A different approach to an RPG?

[Malte279]

Hi,
I'm not exactly known for being present in the RPG section. I don't know if I am a good RPG player as I may be too demanding (having some kind of epic and flawless story in mind which is usually not the main purpose of an RPG). Anyway, I have been wondering if perhaps an approach to an RPG different from the usual approach to online RPGs may be worth an attempt.
The idea is to have one conductor / narrator to the RPG. The narrator would not take charge of any main character and instead mainly describe everything the characters could not influence. The narrator would sort of set the stage, be in charge of the weather, of any kind of disaster that might befall the characters without anyone of them being in "control". If necessary the narrator could take charge of NPCs (but is well advised not to put those forward too much and not identify with them too much). The players are in charge of all their characters' actions thoughts and utterances, while the narrator sort of has control over the response of the rest of the world to the characters actions.
The idea comes from pen and paper RPGs where usually one player does have this kind of function. Maybe such an approach could be interesting to an RPG. There are several pros and certainly cons as well. As for the pros the narrator does have the possibility to prevent stories from getting too implausible as to a limited degree the narrator could decide if a character's attempt at doing something may succeed (in RPGs this is usually done by a dice). Of course this does not mean the narrator can keep characters from doing anything, but if characters are trying to do something that is very difficult or unlikely the narrator could determine the outcome.
A strong con would be if we ended up with a narrator just basically telling a story leaving no room for the characters to act or make their own decisions. It must be clear that the narrator would not be in charge of the characters in anything that is in the total control of the characters.
In case of Pen and paper RPGs the narrator usually has a prepared story in mind and the information he or she gives to the players usually has them experience that story (there may be several different plotlines and / or outcomes to it).
I don't know if it can work out, but what do you think of the basic idea?

[Kor]

Sounds like how I use to rp in pen and paper rp's and on mushes/muxes, mucks where I use to rp online.

There they way folks would post would be often something like:

Littlefoot tries to push the log into the river.  

Littlefoot whips his tail, trying to hit the fastbiter in the ankle to trip him.


Then the person running the rp (called at TinyPlot or TP) would describe what happened, if the attempt was successful or not, a partial success, ect.


Not sure if that is what you mean.


Also when I gmed a bit I tired to cut down on dice rolling if I could.  Like if the chars watched the pattern of the guards and waited a minute after he was around the corner, or 2 minutes and knew he'd not be back for say 20 minutes and 1 tried to pick a lock I'd not have them roll, especially if they were experts or masters at lock picking I'd likely say they succeeded, picking an amount of time it took, say 2 minutes roughly, since they could pick it faster, but maybe were a bit nervous so ti took longer, it's a high security lock ect.  If it were the door to Darth Vader's or the Emperor's throne room or bed room, that would take a lot longer and being at least Masters if not higher then a master  & would take longer then a minute or 2.

[Noname]

It can definitely work, if you are careful to stay within the parameters you set. For example, if the one who runs the RP is the narrator and controller of the RP world, one must not try to exert any additional power unless it is absolutely necessary for the RP to work.

In my big RP here on the GoF, I control the world to a large extent, but do not have a monopoly over such control. If another player wanted to make an event happen, or for the weather to change, I would not interfere with that unless it conflicted with the plot, caused other players unnecessary hardship, or else disrupted the balance of the RP.

Characters probably should be allowed to make their own decisions, otherwise, all they are doing is reacting to a situation given to them by the "DM" (Dungeon master; the one who runs the story.)

That's my thoughts on the issue. Your idea can totally work, Malte.

[The Chronicler]

I think that my RP, "A Disruption in Time", already uses this approach to some extent. Basically, I've planned multiple scenes, and for each scene I set the setting, the characters, and the situation, then let everyone in the RP deal with it their way. With each new scene, I reveal new locations, I introduce new characters (along with giving the opportunity to let other players add new characters of their own), and I give a new situation for everyone to deal with.

I had originally intended this RP to be a fanfic, but I have to admit that making it an RP instead seems to have been a better idea. I can set the plot and setting, then let other people fill in the details.

[Serris]

I usually control the weather and surroundings but I also allow the other players to do so if there is no continuity conflict or gamebreaking potential.

In general, forum RPs and pen and paper RPs are two very different gameplay methods.

My thought is that if someone wants to play that way, let them but do not make it mandatory for everyone to play that way.

[Kor]

As long as everyone to be in the rp understand from the beginning understand the rules and get any questions asked, why not.

[Malte279]

I never meant to suggest to make anything mandatory. Just checking if there was any interest in such an approach at all or if something like that was already conducted in the RPG section anyway.
Perhaps it might even work without a really elaborate plot if a narrator can react more spontaneously to the reactions of the players.

[Noname]

React to the reactions? Heh. Sounds like we're getting a little too technical here.  

Anyway, the plot need not be elaborate, it that's what you meant.

[Kor]

Thinking about running an rp of some sort?  

The rp threads here not use dice.  If you are interested in running an rp you may can mention some ideas here and talk to Nick22, he's an admin pretty active in the rp areas.