As per usual Vincent Baker posts some things and then I have a lot of side thoughts either about role-playing in...

Originally shared by Jesse Burneko

As per usual Vincent Baker posts some things and then I have a lot of side thoughts either about role-playing in general or my own work. Here's Vincent's post:

https://plus.google.com/+VincentBaker/posts/hreaAFy1GE8

So, here's the thing: I know exactly what Vincent is talking about and understand what he means about being out of patience with it. I'm kind of out of patience with it too.

Haunted is in a place that is struggling with this. Overall, Haunted is in really good shape. The mechanics work. It has the right amount of tension and pressure. Where it's suffering is FLOW.

The main problem I was seeing come out of Haunted sessions was how much "editing" I was doing. As Vincent says in his posts when setting up and playing scenes there are wrong answers and to make the game work I had to personally call out all the wrong answers and that's no good. I could write down a whole bunch of advice and hope that whoever is acting as facilitator could do all the editing I do but as Vincent says that's punting.

I recently added some things that solves a lot of the "editing" I had to do during setup. When you create characters you have to say what drives them and those drives have to put pressure on the murderer. This works well, except to clarify that rule I have to do a lot less talking during setup.

The next place that needs attention is "scene framing". In Haunted there's really only two ways to start a scene.

1) Follow the murderer from point to point.
2) Someone picks up a Supporting character who in some way intercepts the murderer (i.e. confronts him at home, the office, calls him, cuts him off in traffic, stalks him at his favorite cafe).

That's really it. That's all the group should be doing. It really should be very casual. And maybe spelling these two things out will be enough.

But the broader point I want to make is that as I've been playtesting Haunted I've really come to believe that the unwieldy "lurching" from scene to scene is one of the biggest barriers to entry that a lot of "story games" have. All my current development on Haunted has not been about making the game "work" (it's worked for a long time), it's about making the EASY to play.

And now I'm going to say something really controversial: Burning Wheel with it's all its cogs and levers and switches and dials, is, at the end of the day an easier game to play than a lot of "simpler" story games with awkward setup and scene framing procedures precisely because it leaves the players with a lot of blank spaces and not a lot of real tools to fill in those spaces. It "trusts" the players to have the creativity to fill in those spaces, which is all fine and good but completely disavows the idea that creativity of that kind is work and effort. It's HARD. And the HARDER the work necessary to play your game the more you alienate your audience.

In Burning Wheel once you write your three Beliefs (the hard part) everything from that point is EASY. You just say what your character does to fight for his Beliefs and the GM is responsible for dropping road blocks to that. That's it. That's the whole game. All the cogs and wheels and levers and dials are there to actually make that EASIER because every time you go to do something, there's a tool ready at hand to make it happen.

In early drafts of The Extraordinarily Horrible Children of Raven's Hollow the players made up a lot of stuff: Children, Locations, Adults, Ravens, etc. As the game took more and more solid form as a card game a lot of those things are now provided: Children Cards, Location Cards, Adult Cards, Raven Cards, etc. I was really really worried people were going to be disappointed they didn't get to make that stuff up. Do you know how many people have complained they didn't get to make their own children or locations?

ZERO.

Not one.

We like to think our "lite" story telling games allow for a greater range of creativity and freedom. And to some extent they do, but what you now have is a creative work load balancing problem. Making up stuff is fun, but it's also WORK. The point of game design is off load some of that WORK, so you that the group can focus on engaging the substantive part of play.

Joueur du grenier strikes again.

Joueur du grenier strikes again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YgkMxyj1cc

Salut à tous !

Originally shared by La Gazette du Geek

Salut à tous !
Nous avons lancé notre série sur du JDR.
Si jamais vous êtes intéressés, n'hésitez pas à jeter un petit coup d'œil. On débute et beaucoup de choses sont améliorables, mais on a envie de bien faire :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXcNWxPeLxw

A general tip for GMs about aspects,.

Originally shared by Rob Donoghue

A general tip for GMs about aspects,.

The best aspects have the equivalent of potential energy, like a round boulder on top of a hill. Left alone, it might not roll down the hill, but it very clearly wants to do so (as much as a rock can want anything), and it's pretty obvious what could happen. In play, the expenditure of a Fate Point represents the nudge to get the rock rolling.

With that in mind, a lot of aspects could be categorized as setup or resolution. Setup aspects have that potential energy, while resolved aspect have used it up. A Dangling Chandelier is a setup - it's full of potential for swinging and dropping. A Fallen Chandelier doesn't have much left to do. It might be an obstacle, and it's certainly true, and a clever player might find a way to leverage it, but it's potential is not obvious.

(As an aside, this idea is one of the reasons that I sometimes suspect that Fate needs some clearer guidelines on how aspects change but it's easy enough to just do that I don't feel like it's a huge problem)

Players, more often than not, are going to push for resolution aspects. They have an endgame they're pushing for, and they they may want the occasional flexible advantage, but mostly they are looking to control the situation. That's fine, but as GM, you may want to steer clear of them whenever there is an option for one simple reason - if the resolution you're pushing for is actually interesting (and it is, isn't it?) then it's more fun to set it up and then play it out.

And your 2016 Game Chef International Champion is...

Originally shared by Game Chef

And your 2016 Game Chef International Champion is...
http://www.game-chef.com/2016/09/23/your-international-game-chef-winner-is/

Hier nous jouions à Viewscream (2), je copie ici le CR de Damien Rahyll :

Hier nous jouions à Viewscream (2), je copie ici le CR de Damien Rahyll :

Bref retour sur la partie de Viewscream d'hier soir.

TL;DR : Viewscream (et les LARP) c'est bon, mangez-en !

Accompagné par mes fidèles camarades Aurélien Lemay et +Gherhartd Sildoenfein et avec un "special guest" de retour en France Antoine Pempie (trop content de rejouer avec toi, mec !), on a "improvisé" une partie de Viewscream (le midi pour le soir). Même si on y a passé toute la soirée, jusqu'à minuit (long debrief, tout excités que nous étions), la partie en elle-même a été plutôt courte (un peu moins de 2H plus un gros quart d'heure de prep/explications)... mais intense !
Sans tourner autour du pot, c'était vraiment super sympa ! Le jeu est hyper immersif, très intense (LARP!), la mécanique est simple mais efficace (même si on est tenté d'y mettre les doigts) et un gros "plus" provient des p'tits twists liés à l'écriture du "scenario". L'ambiance est vraiment top et passer 1H30-2H "in character", c'est vraiment amusant.
Pour ma part, j'en retire une curiosité croissante pour le LARP. J'en ferai sans doute pas tous les deux jours mais clairement le côté immersif, freeform, "in character" est assez "fresh". Du coup à côté de propositions plus orientées "gaming" ou plus meta (storygames), je suis assez content de découvrir les attraits de cette autre branche des RPG et clairement, il me tarde d'en refaire (Viewscream ou autre).
https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/269/485/36811576342f067f8a9cc7707ee6146d_original.png?w=680&fit=max&v=1438831666&auto=format&lossless=true&s=aafa3d04dab256e0a73161e83d8bbf83

Scion 2nd ed. Now of they could finally release Exalted in a timely manner...

Originally shared by Gary Anastasio

Scion 2nd ed. Now of they could finally release Exalted in a timely manner...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/scion-2nd-edition-tabletop-rpg?ref=friends_backed

Oh que j'aime quand je n'ai pas besoin d'écrire !

Oh que j'aime quand je n'ai pas besoin d'écrire !
(Surtout quand ceux à qui je destinerais avant tout la prose y resteraient insensibles, mais je vais tenter quand même.)
(Dans la série "je joue tradi et je souffre".)

Originally shared by Aware Studios

Parfois des choses arrivent. Comme se prendre une claque et devoir attendre son init pour la rendre.

I guess Trump is like too-big-to-fail Lehman Brothers or the Brexit, it's obvious it just can't happen.

LPCO en pdf!

Originally shared by L'Impromptu Jeux indépendants

LPCO en pdf!

Dès maintenant, vous pouvez obtenir la version pdf du jeu pour 6 francs suisses! Si vous décidez plus tard d'acheter la version papier, on déduira le prix du pdf! Si vous aviez déjà acheté le jeu papier, on vous envoie le pdf gratuitement (peut-être l'avez vous déjà dans votre boîte e-mails, sinon prenez contact avec nous svp). Dès maintenant, les cartes postales incluent le pdf.

Partagez la nouvelle si vous aimez le jeu!

Pour vous signaler une interview de Lad Rilia et ma pomme sur le magazine de Rêves D'ailleurs , une communauté qui...

