Friday, 6 April 2007
Checkmate
Martin Ralya, of Treasure Tables, offers a term from the classic game of chess in relation to PC death or campaign ending events, check.
The comments about the merit, or lack thereof, of meta-gaming I found interesting, if only because I never thought of considering the very framework of a game, the rules, out of play during a session, as a GM for certain.
There are different styles of play, and every one abhors the rules laywer—except maybe players of Star Fleet Battles—but everyone needs to be able to have at least a modicum of familiarity with a ruleset. And that ends my stance on meta-gaming, and brings me full circle in light of my most recent session, the topic of PC death is fresh on my mind.
WFRP provides a rule framework for PC death, the Fate Point. The idea being that when a character suffers a death blow, the player can opt to spend a Fate Point, a Get out of Hell free card if you will.
WFRP provides this framework, some games do it similiarly, others not at all. Yet regardless, it is part of a social contract, either written or not, players should be having fun, not thinking about the death of a hard-rolled PC with an investment of imagination. The GM is the final arbiter of second-chances. This is not to say that if the player insists on diving into a pool infested with sharks—sharks with lasers strapped to their head—that that PC should continue living: stupid deserves a just reward.
And what about the gray area: when a PC finds himself held at gun point (gun to the head) and the party must decide to comply with demands being made by a villain, or do as heroes do...as a GM do you pull the trigger? I have been on the wrong end of the muzzle as a player where the GM did just that, pulled the trigger. Is meta-gaming in play, or out of the question? No one called check; the situation spoke for itself. I recall lots of rapid fire discussion of just what to do by the other players...but the villain stacked the deck in the GM's eye. Checkmate. I was rolling a new character. No fate points.
I feel that players and GM should see a game and session holistically: roleplaying and imagination meeting the framework of the game, always trying to reach on goal: having fun. ~o)
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