Victorian Horror Game

[Grujav]

The narrative token is something quite different I would say, but also possible, if you want the GM to have more chance/opportunity to narrate (I would usually aim at decreasing the GMs power), another way could just be to have more than one card representing the GM in the narrative deck?

The idea of an extra card I think is my favorite. While it is still random chance, it does give that little extra boost to the narrative control of the GM.

About the loosely defined narration mechanic: You are going to give guidelines in the rules text right? If you are I would like to read those at some point.

Most certainly there will be guidelines, more explicit then those found in Panty Explosion.

This does bring up the question of mechanic for story elements. Castlin's comments can be used to deal with this, so let me address those issues.

I have a shaky knowledge of Tarot, but I believe a reading involves putting the cards down in some pattern and interpreting them after the person who is being read has shuffled/cut the deck. Now, what about for a narrative resolution mechanic, the GM starts the dealing and carries it along, describing an action or event with each card that is put down. It would have to be a balance between what the card represents and what the GM wants the story to be about, but perhaps we'll allow the GM to stack the deck somewhat before a session.

The type and complexity of the pattern is many and varied. There are simpler Tarot readings where the pattern is only two (I think perhaps there is ones where only one is used, but I'm not sure on this) cards are used. This idea of yours is interesting and deals with the story element problem. That being...

I am describing my character walking down the path and say she sees her brother. Player Not-Me says, "No, its way to early to be introducing your brother into the game." We discuss as a group, there is still indecision, its decided it will be randomized. We cut the deck declaring high/low or what have you. Using Castlin's idea above one would use cards to introduce such story elements. Interesting, has potential, still chewing it over.

I'm also thinking this could work define an entire session perhaps. It would split the control about evenly between the dealer and all the other players. What you can do with a card is defined by its suite and number. I do like the idea of the major arcana being supernatural events; their relative rarity would be appropriate for a horror game.

We had just talked about doing Tarot (and had even mused about Ouija board) readings for the upcoming game story/session setup. My only worry with the way Castlin has described here is it seems similar to some card games that facilitate story construction (often using cards for scene stealing and narrative rights). While I enjoy those games, its too "gamey" for the way I like to RP. This of course is just a matter of taste and the concept is still very valid and can be a useful tool to assist everyone get into the feel of the game and be part of the process.

More ideas to chew over.