Hybrids - looking for an understanding of

[Walt Freitag]

Stuart, you make a good case. I agree with the idea of distinct types of hybrid play as you describe. And I've always maintained that congruent play, if it exists (and I think we're reaching consensus that it does) is either one specific subtype of hybrid play, or something that's not quite hybrid play at all.

Ron, thanks for the clarification on the "is there such a thing as an S decision?" issue and the non-atomicity of GNS. I now believe I fully understand your position on this. For the time being, I neither agree nor disagree with it, pending further thought.

[An aside -- My efforts to describe and understand Congruence are motivated by wishing to account for it, having observed it in actual play. I'm very interested in understanding its downsides (iow, though I do see it as a useful tool in the toolbox I'm not trying to promote it beyond its merits). Examples like the Hatfield-McCoy scenarios and understanding the adaptive nature of compromises like "no strong inter-character conflicts" in an environment of incoherent systems and haphazardly-drifting play could extend the practical applicability of the GNS model. I'm thinking, specifically, of eventually being able to drop the defensive "if your play works for you then you can ignore GNS" shield and being able to talk about, "here are some compromises you might not even be aware you're making, which you have the option to dispense with once you put into effect that System Does Matter."]

The interesting thing about TRoS as a hybrid example is that the Sim-heavy and Nar-promoting aspects are both wrapped in hard mechanics. If some groups prioritize the Sim over Nar and others the inverse, reflected largely in how they handle the use of SAs within the leeway the rules allow, then by a sort of fixed point theorem there should be a midpoint where S-N are in equal balance. That point probably is unstable as Ron claims, but since all this is happening through mechanics, adding a mechanical "governor" (think steam engines) seems at least a theoretical possibility.

- Walt