and breathe life into their characters is an easy way to make more of those moments we all look for. I have ideas on this topic, but it is a lot more than I can fit here, stay tuned for future articles on player character tips.
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The Simulation
This factor is the bulk of what I hope to illustrate with this blog. Everything else becomes easier and more interesting once you have a grasp on creating your world.
In a nutshell, the simulation is how the world works and how interesting that world is. How easily can your players identify and define the way the world functions? When someone goes to forage, will they know roughly what they are going to find in the area they are foraging in? Will the computer code be similar to the code they know of in reality? How realistic is your world?
And let's be frank here; I am talking about fantasy worlds. Fiction. But that does not mean it can't make sense; in fact, it HAS to make sense. Suspension of disbelief is crucial to every fictional story and the ability to instinctually know what is going to happen is the best way to make that happen. If a player picks an apple, they should get an apple. If they slash a goblin, it should be slashed. When things do not work how players think they should, it makes that suspension of disbelief much harder.
Subversion is something we should talk about here. This is taking those expectations the players have and turning it around on them. If the wolf attacks in the area lead to a particularly violent pack of wolves; that's part of the world's simulation. If the attacks lead to a rogue werewolf in the area; that is subverting those expectations. Something you simply cannot do unless you focus a little on the simulation of your story.
A lot of simulation is common sense, but from a certain point of view. If you find yourself unsure if something makes sense, make sure to ask someone. I find as I talk about things out loud, I naturally come across any of the logical failings in my ideas. Simple right? Just talk it out.
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The Game
Lastly, we have the game itself. Or rather, the rules of said game. Mostly, this issue will be taken care of by the game system you are using. Whether its D&D or Pathfinder or any number of games, they all come with giant books filled with rules. There is one problem with those books though: it is not your world or your story.
There is no way for any author of a game system to know what every story made with it will be. That is an absolute impossibility. What they can do is give people guidelines to ensure the game runs smoothly for anybody.
Now I know there are rules lawyers out there who will hate me saying this; but the rules are guidelines, not set-in-stone laws that must be exalted above all things. There will never be a rule that perfectly fits the situation whenever a player says: "okay, so here's what I want to do..." There will, and should, be rules that can come close; but they just cannot be perfect. This is the reason storytellers exist after they write their stories.
How do the game rules assist the other two factors of storytelling though? Game rules need to support the narrative and the simulation to the extent that you intend to focus on those two facets of your story. If you want to deal more with politics, having rules on how to effectively sway someone to your cause will be important. If you have a story involving wilderness survival, how do you determine how much food they find in the wild or if the group can even hunt and dress a deer. Do the characters have the skills to make leather? Arrows? Stew?
Game rules can be as simple as roll some dice; highest number goes first. Or they can be as complex as your roll multiplied by 10 is the amount of copper pieces of work per week is applied to the total cost of the item a player crafts. It may be book-keepy and a little confusing in your world, should you use that rule? Or can everyone craft one item per day because it propels the narrative and validates a player's skill choices?
Rules are only effective if they create positive effects. If you spend an hour determining how many bone fragments fall from the whittling knife as the character whittles a bone whistle, are you really using the rules right? Even if that rule is clearly defined and makes sense, is it necessary? This can be the most daunting decision for a storyteller, deciding which rules to care about and which not to.
The only real thing to remember is that if a game rule ever takes precedence over a character or your story, you probably do not need it. Exceptions to this can be if your players really like the rules and want to play a game that is intensive and less focused on free-flowing stories. And guess what? If that's fun to you and your players, do it!
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That last bit got a touch rambly but I'm leaving it in because even if its not concise, it is honest and relevant, I think. My point is to focus on making an enjoyable story for yourself and your players. The three factors I outlined above are themselves, only guidelines.
Pull from any stories you have read or games you have played. Try to pick out what is narrative, what is simulation and what is the game itself. Maybe don't do this in a group where people are just enjoying the story but do try it at some point. Picking apart and dissecting these things from stories already out there can give you a handle on how you can use them to create better stories yourself.
Flexibility is key.
Eric
As I mentioned above, here are a bunch of links to more info: