Using percentile dice as described above, one can ask, "What is the probability that this hideous orc we've captured is carrying a key to the cell door?" or "What's the probability that my sneaky thief can sidle up to the captain of the guard and pick his pocket?" The Referee thinks for a moment and says "Twenty-five percent." The two dice are then rolled. Anything less than a twenty-six means "Hooray! I've got it!"The second case (the sneaky thief) is a well-understood game operation. It's the first case that I find a lot more interesting. The thinking here meshes nicely with the main idea in my favorite paragraph in Holmes Basic. I think Holmes views the idea of exploring the imaginative world of rpgs as a joint player-GM effort. It's not as one-sided as "You make PCs, I make the world". The players don't necessarily have "narrative control" in the modern indie game sense, but their ideas and input should be respected by the GM. And the GM, under the Holmes interpretation, should be flexible enough to allow some of these ideas to have a serious impact upon the campaign.
A Return to the Stars
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After a veeeeerrrryyyy long, and mostly unplanned, hiatus, Stuart and I got
together to play more Stargrave in recent days. It was good! It was also a
bit ...
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The players don't necessarily have "narrative control" in the modern indie game sense, but their ideas and input should be respected by the GM. And the GM, under the Holmes interpretation, should be flexible enough to allow some of these ideas to have a serious impact upon the campaign.
ReplyDeleteWait - isn't that how RPGs are always supposed to be played?
At least that's how I was taught - the DM sets up some initial parameters but the players propose all sorts of things and the DM should take reasonable requests/suggestions into account when resolving scenarios. Things like "how about my halfling suddenly develops superhuman strength" are out, but things like "is there a stick or something around that I can use as a lever" are obviously in. And things between those extremes get handled on a case by case basis, erring in favor of the player with a random die-roll when questionable.
Maybe that's why I'm always getting into arguments with indie gamers who think GM's have too much narrative control and players need some kind of a game mechanic mechanism to keep it in check - I've always just figured they had lousy GMs. Hmmm....
At the core roleplaying is just playing pretend with a framework that gives your story background and structure.
ReplyDeleteBut it is also a game, and many players and some DMs from the very beginning on, took it as a sort of challenge against each other.
Many people getting into rpg came from a competitive background.
I think it's important for the DM to be a participant at the game table, not just someone running the session. The DM needs to be just as surprised as the players at what events and situations transpire, in other words, there needs to be a certain amount of unexpectedness and surprise for the DM. That would involve letting the players disrupt, ignore and twist your best laid plans. The best sessions are when both the players and DM have to improvise at the table.
ReplyDeleteI must have gone to RPG school with Dr. Holmes. Percentile chances set by DM fiat is my favorite tool.
ReplyDeleteI'm with everyone above...I do things like that all the time. My most common one is "it would be odd if that was true/false" and throw the first die I pick up.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I started with the Blue Book of Holmes the Physician so I shouldn't be surprised. More and more I'm thinking Dr. Holmes is the biggest unsung hero of the hobby.
As for the GM being part of the game, my newest group reminded me of how true that is in our first session.
I agree with the Holmsian approach. Thanks for sharing this. Is the book a good read overall?
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd come across as smug if I chimed in with "I always do that", but I'm pleased to see that if I am smug, I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteI think Holmes views the idea of exploring the imaginative world of rpgs as a joint player-GM effort.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. And regardless of how much active narrative control I give my players (depends on what I'm playing), I'm always listening for what the players are thinking about the world, including theories about what caused an event or what an NPC is up to. I'll shameless steal good ideas or assign percentages like Holmes.
That percentage system and odds-based exploration of the world is the framework around which the Mythic GM Emulator is built.
This idea is built into BRP's "luck" roll (which can be any multiple of a character's 'power'). I use it all the time in my Call of Cthulhu games when I haven't determined certain situations ahead of time (e.g., whether a particular NPC has a key or flashlight, how busy traffic is in a certain area, etc.).
ReplyDeleteIt's a great way to keep a game surprising and fun for the GM!
Yeah I am in the "I do that" herd too. I do find it interesting what Jeff is emphasizing, I don't really do that (though I do lend a big liberal hand to any co-creation).
ReplyDeleteIt would be a fun approach, something like a matrix game if you correspond the probabilities with the strength of their "argument" ("the orc should have a key because we caught him in the room near all the locked doors".
More and more I'm thinking Dr. Holmes is the biggest unsung hero of the hobby.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree Herb.
*slaps to forehead* we've been trying to figure out how to treat thievery abilities, this really clarifies a lot. Thanks for posting this quote!
ReplyDeleteMore and more I'm thinking Dr. Holmes is the biggest unsung hero of the hobby.
ReplyDeleteYup! It's why I keep a pic of him up, on my blog.
Is the book a good read overall?
ReplyDeleteI like Dr. Holmes writing but much of the information is outdated or irrelevant to an experienced gamer. It's basically a How-To book with a snapshot of the main products of the era. Not too different from Dicing with Dragons in overall scope, really. I'm enjoying the read, but I'm glad I borrowed a copy rather than shelling out a big chunk of change for it. Does that help?
On one of the other blogs, someone wiser than me said that we use dice as "oracles" for this other world. When I DM, I say yes, no or I let the dice decide. I agree with Dr. Holmes! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete@jim: dice as oracle is a great way to explain it! yes, no, or roll the dice.
ReplyDelete