The Puddle without player narration

[jhawkins]

I've been using the Puddle without having much story-narration by players. So if the player rolls the dice and succeeds, their character manages to do whatever they were trying to do.

I suppose this is a misue of the system, but I have to say that it works very well. I've run a few one-shot scenarios, where the focus was definitely on fun and a fast pace, and the players and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Cheers, Jim

[James V. West]

Do you feel that by not doing the Monologues the game flows faster? Are players able to dictate any facts about their success? Just curious.

[jhawkins]

Do you feel that by not doing the Monologues the game flows faster?

I haven't actually played or run Puddle with players doing Monologues, so I couldn't really say if it's any quicker.

Are players able to dictate any facts about their success?

Not formally but if a player, any player, comes up with something good then yes, I'd include it.

Chers, Jim

[James V. West]

So you're running it as a straight-up exploration-style game where the GM pretty much runs the show? Cool.  I don't know if anyone has done it that way before.

[Cassidy]

Sometimes when we're playing I've found that players may sometimes (almost subconsciously) waive their right to guide an event. The GM or Player asks for a roll, the player rolls and then looks at GM questioningly as if to enquire "Well ... what happens."

That's cool. Maybe the player picks up that the GM has a particular idea for the outcome that they want to hear and are happy to let the GM run with it. Any player 'facts' as such are mostly inferred from the players comments prior to the roll and the GM weaves them into their narrative.

This 'waiving' of rights to guide the outcome doesn't happen all the time with us; at a rough guess about 25% of the time. The rest of the time if a player wins the right to guide the outcome of an event then they do so.