Originally shared by Jerome Larre

Pour vous signaler une interview de Lad Rilia et ma pomme sur le magazine de Rêves D'ailleurs , une communauté qui gagne à être connue et qui propose entre autres en téléchargement légal et gratuit Ambre, Empire Galactique, Empires & Dynasties, Rêves de dragon, Tregor, l'Ultime Epreuve, et bien d'autres...
http://www.tartofrez.com/?p=6010

<3

<3

Originally shared by ScienceHook

Via: Bad Science Jokes

A question of science. Does any of you smart people know

A question of science. Does any of you smart people know
how precise is the average human in evaluating (not counting nor calculating) probabilities? The kind of experiment I imagine is: an observer watches two different repeating random yes/no events, what difference in likehood between the two events is necessary for the observer to determine that they are different? I guess this kind of things has been studied?

Multivector spam is my new bane.

Multivector spam is my new bane. It crept slowly, now it is fully upon me and I don't really have weapons to fight it.

Dear Publisher,

I already receive your information through your newsletter. You also send it to me through the "project updates" of your kickstarters, where you mingle it with legitimate project update. You continue to do this long after projects end. I follow you here on G+, I get the same updates, mingled with other news. Probably multiple times, as many of you will publish it in multiple venues (publicly, to your circles, to diverse communities). Probably I also follow some people who create the games you publish, they echo your news in their streams. And I follow some other fans of your stuff, who do the same. All in all, I probably get the same "news" 5 to 20 times in a short time span. (Happily I am not really into Twitter nor Facebook, I guess it is similar there, or worse.)

What does it mean? Publishers, I am getting really irritated at you. I already unsubscribed from your newsletter and G+ profile. I will unsubscribe from any kickstarter project updates as soon as you use it more for general communication than for the project. I'd like to be informed, but I'll choose no information over spam flood any day.

Folks who echo these kind of news, I'd really appreciate if you put them in a dedicated collection. I do pass on these kind of news myself, I put them in my News & announcements echo chamber collection.

~'~system matters, setting matters, people matter~'~

Originally shared by Brie “Beau” Sheldon

~'~system matters, setting matters, people matter~'~



ETA: I actually have more complicated feelings about this statement I'll unbox someday, but for now, if you have the wrong game, the wrong setting, the wrong people, or any combination of those, your game experience might suck. Choose wisely.

Et voici la suite des événements! Une sorcière, des choses psychiques et des yeux jaunes la nuit :)

Originally shared by Scarlett Souris

Et voici la suite des événements! Une sorcière, des choses psychiques et des yeux jaunes la nuit :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo9jXA-wbIg&feature=autoshare

Le numéro 59 est en ligne

Originally shared by Radio Rôliste

Le numéro 59 est en ligne ! Avec un nouveau venu (Fabrice Brabon ) un grand ancien (Kalysto de la vacuité ) et une critique du futur de la part de Guylène Le Mignot !

http://www.radio-roliste.net/?p=1444
http://www.radio-roliste.net/?p=1444

Quand tu déclenches par accident la reprise de la lecture de Bloody Tears, à fond le volume, sans casque, dans un...

Quand tu déclenches par accident la reprise de la lecture de Bloody Tears, à fond le volume, sans casque, dans un lieu public silencieux O_O''' 
http://2d6pluscool.ovh/index.php/2016/09/06/apocalypse-world-bloody-tears-1/

Arrêter le podcast de la Cellule sur le Souffle du dragon, campagne de Néphilim de 1993 après quelques courtes...

Arrêter le podcast de la Cellule sur le Souffle du dragon, campagne de Néphilim de 1993 après quelques courtes minutes, de peur de me faire spoilier, pour les 0.5% de chance que j'ai d'y jouer un jour... Fail or Win?

❝L'équilibre défis-perso, c'est le mal.❞

❝L'équilibre défis-perso, c'est le mal.❞

Je pose ça ici pour ne pas oublier que Volsung 2d6plusCool m'a demandé de développer cette opinion personnelle.
[Edit: la viande arrive dans les commentaires]

'nough said. er, drawn.

'nough said. er, drawn.
(I heart xkcd)
http://xkcd.com/1732/

So first of all, I really love Circle of Hands's approach to stealth:

Originally shared by Jesse Burneko

So first of all, I really love Circle of Hands's approach to stealth:

"...you don’t get to sneak past guards. There aren’t any jobs in the modern sense, so if someone’s guarding somewhere, then he or she really means it, and so they see you. You’re effectively dealing with a fight situation in which excellent evasive success means you get past, and if not, you’re embroiled in the fight mechanics. There’s no “sneaky guy” profession which means they stand there scratching themselves, so forget it."

