While some RPG sessions may thrive on unstructured character interactions, social skill dice help balance the expression of a player’s character, especially when personal attributes differ from those of their in-game persona. Games like D&D simplify this with one roll, while World of Darkness offers a layered approach. However, over-mechanizing social actions can restrict the narrative, calling for periodic evaluation and ensuring that mechanics serve the game’s intended exploration while allowing for character growth and varied interactions.
Search Results for: genre police
Genre Police: Role Assumptions
Lately I have been thinking about social interactions and personal relationships in roleplaying games, which lead to an interesting discussion with some of my players.
Genre Police: Friendship Is M…echanical
When we look at D&D, often a narrative about a group is about found family or how outcasts come together to trust each other.
Genre Police: High Esteem
So let’s take a look at how we can boost players’ love of your game.
Genre Police: I’m In Charge!
I want to now look at a few other ways hierarchical structures in RPG groups can sometimes cause conflict at the table.
Genre Police: Who’s In Charge?
So often, a leadership position in an RPG can be a thankless task.
Genre Police: Joining The Agency
One of the idioms about GMing games is about making sure your players have agency. And in basic principle this a very good idea.Â
Genre Police: Reading The Intent
It might be obvious but I think it is worth mentioning that any roleplaying game ruleset are a ‘text’, much as we would look at any sort of media.
Genre Police: What’s For Who
I recently had an interesting conversation about flow, and I want to share it because I think it reveals some things about RPG that we don’t talk about often.Â
Genre Police: Over The Line
Games become info dumps for new players and massive lore searches for existing players.