Narrative Control

Welcome back to Narrative Control. As season two winds down Fattig and I are doing our last standard show (66 will be a bloopers and a discussion of the future).  This episode we’re talking about unconventional conflicts, like chases, heists, and escapes.  How to make those kick ass in RPGs as much as they do in fiction. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length 45:56 Show Notes [00:30] Intro to the Show: Unconventional Conflicts.[01:04] In a movie unconventional conflicts are awesome, but many RPGs don’t do it well.[01:49] Inspired by a recent episode of Sharkbone, episode 48 with Leonard Balsera. Examples of awesome conflicts to bring into your game. [04:52] Escape – Running out of the collapsing temple[06:19] Heist – Steeling the scroll of Anuba[07:13] Environmental – Surviving the Fire Swamp[08:49] Chase Scene – The Fugitive fleeing from the law.[10:56] Fighting the Unbeatable Monster – Fighting the T-Rex or the Zombie Apocalypse Why don’t these unconventional conflicts work in RPGs [13:04] Poor mechanic

Welcome to a little Narrative Control experiment.  Three very short episodes on very small topics all released in short order.  This show is the Lennisode.  Two great ideas I ripped off from Leonard Balsera.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 16:24Show Notes[00:25] Intro to the show.  Three minisodes.[01:00] Greetings Lenny? Leonard? The Lennisode, not the Jennisode (www.jennisode.com)[01:36] Based off two bits of advice Lenny gave out. Hack away.[02:20] The 15 Minute prep for games. Frame three scenes with punch![03:35] Example of trying this out: Dresden without prep.[09:01] Reward players for making decisions that have bad consequences either way.  From his LJ[14:14] Players will be more engaged in a choice they make.Continue the conversation…Here

Welcome to a little Narrative Control experiment.  Three very short episodes on very small topics all released in short order.  This show Fattig and I are talking about getting your players excited about the NPCs, places and things in your game.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 15:59Show Notes[00:25] Intro to the show.  Three minisodes.[00:55] Situation: Players don’t care about the thing the GM created.[02:22] The point of the players caring is to give you ways to motivate the PCs. What are four possible ways that you can draw them in? [03:20] Make the thing actionable.  The players can make a difference.[06:08] Giving the players a compelling reason to care about the place or person. [07:44] Tying locations to the PCs.  Make them mirror the PCs.[12:38] Think in terms of terrain vs. background. Create assets that players can fight over.[15:24] Setting they can punch in the face!Continue the Converastion…Here.

Welcome to a little Narrative Control experiment.  Three very short episodes on very small topics all released in short order.  This show Fattig and I are talking about how to implement a Retcon in your game.  How to turn back the clock.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 17:06Show Notes[00:25] Intro to the show.  Three minisodes. [00:55] The Recton. How to get a game back from over the edge.[01:16] Suggestion given to use by Alan Smithee[01:20] Example: Werewolf: The un-huntering.[05:09] When should you retcon? Your choice. We’re not telling you when to do this.[06:14] Alan’s suggestion on how to retcon.  Zoom back into a frame.[07:00] There is ALWAYS a frame in place, because we’re playing a game.[08:04] Returning back to the example: we got it wrong[08:36] Example: Three guys in a bar retelling a story.[09:23] Example: Ocean’s 11.  You see one thing, but it’s an illusion, then you see the “real” version.[10:07] Example: Film edition, cut out the junk[10:44] Example: XXXXtreme Street Luge. The game i

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week’s episode was inspired by this blog post by Karen Twelves http://twelves.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/dead-of-winter-2010/.  It’s kind of the analog to Episode 36 – Dare to be Stupid.  That episode assumes we’re all shooting for a heroic end, what if you’re shooting for tragedy?Length: 42:08Hosts: Sean Nittner and Karen TwelvesShow Notes:[00:24] Intro to the show. Something wasn’t quite right after Dead of Winter[00:50] Reading from the post:  http://twelves.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/dead-of-winter-2010/[01:23] Hello from Karen. Her blog and soon to be appearance on 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction[02:05] How this is going to sound like Episode 36 – Dare to Be Stupid. And how it’s different.[03:11] Playing one-off (one shot?) games. No investment in them surviving the game.[03:36] I didn’t get all my character can do if I didn’t destroy them by the end.[04:30] But…but…it may not be the game everyone is playing. Is this what everyone wants?[06:21] Emo porn is its o

Welcome to the LOST EPISODE.  The one that should have come before, but didn’t. Because sometimes there are things lost between the GM and Player.  We’re talking about that communication.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Joe HarneyLength: 32:38Show Notes[00:24] Welcome Joe Harney.  The Lost Episode[00:45] When things are lost between the players and GMs.[01:13] GM as the window to the world. [1:40] You walk into a cargo bay.  What image in evoked?[01:58] The cargo bay of Serenity.[02:30] Value of a license setting. Establishes setting, tropes, situations,etc.[02:58] Challenge: License settings are great… assuming you know them! [03:28] Licensed settings require that you get everyone to a baseline understanding. [03:45] The Battletech universe. Over 100 books. Outside our normal scope of understanding.[04:20] Medieval Fantasy – more commonly understood setting and topes.[05:08] Using a setting with reflexive knowledge.[05:54] The strength of the World of Darkness settings.[06:25] The Tolkien Syndrome – Detailed descript

Welcome to episode 59.  Fattig and I are talking about Player versus Player awesomeness in games.  We’ve got fears, trepidations and we talk about how we’ve overcome then and the amazing stories we’ve seen come out of doing so. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 54:58 (yep, sorry another long one, but it is worth it) Show Notes [00:22] I stab your character in the back… Well I stab YOU in the face![01:17] Intro to the show: Player vs. Player [01:26] Player vs. Player baggage.  Lots of bad experiences.[04:11] But… pvp can make for the most awesome experiences in the game. Examples of great PVP. [05:06] Example the one: L5R – Al-Saleen and Tso Lou discuss balancing love on the edge of a blade.[09:02] Example the two: L5R – Rei and Tso Lou opposite sides of empire building. Why player versus player is awesome. [14:26] Knowing that players are your antagonists raises the stakes and the tension at the table.  Players are more alert and attentive throughout.[15:59] Players can do more when they have meanin

Welcome back to Narrative Control in 2011.  After a break for the holidays we're back and talking about Social Antagonits.  How to make them work and why the are so awesome. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 54:07 Inspired by Ryan Macklin's article on Making Sypathetic Antagonists Show Notes [00:22] Intro to the show.  Happy New Year![00:38] Topic: Social Antagonists News of the Episode [00:59] What just happened?  Dead of Winter[02:35] EndGame Minicon[03:19] Pimping Duneville.  Check out Smallville[05:17] Big Bad Con  Book Rooms here: Hilton Oakland Airport[05:59] Gazebo Deathmatch[06:56] RPG Crosstalk – A shared Podcasting Forum [09:04] Finding Ryan Macklin’s post on sympathetic antagonists via twitter.[11:14] A reading from Macklin’ post.  His three reasons for sympathetic antagonists![12:39] Our discussion drifted to Social Antagonists.  People you can’t punch in the face.[13:20] The recurring villain you don’t have to sell.  Conflicts bind the characters together rather than splitting them apar

This episode I've got Rob Donoghue and Judd Karlman on skype talking about the NewHotSexy Apocalypse World. Hosts: Sean Nittner, Rob Donoghue and Judd Karlman Length: 46:35 Show Notes [00:27] Sean sits down with Judd Karlman and Rob Donoghue to talk about Apocalypse World.   [01:03] What about Apocalypse World sparked interest? [01:28] Short answer: Vincent Baker, the author of Apocalypse World.   [02:55] On Vincent's writing style and how it informs the game.   [04:30] Enumerating your tools so you can use them better. [05:39] Judd feels Vincent moves share a kinship with Bangs from Sorcerer.   [06:17] These principles work in other games as well.   [08:35] It's OK to ponder what happens next as the MC. [08:55] Judd and Rob compare Apocalypse World to Dogs in the Vineyard, Vincent Baker's previous game.    [10:36] Using examples in game text. [11:10] Examples of not only how to do things right, but how things might go wrong.   [12:30] Writing for player versus player.   [13:33] The Apocalypse World character

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week we're talking about the sacred cows at the gaming table. What are the things that a player doesn't want to see changed about their character.  Brought to you by a conversation between Sean and Leonard Balsera.   Length: 38:59 [00:27] Welcome back to the show.  We talk about the RPGGeek's GoldenGeek Award.  We didn't win, but congratulations to YSDC: Cthulhu Podcast [01:28] Shout out to Leonard Balsera of Evil Hat, lead system designer of the Dresden Files RPG and assistant designer of Spirit of the Century.   [02:05] High stakes gambling in Vegas! Wagering on RPG minutiae at Neoncon. [03:37] The crux of the episode: What changes result in the character not being fun anymore [03:48] Advancement versus change [04:04] Examples of change in Golden Geek winner Dresden Files and in Dogs in the Vineyard. [05:28] Changing a core concept of a character.  Does it break the character? [06:27] What is fixed and what's open to change.  Fred Hicks' concept of "the cha

