[Lacuna] OK so I tried it... [SPOILER ALERT]

[Ron Edwards]

quote]the reason I'm "arguing", is that I think that Lacuna allows for a mode of play where both GM and players contribute to the back-story during the game

true, there's nothing in the rules to support this, but they also don't state the opposite

so why not?other<major<suggesting<

then, if we can agree that Lacuna can be played like this, I'd like to talk about the possibility of playing the game with a "mixed" group: some players contributing to the back-story, and others notyou say<

I must confess I have a hard time wrapping my head around a Sim game where the players have authority over the back-story, but if you say it can be done, I believe you

out of curiosity, could you provide an example, or a link or something?

or should I just look up Dead of Night?

Dead of Night<

finally, on a related topic: if players can't contribute to the back-story, how does Lacuna facilitate Nar?

the only thing I see are the Static rules, that make characters choose whether to stick with an incompetent or even hostile Company

(and I see that Nar does not equate "players contribute to back-story", but "players contribute to back-story on a succesful roll" does seem to me like a Nar-facilitating rule)techniques<without<were<says<lot<answer<becauseother<major<suggesting<

then, if we can agree that Lacuna can be played like this, I'd like to talk about the possibility of playing the game with a "mixed" group: some players contributing to the back-story, and others notyou say<

I must confess I have a hard time wrapping my head around a Sim game where the players have authority over the back-story, but if you say it can be done, I believe you

out of curiosity, could you provide an example, or a link or something?

or should I just look up Dead of Night?

Dead of Night<

finally, on a related topic: if players can't contribute to the back-story, how does Lacuna facilitate Nar?

the only thing I see are the Static rules, that make characters choose whether to stick with an incompetent or even hostile Company

(and I see that Nar does not equate "players contribute to back-story", but "players contribute to back-story on a succesful roll" does seem to me like a Nar-facilitating rule)techniques<without<were<says<lot<answer<because

[JC]

hey Ron,

thanks for another detailed answer

I definitely feel we're getting somewhere

Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

Quote

My reading of Lacuna is that it explicitly says, "This game book does not provide a back-story or explanation, but it does provide an immense amount of stuff that's going on. The GM will have to fill in the gap of the big picture by himself." This isn't actually all that wild or kooky; it's pretty common among games written in the early 1990s, for instance. I think the book is pretty clear that playing requires the GM to bust his butt, either before or during play, to generate some semblance of sense "behind it all."
Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

Now for a subtopic of this issue, based on your examples and phrasing. I noticed that your examples are immediately situational, like being followed by person A, not really back-story. We should distinguish between (a) being able to bring Agent Chambers into the scene via a roll, which is Situational Authority in my terms; and (b) stating that Agent Chambers is trying to assassinate a given character, via a roll, which I call Content Authority.
Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

(snip stuff about how allowing players the option to add to the back-story can be functional)
Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

(snip how players can contribute to back-story in Sim games)

interesting!

Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

(snip how Lacuna facilitates Nar)
Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 22, 2008, 09:41:08 AM

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[FredGarber]

I'm trying to follow this, and the phrase "Back Story" is getting me confused.

Are the players trying to muck around and Create a Past and History for their characters?
Or are they mucking around with the Setting of Lacuna?
Or are they mucking around with the current Plotline of the GM?
Or are they mucking around with the Motivations of the NPC (Mentor) characters?

-Fred

[JC]

hey Fred,

I'm trying to follow this, and the phrase "Back Story" is getting me confused.

Are the players trying to muck around and Create a Past and History for their characters?
Or are they mucking around with the Setting of Lacuna?
Or are they mucking around with the current Plotline of the GM?
Or are they mucking around with the Motivations of the NPC (Mentor) characters?

well, the way I see it, or at least saw it initially, the players would have full freedom to do any of the above

they just wouldn't be allowed to change anything that's been previously established in play

that means that anything that has not yet been established in play is up for grabs by either the GM or the players

I don't want to put words in Ron's mouth, but essentially, I believe he's saying "sure, you can play that way, but it's probably not what the game was designed for, and it's probably not the best way to for it to facilitate Nar"

[Ron Edwards]

Hi JC,

Damned interesting thread you started.

I wrote, and you quoted,

Quote

Quote

Quote

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[JC]

hey Ron


about players contributing to back-story being bad for Sorcerer's Nar etc.

OK, I see the distinction a little better now

thanks for clarifying that



about spoiler warnings

it's true that I had Lacuna's background in mind when I included that spoiler flag

however, the aspect I was most anxious not to spoil was the Static mechanic



about being sure if Lacuna is best played without players contributing to the back-story

I plan to investigate this in the future, by giving the players the option to contribute to the back-story if they like

I'll let you know how it pans out!