From: [n--e--k] at [athena.mit.edu] (Neelakantan Krishnaswami) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy Subject: [FAQ] Rec.games.frp.advocacy Glossary Date: 17 Jun 1996 16:29:56 GMT This FAQ has really gotten as long as is reasonable for a single post, and I don't really want to see it grow into a monster multi-part document that no one will ever read. Any ideas on what to do? ---- Here's a modified version of a glossary I came up with last year. I was unable to keep it up because of time pressure, and I expect time pressure to hurt me now, as well, so don't expect me to maintain it very well. :( The FAQ has three parts: Types of Games, Narrative Stances, and Miscellaneous Terms. ***Types of Games*** These terms can be combined to describe the type of game in more detail. For example, a game might be freeform diced or diceless simulationist game. diced game -- any game that uses randomizers to resolve action. This term usually, but not always, refers to a RPG. Examples: Over the Edge, GURPS, Everway diceless game -- any game that does not use dice. This term usually, but not always, refers to an RPG. Examples: Amber, Theatrix, Diplomacy freeform game -- RPGs which have few mechanics, and rely heavily on player and GM common sense to resolve actions. Note that that a freeform game can be either diced or diceless, and that there are diced *and* diceless non-freeform games. Examples: FUDGE, Over the Edge, Everway mechanics-heavy RPG -- any RPG that has many many mechanics for resolving actions. That is to say, there are game mechanics that deal with a great many situations. Examples: RoleMaster, GURPS, Hero plot-based game -- a game played so that a good story with strong plot are formed by the characters' actions. The GM pays attention to drama and tension, and tries to make sure the game has closure. This does not require that a GM have a particular plot he forces the players through, but that he make sure that there is *a* plot at the end of the game. Plot-based is NOT a synonym for scripted. scripted game -- a game in which the GM decides all scenes ahead of time, and the PCs have to go through the events in order. This is the design for many modules, and is often referred to perjoratively as ``railroading.'' simulationist game -- a game in which the objective is to make as accurate as possible a simulation of the game world. To this end, the only events that happen must arise naturally from the situation, This does not necessarily require mechanics or dice -- it is the intent of the players and GM that determines the type of game. ***Narrative Stances*** This was first formulated by Kevin Hardwick and Sarah Kahn, and was so useful that it immediately became part of the jargon of the group. This section was written by Sarah Kahn. Actor Stance The position from which the game is viewed when the player makes a meta-game decision to further his portrayal of his character by consciously attempting to mimic the character's actions, tonal quality, facial expressions, gestures, or other physical manifestations of character. This is an important aspect of LARP, but even in table-top gaming it often manifests: when, for example, a player stands up in a sedentary table-top game, it is often an indication that he has momentarily adopted the stance of Actor. The Actor Stance is the one in which the player contemplates what he can do to portray his character more effectively to the other participants in the game. It is therefore by nature a meta-game stance, removed from the internal reality of the game. Audience Stance The position from which the player observes, enjoys, and evaluates the game or aspects of it as himself, rather than as his character. This is also a meta-game stance, as it refers to the *player's* viewing and interpretation of the game, which may be very different from the character's. This stance is the stance from which things like dramatic irony or historical accuracy are judged [I liked that part a lot, Neel]. It is also the stance adopted whenever the player witnesses an in-game event of which his character is utterly unaware. Author Stance The position from which the player evaluates the game with an eye towards changing it or affecting its development. This is the stance which must be adopted for any world-building to take place. It is also the stance from which a GM might introduce plot elements to the game. The entire process of character creation requires the adoption of the stance of Author, as do the vast majority of meta-game decisions. "What system shall we use?," "What is the reason for all these characters to travel together?," and "What in-character reason can we come up with for Bob's character to leave the game, now that Bob is moving to Alaska?" are all questions which can only be answered through the adoption of the Authorial stance. Like the previous three stances, the Author Stance exists outside of the in-game reality. It is an external position from which the game is viewed for the purpose of making decisions about its progress and its play. In-Character Stance The view of the game from within the inside of the game world and its reality, usually from within the mind of a character living within that reality. This is the stance of the *character,* not the player, and it encompasses only those things seen from the character's point of view. It is the stance commonly associated with "play itself," as opposed to the meta-game, and is the position which the player adopts in order to play his character believably and satisfyingly. In any RPG, the participants will leap back and forth between these four stances so quickly and intuitively that they are likely to be unaware that they are doing so at all. The player who omits description of his character's trip to the bathroom, to use a well-worn example, must by necessity have adopted the stance of Author momentarily in order to make this decision. The decision having been made, he is then likely to jump back into the IC Stance. In many cases, these jumps in perspective are made so instinctively and rapidly that they go unnoticed on any conscious level. In other cases, the jumps from one stance to another may be quite obvious, as when players are forced to spend a long period of time in the Audience stance when they would far rather be spending more time viewing the game from the IC position. Certain gaming techniques may serve to emphasize one stance over the others. One example of this is the technique of "cut-away scenes," which forces the players to adopt the Audience Stance. Another is the use of private scenes and "cones of silence," which by restricting player knowledge of information not known to their characters, attempts to reduce the degree to which the players adopt the Audience Stance and to keep them more firmly rooted in the IC Stance. Nonetheless, these four stances are integral to the medium of table-top RPG, and while certain types of games may privilege some stances over others, it is the interaction between the four that largely defines RPG as a medium distinct from any other. ***Miscellaneous*** group contract -- The set of conventions the players and GM agree on. This can be things like ``The GM will fudge things so PCs won't die pointless deaths,'' or ``This is a hack & slash D&D game; don't worry about consistency or characterization,'' or even ``Don't let the cat in the room while we play -- she bites legs.'' mechanic -- In this forum, a mechanic is usually taken to mean a formal method of resolution. A statement like "low roll good, lower roll better" is not considered a mechanic unless it is spelled out just how low is good. On the other hand, a statement like "a 02 or less is a critical" is a mechanic. mechanics-light -- synonym for freeform. metagame -- dealing with concerns of the players and GM, as opposed to the characters in the game. Examples are genre, mechanics, and spotlight time. quantification -- using numbers or ranked adjectives to rate some aspect of a character. spotlight time -- the amount of time a player is the center of attention in the group. ----- Neel