And as I've been catching up on my Gothic literature reading for The Dark Fate of Castle Radcliffe I've been considering how "stealth" works in that genre and this is a draft of the stealth rules (Note: this project will be using Approaches rather than Skills).

How do I sneak around? Short answer: you don't.

Long Answer: It depends on if you trying to get INTO somewhere or OUT of somewhere. If you are trying to escape or otherwise get out of somewhere then you use the Flee approach. Failure indicating that someone caught you.

If you are trying to get to something then it's in the GM's hands. He has three options.

1) You do it. The action begins with you reach whatever it was you were trying to get to.

2) You are not yet seen but encounter something of interest before you reach your goal. The action begins with you observing whatever bit of action you have come across.

3) The GM hands you a Fate point and you are caught. The action beings with you cornered by the guards are whomever it is you were trying to avoid. You can spend a Fate point if you wish and the situation proceeds as if the GM had chosen Option 1.

There is never, ever a roll for trying to stealth into a place.

Quite an interesting conversation about PbTA games, genre, alternate history, public and the language of RPG.

Quite an interesting conversation about PbTA games, genre, alternate history, public and the language of RPG.

Originally shared by Paul Beakley

#INDIEGAMEaDAY2016  
Day 6: How many PbtA games do you own, and which one best captures its most clichéd genre tropes?

Keeping up with this ridiculous thing is hard. Not even a week into it and I'm getting worn out. Might have been the 3 day weekend combined with a lingering summer chest cold (the worst!) which has now entered the cough-up-dire-chunks stage.

Thoughts behind the question:

I feel so ambivalent about PbtA games. I own a crapton of them in hardcopy and PDF; I think my count is 35. I'll probably play less than 10 of them, like, ever.

PbtA has become kind of a cliche of indiegame monoculture, yeah? Two of the 2015 Indie Game of the Year winners are PbtA games. I have absolutely no statistics to back it up but I'll bet PbtA and Fate together make up 99% of the sales. It feels like there ought to be more variety, especially given the indie of indiegaming, right? It's probably like grunge was in indie music though: thousands of independent acts that all kind of sound the same.

So, my ambivalence comes down to what feels like a lack of ambition on the part of both the audience and the creators of indie games. I wrote an IGRC post about genres and tropes a few months back, and one of the more common comments was along the lines of "no duh, well of course there's lots of tropes in RPGs, that's what RPGs are." And that premise struck me as so weird that I didn't know how to reply to it.

Looking through my library of PbtA games, the vast majority of them are tropes-y celebrations of known slices of fictional genres: here's a game about urban fantasy stories, here's a game about D&D style fantasy, here are some games about cyberpunk.

But you know what? My favorite PbtA games are not the tropes-y ones. Jason Morningstar's Night Witches is about the experience of being a professional woman under very difficult and humiliating circumstances. It would be a very different feeling game, I think, if he was trying to model military dramas in general. Gregor Vuga's Sagas of the Icelanders is arguably centered on genre (Viking sagas) but it's about the experience of living in an honor-bound society with traditions but not laws. It, too, I think would be a very different game if he'd tried to design a game to model the Vikings TV show. And efforts I've seen around to expand on or improve SotI (i.e. The Man playbook) that slave themselves to the Viking sagas, I think, do not succeed because the rest of the game isn't really about modeling the sagas.

The PbtA games about personal experiences are my favorites. The ones about celebrating genre are not, although I still play them and enjoy them very much.

This really came into focus for me working on my own game about the history of the American West. It was a huge revelation to me because of the big gap between Westerns as a genre and The West as a time and place. I want to write a game about personal experiences (like Night Witches and Sagas of the Icelanders) but holy shit is the gravity of genre hard to fight in PbtA. I have some ideas why that I'll get into later. But, like, I could dash off a Western genre game in a weekend and I'll bet it'd even be pretty good. And it's probably what the audience would prefer, to by honest. But it's not the game I want to write, so I wonder if there's something about PbtA itself.

Microscope est tout de même un jeu qui déchire sa race !

Microscope est tout de même un jeu qui déchire sa race !