Joshua Randall
Legend
Do we fighter because we want power, or do we want power so that we can fight?!
Yes.
Do we fighter because we want power, or do we want power so that we can fight?!
I purposely tried not to get into the nit and gritty terminology because I wanted folks to explain in their own terms. I just used traditional as the starting path. I'm pretty happy that until now, nobody has brought it up. Its fine that you did, but im pleasantly surprised folks just dove in and answered on their own terms.Ben from Questing Beast did a recent video that gives a fairly clear explanation of these gaming mode terms:
I don't think these are great terms though. For one, the closest I come to any of those would be "Classic", yet I like newer systems like 3e, and "Classic" seems to indicate older rules (maybe not, but whatever). I'm not really OSR, while I follow some of their ideas, a lot of what they do is a reaction against 3e, so naturally I'm not part of that. Everything else seems to be some variation of narrative games, and I'm definitely not in that crowd. But these terms seem to have arisen out of narrative theorycrafting in the first place, and I think there's a bias towards narrative gaming in the first place.
My general preference is pretty firmly in the hybrid space. Specifically, metacurrency moderated player input and metacurrency limited mid-scene GM input.Greetings,
I've been mulling the idea of game modes in my head for awhile. All the jargon floating around in discussions about game design and play has got me thinking about my experiences. I understand what is often called traditional (Trad) is that the GM has full control of setting with players having control of their individual characters. Other modes, share the setting responsibility for the setting across all players equally. Of course, you have hybrid styles too that work as traditional, but offer moments for players to step into the GM role momentarily.
spoken like someone whose never played a Free League game... or only Tales from the Loop and TOR 2e.I think I have two default modes: modern trad and OSR.
Characteristics of modern trad would be:
Examples for this sort of game would be Savage Worlds or Call of Cthulhu 7e and a larger number of Free League games. D&D 5e would be a border case here and would probably fall into the classic trad bucket for me, since it doesn't have any meta currency or luck mechanic by default.
- GM controls the world, players control their characters; however players can contribute to world building either through the lens of their characters background (e.g. recounting stories from their place of origin, the religious order they were part of, etc.) or through suggestions, typically in the form of leading question, influencing the current scene (e.g. "there most have been trade between this town and the now-derelict dwarven strong hold back then - do we find any traces of an old trade route we could follow?")
- There is a overarching story/plot that players follow, though there might be branches and also side plots relating to the PCs' backgrounds
- Pre-written campaigns exist and contain such stories
- The game is typically not very deadly and the focus is on experiencing the story, not overcoming challenge (as a player)
- Challenges are typically resolved based on character stats and dice rolls, though the GM might grant bonuses based on player ideas or decisions
- Mechanics-wise, dice rolls are used for task resolution; however, there is often a meta currency or luck mechanic that allows players to influence the results or do re-rolls
I‘m sure you noticed the „typically“, so how about being a bit less confrontational? Yes, I am aware that Alien is quite deadly. But Forbidden Lands is already less deadly once your characters get solid gear.spoken like someone whose never played a Free League game... or only Tales from the Loop and TOR 2e.