Critique on Fire-and-Forget
The Fire-and-Forget Magic System, whereby casters memorize spells in order to cast them, losing the knowledge to cast them and thus the ability to cast the spell again, was first presented in Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series. Gary Gygax used Vance’s work for a number of sources in the early days of Dungeons and Dragons, but he decided to use a Vancian magic system for two reason:
- It’s easy to balance for game play.
- It has no resemblance to any real world mythology or occult belief system.
At the time, both reasons were very good. Dungeons and Dragons was almost always under scrutiny in the beginning, due to the various beliefs and legends of ties to devil worship or some other such nonsense.
Today, however, neither reason is necessary. Numerous games have demonstrated a number of ways to balance spell casting systems without resorting to a Vancian system, many by simply introducing mana or an equivalent stat. In addition, role-playing has become much more mainstream, and with information available many myths are dispelled. Some organizations, like The Escapist, exist solely to address these myths and educate the public.
It is, however, the second reason which disturbs me the most. I cannot think of a single Fantasy book which has used Vancian magic since Dying Earth, excluding the novels which are based off of RPGs. What am I supposed to model and emulate when presented this situation? The images and archetypes that I am constantly surrounded with are replaced by more constricting ones.
While it is true that in more recent editions of Dungeons and Dragons the Sorcerer has somewhat fixed this problem, though exclusively for arcane casters, if one does not go searching beyond the core books.
For me, this has always been a problem not just of game mechanics, but of disconnect from everything I’m familiar with outside of gaming, and I feel unable to bring a lot of that into the game with systems that use Vancian magic.
Personal Rules for Narrating
Today, I thought I’d share a few of my own personal rules for running a game.
The Story Isn’t Mine. It can be tempting to try to control or direct the course of a story, I make up only a small portion of those who participate in it. The story belongs to the players, too.
The Story Isn’t the Player’s. The story belongs to the characters who make it up, and the story should evolve from their actions and behaviors, not those of the party. This can be hard to balance, especially with the previous rule, but adhering to it helps keep the story from getting stale, predictable, or becoming a one-way railroad track.
When in Doubt, Ignore the Rules. I’m not sure where I first heard the term “rules gap” used to describe a hole in the rules, or a situation not covered, or even a situation which causes the rules to fall apart, but every system has them. Some systems, most often those which are setting specific, rarely see these situations come up. When this happens, don’t be afraid to throw the rules out the window for a house rule, or a temporary ruling. Make sure that the group is okay with this, as changing rules can be problematic.
Force Breaks During The Game. For my group, I’ve noticed that after three hours of solid gaming, a break is needed. Often they don’t realize this, or are excited and want to plow ahead. When this happens, I inform them I need a few minutes to check some rules, take some notes, or roll up an NPC. Taking a five minute break keeps everyone’s mind fresh, and allows another three hours of continuous gaming to take place.
It’s Over When The Player’s Say It’s Over. I will never force my character’s to retire their characters, nor simply kill them off so that they are forced to create a new character. Players put a lot of time, effort, and love into their characters, and I won’t take them away.
This isn’t to say I won’t temporarily remove a character from play if the story takes that character in a direction the rest of the party can’t or won’t follow.
Start and End With Crossroads. By ending every session in a position where players have several choices about what to do at the start of the next session, they are allowed to pursue their passions or moods of the moment. For bigger decisions, allowing players a week to think over their choices gives them time to make sure they aren’t deciding out of impulse.
What are your rules for running a game?
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 3 of 3
In Part 1, I outlined the definition of a “win moment” and what most games use as methods of securing a win moment. In Part 2, I outlined the pitfall of “win moments,” as well as several common behaviors which are looked down upon, often committed by people seeking win moments. Today, I conclude with how to produce win moments which encourage the desired style of play.
Wizards of the Coast released a supplement in July of 2005 called Weapons of Legacy, introducing the concept of Legacy Weapons and Legacy Items, magical items which grew in power as the play did. This provides an opportunity to give a player an immediate win moment in the acquisition of a unique magical item, and a series of win moments following as new powers and abilities were unlocked from the item and new ones were discovered, all while preventing unbalance from creeping into game play.
