GMs, do you ever give your players a peek behind the screen, let them know about the mechanics of a scene or explain the motives of an NPC or details they'll never find out otherwise, or do you keep everything secret?
Players, do you like knowing more about the details of the games you play or do you prefer not to know to stay more in the moment?
@cynical13 When I'm a GM, I often tell players, "There's no more information in the room you're exploring."
If players want more,I add settings on the fly.
However, this may be possible because they are friends who have a certain level of trust.
@Qtatsuakichaos I was thinking more about do you ever talk to your players after a session or a campaign and explain enemy motivations or why you played NPCs the way you do?
Like my Pathfinder game on Sunday, the party was going to either try and bargain with an adolescent red dragon or enter combat with it. They had been plotting and planning for a week. They decided to try diplomacy and make a deal to stay out of their way in exchange for treasure. The dragon went for it.
What I explained to them afterwards was that the dragon was always going to try and bargain with them. When the players started with that, the encounter went surprisingly well, as far as they were concerned. They had a laugh because they had been sweating the whole encounter for a week out of game.
@cynical13 I like to talk about things behind the scenes, so I often explain things.
It's fun for me to think about why NPCs do what they do (have this kind of personality),
and I end up telling my friends about it.
I'm a Japanese TRPG player, and I almost exclusively play Japanese games.
Many modern Japanese games are often designed on the principle that combat is an absolute must.
This has the advantage that the GM requires less data to prepare before the session.
However, players of historical "not-Japanese" games like D&D may feel that there is less freedom.
Actually I listening to your story, I was surprised to find that there are so many options for action.
@Qtatsuakichaos I tend to prefer games that have less rigid mechanics that don't have rules for every situation. I feel that those games can lead to players think up actions that are less limited to attacks and can come up with social answers, ways to avoid combat, or giving the players as many tactical advantages as possible.
One way I saw different kinds of combat oriented games were described as combat as sport, where combat itself is the end goal and you are focused on whittling down hit points with damage until you win or lose.
Another way is combat as war. This was more typical with older editions of D&D. You think about ways to make a fight as tactically advantageous before you fight it and focus on character survival. We tend towards this style.
I have played many kinds of games. Some are very combat oriented. Some have combat elements but leave room for alternative resolutions, such as social reactions. Others still are almost entirely social.
What games do you typically play or run?
@cynical13 Many games that were popular in Japan a while ago focused on creating the strongest character by combining multiple attack skills.
This is similar to competitive card games such as MTG.
As a result, much of the gameplay has focused on combat.
The current TRPG scene in Japan is very unique, and the emphasis is on the scenario.
TRPGs are used as a tool for everyone to play emotional scenarios.
There are craftsmen who create emotional scenarios, and there is a website that collects them.
Players can select their favorite scenario and play it, just like at a video rental store.
Some of them don't require combat, but there are still few solutions.
I'd like to introduce the games I'm playing, but I don't have enough letter to enter.
Nerds can't stop talking about the things he loves.
@cynical13 This conversation was very interesting to me as well.
I'm not very familiar with games outside of Japan, having only played D&D and Paranoia once or twice.
I look forward to hearing more from you.
@Qtatsuakichaos 100% the same! I have enjoyed learning about different games over the years, and getting to try a great many of them.
I had heard that Call of Cthulhu was popular in Japan, and I knew that there were cultural differences, but I didn't realize to what extent.
It sounds like it's popular to play out more emotionally charged and combat-heavy adventures, which is a bit surprising on first thought, but does seem to fit with some of the tropes I've seen in anime. It does make a fair amount of sense.
@cynical13 I was wondering whether to talk about Call of Cthulhu in my earlier reply.
That's because in Japan it's so completely different that it requires a whole text to explain it.
That's right, the era of emotional scenarios that I was talking about is brought by the CoC trend.
By the way, I have something to ask you.
One of my favorite table talks is "YU YAKE KOYAKE."
This is a game where you play as an animal that can transform into a human in a rural town and peacefully solve town troubles.
I heard some time ago that this was translated into English under the name "Golden Skies Story."
Do you know this game?
I don't know anything about publishing outside of my country, and I don't know if this was published commercially.
Perhaps it was simply translated by an individual to share with his or her peers.
And since it's old information, no one may remember it anymore.
If you have heard anything about this please let me know.
Jeff
鏨五所川原