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode starts with a rather raspy intro as I lost my voice while doing the editing, but rest assured the main portion of the show was done with all voices intact. This episode Ryan Macklin came on to talk with me about a tweet he made regarding player trust.  It resonated with me and I knew it would make for a good show.  Hosts: Sean Nittner and Ryan MacklinLength: 33:27Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the show. Sean’s raspy voice[00:52] On with Ryan Macklin.  In front of the mic rather than in front of the coffee.  Responding to this tweet.[01:39] Player trust. What are we talking about? How did it resonate with Sean?[02:02] Reactions one: Players jealously guarding their parts of the story.[03:13] Reaction two: Players ignoring other player’s plot threads.[03:58] Ryan’s confessional – Way back when he was a wee babe. [04:32] What it feels like when people won’t validate your offers.  Why players turn away from each other?[05:19] When story elements have mechanical

Hi and welcome back to the second Narrative Control props show.  This episode we're continuing the conversation of props in your game.  We'll be talking about food, music, pictures, props you can hold and skype + wierd stuff!Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Show Notes [00:28] Intro to the show.  A continuation of Episode 53.  More props. [01:05] Food! Breaking bread while you bash some heads.  This segment will make you hungry. [02:09] Sushi in an L5R game.   [02:50] Sean brought coffee and doughnuts to his Dresden Files Chicago PD game.   [02:57] Division through beer: Sean's running of The Gift. [04:08] Be a rock star and drink a Rockstar.  Sean's Exalted Unplugged game. [04:26] Root beer kegs.  It turns out they contain a lot of root beer. [05:06] A little game music.   [05:15] Sean's Matrix game: even a ringtone can evoke a sensation.   [05:42] Recording audio for use in games.  Simulating a telepathic link in Mage: the Awakening [08:03] A game where music is central to the game: Sean's Exalted Unplugg

Hi and welcome to Narrative Control.  This episode and the next are all about props we’ve used in games.  This show we’re talking about maps, apparel and dressing up existing game elements like dice, character sheets, etc. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length:  34:00 Show Notes [00:28] Intro to the show.  Talking about props.  [01:40] We already talked about some of this in Episode 17 – Included props on the cheap, documents and customized character sheets. Check it out [03:30] Maps… the forgotten prop. [04:39] Map of Bel in Apocalypse World: [05:29] Island map for Agon.  Showed which gods held dominion. Blank version. [06:31] The Map of Rokugan showing off all the problems we had to handle.  [08:28] Territories in Mouse Guard. Big Map:  Little Map: [10:30] The map of our memories in 4E.  I put in mud pots for you Babe [11:50] Dress like the fiction. Costumes. [13:06] Gnome spies got (from such classics as Gnomes Like Us, Dr. Gnome and Gnome Impossible) got different hats for each importan

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week Fattig and I are responding to a blog post and follow up email from Loyd Case.  The topic: Indirect Effects.  Also, I’ve got some news about Neoncon, notably that I’m attending AND that I’ve started up a new show “This Just in… From Neconcon”.  Also, check out the official Iron GM.  The regional qualifiers tournament will be hosted at Neoncon. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 30:16 Show Notes [00:26] Introduction to the show – Indirect Effects from Improbable Insights. [00:46] I’m going to Neoncon and I’ve got a show to go with it. This Just in…. From Neoncon.  [01:00] First show is an interview with Rone Barton about Iron GM.  The contest is still open.  If you’re going to NeconCon, sign up![01:52] Who is Loyd Case? How I met him?[05:50] A reading from Loyd’s blog post. Or… where the show begins.[06:33] We’ll be talking about indirect effects in terms of conflicts were number of actions is limited. (Combat rounds, scene economy, etc)[08:10] Remi

Hi, welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week, in addition to a whole bunch of news, Fattig and I are talking about the Iron GM competition held at EndGame.  Isikoff vs. Macklin!Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 26:45Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the show.   Actually skip to 8:10 if you want to skip the news and get to the topic: Iron GM[00:55] We have a news segment?  [01:10] Narrative Control is up for a Golden Geek.  Please vote for us!  [02:11] Forums have changed.  Upgraded to a new version of Vanilla and moved hosts.[03:20] Game Chef.  Sean is an entrant. Check out my game “Burning Your Skin”[04:56] Big Bad Con – Less than a year away. [06:06] Fattig’s Life: Nothin[06:24] EndGame Minicon 10/16 [07:28] Today is 10-10-10 – Congratulations Erik and Ammy.[08:10] Iron GM – Our Topic[08:52] Iron GM:  The gauntlet is thrown – How it started.[10:15] Iron GM: Competition format compared to the show.[13:59] Iron GM:  The Play Experience – Made of awesome[19:33] Iron GM: Results – Brian Isikoff is the Ir

