Paving the way versus “earning” it

I was working on a facet of the Dream Factory 2.0 improved Boon system, talking it over with some of my friends and playtesters, when the subject naturally turned to how the acquisition of a new Boon, such as increased wealth, a new magical artifact, or a powerful ally, is justified.  And quickly I was presented with one of gaming’s most common conflations – paving the way for a story event or change versus earning it.

There are quite a few gamers out there (you know who you are, grin) that are all about the pursuit of conquest – not within the game, but over it.  That is, these conquest driven gamers are looking to prove themselves in these games – they want to know that they earned their character’s successes in the story – or conversely, should failure occur, they want it to be because they as a player earned that failure.  To a great extent, there is an element of pride involved – that in “beating” the game, they can claim a personal victory, not unlike the victories claimed in all kinds of games from sports to chess to solitaire.

There’s nothing wrong with conquest gamers.  I personally am friends with many of them.  But there’s another way, a way that interests me much more deeply whereas conquest gaming leaves me cold.  A way that posits as the fundamental goal not the satisfaction of victory, but the extraordinary experience of being a part of creating and experiencing a deep and fulfilling story.

Even with narrative gaming, you can’t hand out desired story outcomes like water.  Not because the players haven’t earned them, but for a much more important reason – it’s boring!  A compelling narrative must involve elements of suspense, drama, and a dash of unpredictability – for this is what takes all the masterfully crafted elements and binds us irrevocably to them.

And then there’s consistency and cohesion to consider – or to put another way, the very integrity of the story itself.  Not integrity as in honor and ethics – though that’s good to have in your game.  No, integrity as in the basic structural soundness of the story, its stability and believability.  Nothing will ruin that faster than permitting story outcomes and events that do not have sufficient in-game justification.

You just can’t shove anything you want into the story and not damage it, unless you take time and care to make sure that it fits – that it feels natural.  So if the player wants to buy a Boon of having a powerful new Ally – perhaps a highly placed government official or something – you need to pave the way for the introduction of this new thing.  It’s not about the player earning it – although they are paying Karma points for it.  But Karma points are not enough and neither entitles nor requires damage to the integrity of the story.

Everything in the story is this way.  Every event, every addition, deletion, or modification to the story and its elements needs to be done thoughtfully and with respect to the fundamental wellbeing of the story’s integrity.  This to me is the cardinal rule of running role-playing games – well, narrative ones, anyways.

It’s true that purchasing an approved Boon guarantees the player of the outcome of getting what it represents in game.  But it does not give the player a shortcut, a way to skip having to pave the way for its introduction.  It simply makes a certainty out of a possibility, and engages the GM on the player’s side to help them pave the way for it to manifest.

Whether or not players are involved in personal conquest, always, always, always, pave the way for each and every in-game occurrence that needs it.  Your gaming experience will thank you for it.