The history of Role-playing games is well documented. The growth of the hobby out of its origins in wargaming and the wish to play at a character level, rather than skirmish or full scale battle level, the engagement with the individual mind and the move of focus of games over time from pure combat systemology to supporting a wide range of other types of game. (There can be another post here about masculine vs feminine gaming styles/theories and how they can change games but that is for another day)
However what this organic development has done is leave a fundamental conflict at the heart of the game we play, that is to say the subject of this post "Narrative vs Numbers".
The numbers.
In RoE this is even more obvious then most pen and paper games. We fill out a DO that is full of numbers and formulas and macros. We scour over the P&H to see every move and shift in the sheet - it is said that one can learn more there than any espionage action one might consider from careful study of the P&H
But the numbers are dry, while they provide the framework through which we model the world they do not suggest the nuance and detail that make the game fun to play. They do not provide the roleplay.
The narrative.Ah... the beauty of a well crafted story. But in RPgs it is different. The story is not a novel derived from a single person, it is a collaborative story telling experience, wehre more threads and characters and plots are woven together than any one soul might create for us to enjoy. The blend of all of those who take part working together, against, with and around each other that creates the richest of tapestries.
The problem occurs when players try to let the numbers rule the story. The numbers are important, yes, but ultimately you may as well be playing monopoly or solitaire if all you care about is the sheets and number crunching to provide you the greatest edge. RPG's require the narrative drive of individual characters, agendas and interactions to create the game that fires the utter passion for the hobby in so many roleplayers. We get to tell our own stories, not other peoples - how cool is that?
The Agenda in RoE.It is easy to think of the agenda's you are given as KPI targets, that they are a number or a gate that you have to get past in order to win. Some agendas can be completed just be crunching numbers, it is true, but where have you played the game if that is all you do? How have you added to the story we all tell? How have you made the game more fun to run for the DM?
As an example, anecdata is never evidence but it can help explain a point. There is one of my objectives that I started in a very reasonable position on. If I had just number crunched as GH/HOT it could have rendered a very good return in the agenda stakes. But I have not. I have surrendered some aspects of it entirely because the narrative story, the character development and the better story was elsewhere and so instead Ghorien has taken a much more difficult path; despite the cost in numbers. But it means when we all kick back and tell our stories, when we get to glimpse behind some characters a bit more (which can often happen in play) it will render a better and more satisfying story for all those who have been involved. I hope.
