32 – Intuitive Simulationism (or “The Game Master & His Emissary”)

The unique gift that RPGs can give, the thing that no other medium is capable of to its degree, is that the players can dwell in a world of cause & effect, free from any imposed plot or scripts. The habit started, I believe, with most of the old D&D modules. Escaping it is hard, but certainly worth it.

"Better with Bacon" had me on his pod to chat about my methods.

Was interviewed on AoW about my RPG philosophy/goals/tools.

The goal is for the players to feel immersed in theSecondary World as real people. The primary tool is by playing in a simulationist fashion, but how do we accomplish that?  It’s not by being buried in charts and Wiki pages, butprimarily using our most powerful tool: Informed common sense, the power of Intuitive GMing.  The secondary title is a play on Dr. Iain McGilchrist’s powerful book, ‘The Master & His Emissary’. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300245929/the-master-and-his-emissary/

Attention & focus guide our outcomes. The conventional RPG methods we inherited have players constantly toggling between the Meta & Make Believe. For those gamers who truly want an immersive Role Playing experience, we must be willing to change that method. Mechanics are vital for the game, but this does not mean the players need to any attention to them whatsoever. By freeing players from all mechanics considerations, they can then flourish in their imaginations, focusing on role playing their characters & exploring the Secondary World.

"There's no wrong way to play RPGs," is a common retort against all RPG discourse about methods, mechanics, etc.. I decided to briefly shine some light on these confusions, & the fallaciousness of the undergirding dynamics generating such assertions.

Continuing from part 1, I delve into the players' task of crafting their characters who are consistent with the Secondary worlds/settings of their games.

I peruse the topic of player free will in RPGs.

I examine the issue of GMs sometimes transcending cause/effect (mechanics or sometimes purely logic) in the game (aka, ‘fudging’). What motivates it? Numerous things, but while I believe their intentions are generally good (“help the players’ enjoyment”), it’s at best a Pyrrhic victory, one which can not only destroy your sessions going forward, but retroactively as well.

After a conversation on Che Webster's, Role Play Rescue podcast last week, I wanted to share some follow-up thoughts on worlds. One of the vital elements of enjoyment we get from RPGs is the ability for players to explore the Secondary Worlds. This requires GMs to craft rich, detailed worlds, and to avoid cookie-cutter, generic backdrops. But this exploration also requires that the players be on the same page of the world. The need to understand the substance of the world, to be in tune with the zeitgeist of that setting, not wandering around as intrusive aliens. The recent episode of Role Play Rescue: https://shows.acast.com/roleplayrescue/episodes/primaeval-fantasy-with-daniel-jones