#RPGaDay2021 - 3 - Tactic

 

Day 3 in the #RPGaDay2021 House

TACTIC. Something that can be very important in some games, less so in overs. Generally, the more rolls that you need to resolve it, the more important your tactic or approach is. With a narrative engine, you'll build an overall approach, and usually resolve it in one (or at least a few rolls). The minutiae of the approach matters more when you've more crunch in the game (or at least when that crunch gives you options beyond grinding out a result). 

Take D&D for example. In my Curse of Strahd game, we had the encounter with the Hags where the players had their characters charge straight in, despite knowing that this was an incredibly dangerous encounter. They nearly got wiped out; no one actually got to death saves but they ended up retreating. The next time, they used tactics, dividing the opposition and being much more clever about their approach.

Sometimes the players get the tactics spot on. I ran a heist game in Traveller one convention and they managed to very cleverly line everything up, and when it came to the dice rolls we ended up with the characters pretty much pulling it off perfectly. An anti-climax for me, but a fun win with one over the referee(*) for the players.

I like it when the players are clever and use tactics, even when it goes wrong. It shows that they're engaging with the game engine as well as the story.

3 August 2021