So over the past couple of days i have been going back over a bunch of old threads trying to find some sort of comprehensive (heck, i would settle for something that even appears remotely comprehensive) list of Techniques and Ephemera, so far i have come up empty. My specific purpose is to examine what Technicques and Ephemera promote
both Narrativist and Gamist play depending upon specific application. This is in service to my thoughts on Trust and Betrayal which has become something of a minor obsession. I want to develop it to a point where it allows simultaneous Gamist and Narrativist play such that certain Instances of play may not be identifiable as either primarily Gamist or primarily Narrativist.
Basically i am searching for specific methods to encourage addressing Premise as the focus of Step On Up.
That said, i realized that a specific catalog (or inventory if you will) of Techniques and Ephemera would be useful in and of itself. Unfortunately, my search-fu, as well as my familiarity with threads discussing either topic is so limited as to make my efforts mostly useless. So, my questions are:
- Specifically, what Techniques and related Ephemera facilitate both Gamist and Narrativist play?
- Is there a list somewhere, and if so where?
- What Techniques and Ephemera have been identified generally? (I.e. not simply as relates to my first question)[/list:u]
I hope i am not causing hands to be thrown up in exasperation "Not again!". I also realize that i may be somewhat off-base in thinking that some Techniques and Ephemera support certain CAs better than other CAs. If so, i would love to be corrected.
Thomas
Thomas, a Technique is a rule. Like, "if you roll Agility under your modified Hit Threshhold, your character hits" is a Technique. So is "you modify your Hit Threshhold by your Encumbrance Penalty plus the Active Attention Required rating (AARr) of your character's surroundings." There are one zillion bajillion Techniques, conservatively, with new ones being written every day. In fact, "Technique" specifically includes unwritten rules.
And you're right - you're off-base in thinking that some Techniques and Ephemera support some CAs better than others. Instead, some combinations of Techniques and Ephemera in action over time support some CAs better than others.
"A combination of Techniques and Ephemera in action over time" is the same thing as "a game in play."
-Vincent
Hiya,
As far as naming sorts and types of Techniques and Ephemera go, I think that most of the relevant terms in the current Glossary are tagged as such.
Best,
Ron
Thanks to both Vincent and Ron. I am going to put this on hold for a bit while i take another look at my understanding of the terms Technique and Ephemera and while i go over the Glossary again.
Thomas