Game Play - Immersive Gameplay

First, let us say there are many ways to game. You should use a style you enjoy. After all, that's the whole point.

That being said, we'd like to talk a little about what we believe provides for a very enjoyable role-playing experience - immersive game play. We prefer deep and involved character development, storylines and player/NPC interaction. This typically means we focus more on plotlines in individual sessions and broad story arcs in campaigns more so than tactical development and combat. Don't get us wrong, we like to bash in an orc's head as much as the next guy, but we also enjoy crafting the story so that when the fights ultimately come, they are more intense and meaningful to the players and the characters.

Think of it this way. Two action movies might have an equal number of fight sequences but one you forget almost as soon as you leave the theatre while you remember the other for years and years. Cinematic production value helps, but in the better film, you probably cared about the characters and you wanted the heroes to win. This immersion in and commitment to the film is almost always due to quality writing, acting and plot development. The same thing is true in role-playing. Quality storylines and character development make everything more meaningful, including combat.

We're not saying you should become your characters - in fact, please don't - but we do suggest there is something to be gained by approaching your characters like an actor approaches his role. Immersing yourself in the character lets you experience the role-playing world in a new way.

If you're saying to yourself, "this is how I always play," then great, you play like we do. However, if you find your campaigns focus more on hack and slash than character interaction or creative tactical planning, then perhaps there is the opportunity to try something new.

So what does this mean for actual game play? First, the rules are guidelines. If that idea makes your teeth hurt, that's ok. You can still use Nobis products quite effectively in your campaigns and we created the Reputation System specifically to make sure you could begin incorporating deeper character interaction while keeping entirely within the established rules. However, if you agree that deviating from the guidelines every so often is just fine, then we have some game play suggestions. If your players enjoy playing their parts, let them. If a player confronts an angry mob and the player makes an impassioned speech to appease them, you can certainly give the player a bonus to a Diplomacy or Perform (oratory) check or better yet, just keep the dialog going. If your player convinces you, feel free to let her convince the crowd too. Of course, there are some exceptions. If the plot requires that the mob cannot be appeased then they can't be appeased, no matter how well the player rolls or how convincingly she speaks. Otherwise, play it out. Why waste time rolling to see if the character makes a rousing speech when the player just made one?

This all really comes down to conflict resolution. Combat is one form of conflict resolution but not the only one. Assume for a moment that your players are asked to stop a band of goblins from attacking a town. If they outwit the goblins or hack them to pieces the conflict has still been resolved, and perhaps equally well. In either situation, we would give the players experience for defeating the goblins or more specifically, for resolving the conflict.

This same flexibility in conflict resolution extends to combat as well. Of course, we don't suggest letting your players convince you they hit their targets, but if a player wants to do something unorthodox or not explicitly covered by the rules, as long as it's not too far-fetched why not play it out and see what happens. There are so many skills available in the standard rule set you can almost always find something that applies to what the player wants to attempt.

As a GM you are first a storyteller. You aren't trying to beat the players; you're trying to create a game play environment. Dice are just a way to handle probability and conflict resolution in a fair manner. If your players can solve problems in other ways, we say go for it.

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