Hi, welcome back to Narrative Control.  It’s our 50th show! Commence fanfare now!  This episode is another response to a post from Rob Donoghue.  Why I try not to go to 11?Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 37:21Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the show.  We’re 50![00:47] I remember the excitement of my first con.  I want to bring it to you at Big Bad Con[01:17] Intro to the show. Why I try not to go to 11? By Rob Donoghue[02:29] Excerpt from Rob’s post[03:11] One of my favorite games to run is “The Gift” , which is all about instigating conflict. [04:13] This came to our attention because of a Fiasco game we were in. 4-Ever “I don’t think these guys really have it.”  Our outcomes were really mediocre but we loved it![08:02] We sustained excitement throughout the game because our victories were so minor (in comparison to other Fiasco games) but so important to our characters.[08:57] No murder and no sex in this game… it was downright puritanical for Fiasco.[09:29] Other Fiasco games where we have slapped on

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode I’ve got Shaun Hayworth on from This Modern Death and we’re talking about teamwork as it compares to niche protection in terms of giving each player a roll in the game and each character spotlight in the fiction.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Shaun HayworthLength: 38:24Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the show. Teamwork vs. niche protection[00:53] We have our obligatory bad joke. At least we kept in under a minute[01:25] Inspiration for this show. Our Atlantic City Dresden Files game.[03:40] Every game, at its core, has an intention that players get to play.[04:36] Original idea of how to keep everyone involved: niche protection.  Some examples: Dungeons and Dragons, White Wolf, and Shadowrun.[05:42] Where niche protection fails.  One role eclipses another or one role isn’t important in the game.[06:32] Example: Non-combat concepts in games that are built around a combat system.[08:33] One alternative to niche protection is to focus a game around a character’s motiva

Hi, welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode starts with a response to an interview with Kenneth Hite and continues with Fattig and I describing games and stories that scare us, and our attraction to them. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 48:38 Show Notes [00:27] Intro to the show.  Our response to Canon Puncture #57, an interview with Kenneth Hite. [01:19] A clip from the Canon Puncture show.  “What is it about Cthulhu that is so grabby to gamers?” [02:14] Ever get the feeling that nothing you do matters? Why we’re drawn to this subject. [03:04] Do things that are meaningful and exciting to you and your life will have meaning… or it won’t. [04:13] Referencing the Canon Puncture show.  Horror techniques in the latter half of the episode. http://www.canonpuncture.com/?p=57 [04:48] Why do we come to horror in the first place? [05:36] We tell ourselves stories to marginalize our own fears and separate them. [08:00] A common sense of insignificance. [09:11] An apathy we experience know

Hi, Welcome to the show.  This episode Fattig and I are talking about another Rob Donoghue article: Druid’s vs. Color.  What happens when the description of a power all flavor and has no mechanical effect?Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 24:38[00:29] Intro to the show.  Flavor vs. Crunch.  Inspired by Rob Donoghue ’s post[00:46] Excerpt from Rob’s article. http://rob-donoghue.livejournal.com/335247.html[01:56] Rob’s stuff. Don’t read it all or your head will explode as per Panty Explosion [03:09] The cons of a disconnect between a powers description and its effect: breaks suspension of disbelief.[04:18] Pro: gives players total liberty to add in any flavor or description to the game.[05:45] A moment of silence[05:47] Ahhh… the Druid.  I loved the wild shape power so much… and then I found it did nothing (or Rob told me so).[06:67] Wild shaping doesn’t mean anything.  You can be a Bearmotar![07:44] Bearmotar can make diplomacy rolls![08:21] Beast form powers balanced with human form powers[08:32] Sea

Welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week Fattig and I are responding to an email from Adam Thoma about using a resources stat in game.     We’ve got some insights from our own games.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 30:41Show Notes[00:29] Intro to the show[00:57] Happy Birthday Narrative Control. We’re two years old.[01:08] Greetings from Sean and Fattig.  [01:33] Go Play SF Bay Events. Checked them out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109865939025549 Twitter: http://twitter.com/GoPlaySFBay  Website: http://goplaysfbay.com/[02:54] Played a little Apocalypse World with Carl Rigney. http://www.lumpley.com/apocalypse/[03:29] Announcing Big Bad Con (www.bigbadcon.com).  Like:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Bad-Con/138119056223243?ref=ts  Tweet @bigbadcon[05:09] Fattig has moved[05:29] Sean is working out.[05:50] Email from Adam Thoma – How do you use resources in your games.[07:51] What is the effect using a resources stat? Pros!  [12:40] Where a resources mechanic has caused f