This week, I wanted to discuss a New School fad that has popped up in a number of tabletop RPGs: Player-Facing Mechanics.
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| No dice for you! |
By "Player-Facing Mechanics," I mean that the mechanical parts of the rules set (e.g., rolling dice) are handled by the players, often to the exclusion of the Game Master. For example, in RPGs such as Numenera (2013), the players are the only ones to roll dice.
Fate Points, and other types of Player Narrative Fiat, are another type of Player-Facing Mechanic.
Myself, I see mostly Player-Facing Mechanics as a marketing gimmick. Some people claim that they speed up the game, but unless the number of actual dice rolls are reduced, I am skeptical of such claims. For example, there's no mechanical streamlining by replacing an enemy's attack roll with a player's defense roll, simply re-fluffing.
Fate Points, and other types of Player Narrative Fiat, are another type of Player-Facing Mechanic.
Myself, I see mostly Player-Facing Mechanics as a marketing gimmick. Some people claim that they speed up the game, but unless the number of actual dice rolls are reduced, I am skeptical of such claims. For example, there's no mechanical streamlining by replacing an enemy's attack roll with a player's defense roll, simply re-fluffing.
Another argument made by fans of Player-Facing Mechanics is that they promote Player-Empowerment.
Here, I would agree that they do make the game more player centric. This change fits some genres and play styles, but not others. For example, Old School D&D is, to many, a gritty game with death around every corner and about trying to strike it rich.
Some games with Player-Facing Mechanics, such as Dungeon World (2012), go so far as to deliberately undermine Rule Zero, presumably since that rules set does not trust the GM to be fair. However, if players don't trust the GM, why are they playing with him/her in the first place?
Here, I would agree that they do make the game more player centric. This change fits some genres and play styles, but not others. For example, Old School D&D is, to many, a gritty game with death around every corner and about trying to strike it rich.
Some games with Player-Facing Mechanics, such as Dungeon World (2012), go so far as to deliberately undermine Rule Zero, presumably since that rules set does not trust the GM to be fair. However, if players don't trust the GM, why are they playing with him/her in the first place?
For my own group, Player-Facing Mechanics would probably produce worse outcomes for my players since I do occasionally fudge rolls, but I only do so in the players' favor when Random Number Generation produces a result that I think is too harsh.
In any event, I don't have any problems with Player-Facing Mechanics, per se. However, that's just not the type of game that I usually prefer to play.
Also, I like rolling dice when I GM.
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