4 ms·
The point I'm trying to make is that the rules should, in some way, actively encourage results in line with the game's thematics. For example, Dogs in the Vine
by zyxley 11y ago
The point I'm trying to make is that the rules should, in some way, actively encourage results in line with the game's thematics.
For example, Dogs in the Vineyard encourages/threatens players with the risks and rewards of escalating conflict, Nobilis tries to get you to reenact a game version of the Sandman comic, and Vampire: the Masquerade rewards you for treating normal humans like pawns and playthings.
- WalterSear 11y agoFwiw, the Maelstrom system did exactly that. It's essentially a historical fiction role playing game, so high fantasy tropes and the like are meant to be discouraged. Magic-as-luck-manipulation allows just enough freedom to be entertaining, while maintaining the milieu of the game. It also makes for very creative magic, since you are essentially handing the magician player an opportunity to effect the plot directly, in however they so imagine (and the DM and the dice permit), rather than giving them a gun with so many bullets in it, ala D&D.