"irony" or distance

[ewilen]

In case you haven't yet stumbled across Zak's Playing D&D With Porn Stars, it's probably the most interesting RPG blog at the moment. Not only the immediate subject, but the writing and the thought that goes into it.

Right now I'd like to focus on one post, Like Playing Monopoly With Squatters, which brought to mind a much earlier thread on RPG.

Comments

[robotnik]

That's great - the D&D w/ Porn Stars blog in general, and that post about irony or distance in particular. That's definitely one of the things I love about RPGs, and it's not captured in much of the discourse about them

[ewilen]

Good points. Zak also has a recent post about the discrepancy between the recording of a play session and what you usually read in an "AP" (Actual Play writeup).

I've never played PTA, and I wouldn't mind giving it a try sometime. Still I don't see how I can play "in character" when I'm also trying to narrate the outcome of a scene according to pre-determined strictures imposed by the card play.

As for DitV, here's how I'd put it. Or part of how I'd put it. You can probably get a good game out of it but my experience was one of multiple disjunctures between character-play and mechanics-manipulation. Just a few types I'd point to:

1. The dice outrunning the narration. My character's got something to say (Raise) but the other player/GM doesn't Give. I've still got dice but I can't think of anything else to say. The dice are telling me to tread water until the conflict wears out. So, I repeat myself. Note: repeating yourself in a fight works fine, you just keep swinging/biting/shooting. In a conversation, it's annoying.

2. The dice

[robotnik]

I've never played PTA, and I wouldn't mind giving it a try sometime. Still I don't see how I can play "in character" when I'm also trying to narrate the outcome of a scene according to pre-determined strictures imposed by the card play.There's a bit of that, so if you know going in that will ruin your enjoyment, probably it's not for you. But the way I try to run PTA (I'm running a new series now) is that the player says what they're trying to do in very simple terms - "I knock him out" "I get him to talk" - the NPC says "oh no you don't", and we immediately draw the cards. Then the drawing of cards determines that one fact. That's all. No long narration before the cards are shown. That's key, because otherwise you get into the very lame situation of describing something in detail and then it doesn't happen because the cards go the other way, or worse, having to play out something that's already been described in detail. And no crazy long monologues after the cards either. Just short, discrete events

[marcochacon]

Thanks for the tip: I'll check it out

[ewilen]

Yes, it is. See my next post