I‘m currently working on a side project that aims to put together a list of these „unspoken rules“ of storytelling and ttrpgs in easy to practice micro-instructions/examples. I’ll post about it here once it’s ready for the public :)

So yeah, I think you’re right Jason, that tactical crunchy games are an easier sell for what they are in book form. And that APs are particularly helpful to make storytelling easy to learn.

Tl;dr not so hot take: storytelling is an art-form that’s easier to learn through exposure then from books 😅

That’s isn’t only a secondary skill that few ttrpgs focus on in their rules, but also something particularly hard to convey in book form and much easier when you can observe or experience it.

There might be even more of a subtle-yet-hidden thing about story-focused ttrpgs here: imho a lot of the quality of a story isn’t (only) about the rules in the game, but the experience of those telling the story in telling stories, in particular in a collaborative group-style.

Also: I reject out of hand that the rule book should give you a complete understanding of how a game works. The rule book can get you really far, but everything takes time and practice. An AP helps you cut down that time and practice.

Oh, also, you can straight up read everything I've written for the game so far: drive.google.com/drive/folder...

Or maybe it’s evidence that enough idiots talk about how they could take on a bear, that AI is convinced this is not only the cute imagery humans want to see but also totally safe… 🤷 😅

Back in the days I totally was a fan of pre-written character backstory, until I played more and more „writers-room“ style games and realized how much better the resulting stuff is—especially if it happens organically during play and slots right into the story like in CfB!

And CfB just grows more audacious every time I revisit it (in all its aspects, not just character backstory). Wait until you see The Lands Remaining!

The backstory and “immersion” fetishists are going to be PISSED, lol

Oh, hey, happiest of birthdays to you! 🥳🎈🎁🎉🍾🪩🪅🕺🎂

I think you guys should start your work with the tiniest (I mean largest) bit of extremely well earned celebrations! 🥂😄

Sure, it’s not the Trophy flavor of fantasy, but this genre can handle a lot of different flavors, and Epic Grim Gauntlet Fantasy should exist imho 😇

Same! I really dig all the stuff you came up with so far, and the least you owe the game is to do an internal round of playtests to see if it is a Gauntlet thing. And I’d be very very surprised if it isn’t. This just feels too much like the epic fantasy the Gauntlet has been missing.

Nooo! The world needs this! I need this! 😆

TLR is such a unique take, it feels as much like a reinvention of the fantasy genre as Brindlewood Bay did for the investigative genre! Your gut feeling is right, listen to it!*

*) NOT the one about keeping this to yourself tho!

Hm, maybe instead of a permanent location, we just need something affordable to rent for two weeks…