Everquest introduced a similar concept years before, items which simply had a level requirement to wield, or abilities with a similar requirement. This allowed players to experience two separate win moments, the initial when they acquired an item which was most likely considerably more powerful than what they currently had, and a second when they themselves became powerful enough to use it.
Far-reaching consequences also provide an opportunity to spread a series of win moments out for players. News often travels faster than adventurers do, and they may find rewards or recognition waiting for them for an event months prior, whether it was defeating a terrible enemy, saving a leader from assassination, or delivering a moving speech. Be careful not to employ this tactic too often, however, or it may encourage PCs to rest on their laurels.
Allowing players to tell stories of their own adventures is another way to provide additional opportunities for win moments. In my Oerth campaign, there is a tavern run by a master Dwarven Brewer who sells his drinks primarily to rich adventurers and dilettants. Being an avid enjoyer of stories, however, he will allow adventurers free drinks in exchange for regaling him with stories of their exploits. This not only encourages players to relive their previous adventures and win moments, but to re-create them in their telling, making themselves even more glorious in the eyes of their listeners.
It is important to provide a variety of ways for players to achieve win moments, so as to match their differing styles of play. One of my favorite ways to introduce logic and puzzles into the mix is by pitting the players against a Logic Golem, a creature which is sufficiently to kill or greatly weaken the party, but will always engage in a logical discussion if not locked in combat, and will accept a line of logic which it is unable to refute. This puts the party’s lives in the hands of the clever players who will engage in problem solving and logic, as well as those of the role players who need to engage NPCs.
Ideally, win moments should be repeatable, and ideally not affect the balance of game play anymore than the system calls for. How do you introduce individual win moments into your game? How do you introduce repeatable ones?
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 2 of 3
Yesterday, I discussed the desire to experience a win moment in almost every game, including RPGs. I also described traditional ways to win, and began discussing how this can lead to power-gaming. Today, I continue along those same lines, and explore the ugly side of winning in RPGs.
A behavior which is considered almost universally bad in RPGs, that of playing the lone “Chaotic Evil” character, may be attributed to a strong and unfulfilled desire to win. By playing the Chaotic Evil character, a player is able to set themselves at odds with everyone, both PCs and NPCs alike. Competition is instantly written into the story, and the player feels free to “win,” if only by being the last one alive.
Another behavior, similarly maligned, is that of the Munchkin, who must constantly be the best in every conceivable way. This kind of play is often driven by the thought that the winner is the “best.” While this kind of thinking is often inappropriate in RPGs, it can be especially appropriate because of the self-centered attitude with which it is asked, “the winner is the best.”
I’ve seen experienced players, who have gone for years without falling into this trap suddenly become stuck. What brings them to this train of thought? I think that often players who feel “topped” by other players, or consistantly deprived of win moments will begin to at least feel like they are somehow losing. Other players who previously played or recently started playing MMORPGs may also be prone to this behavior, as it is considered more appropriate in many online RPGs.
How do you help deal with these tendencies? By providing win moments which encourage the style of play desired. I’ll discuss this more tomorrow.
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 1 of 3
Most games outside of RPGs have a moment which can be described as the “win moment,” a time when a player (or players) are granted victory, and the game concludes. While the rest of the game is important and often enjoyable, it is for this “win moment” that the game is played.
Traditional ways to win games include:
- Eliminating all other players and forces in the game
- Immobilizing all other players and forces in the game
- Scoring enough points, or goals
- Defeating the final boss
- Attaining another specific and discrete goal
In RPGs, however, the emphasis is instead placed on the journey taken throughout the game and not necessarily on it’s conclusion, which may not be the climax of the story or the most rewarding part of it. Despite this, many players come to RPGs with a desire to a win moment, though it is not always realized or expressed. Fortunately, many principles of winning in other games may be transferred to RPGs, and often are. Many games, for instance, have the goal being to remove a villain from the game, or retrieving (or destroying) a specific item of power.
The problem with the desire to acquire win moments in RPGs is that the continuous nature of the game often makes the moments feel too short lived, which can drive some players to become power-gamers.
Tomorrow, I will continue this discussion and focus on the bad aspects of win moments in RPGs, how they can become problems, and how to spot them before they do.
