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Gamecraft 2.0: Power to the Players |  |
I distinctly remember Monte Cook talking about how Arcana Unearthed was geared toward experienced GMs, and deliberately left certain things vague in order to allow the GMs to fill that stuff in for themselves. I’m a big fan of this methodology, and I am using a similar methodology in Gamecraft 2.0. The difference is that I’m not just trying to empower the GM; I’m also trying to empower the players.
What do I mean by that? In general, I like RPGs and rules systems that give the players a lot of power over the direction that the story takes. I like rules that allow players to affect the story in meaningful ways. I don’t mean to say that the players’ actions aren’t meaningful; I think that they are, perhaps, the most meaningful things that happen in the game. However, I like allowing the players to affect how the world reacts to their presence. I like allowing them to step in and do my job for a couple of minutes, once in a while. Serenity’s Plot Points are a good example of a mechanic that does this.
I’m building Gamecraft 2.0 from the ground up with that in mind. The combat and damage system allows players a lot of control over how damage affects them, provided they can provide justification. And this, really, is another thing I like: I like the players coming up with new ideas, and justifying them to me, trying to get me to allow them. I like it because it encourages more of that behavior, since I usually allow these ideas when I like the justification behind them. And I like it because it encourages roleplaying by giving a tangible reward for a good bit of roleplay.
As I create Gamecraft 2.0, I’m going to write little snippets like that that show you what I’m thinking while I do it. I like sharing my point of view on these types of things, and I also encourage feedback.
