Hi ya'll
I was brainstorming a DitV Town when ideas about narrative integrity popped into my head. I posted about my feelings on the boards at my local club (http://www.ukroleplayers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3343), and I thought I'd cross-post it here to garner more feedback.
The majority opinion on the other board is 'narrative integrity doesn't matter much so long as players enjoy the game'.
So does narrative integrity - being true to the initial premise of a Town/scenario/situation - matter? Or can you screw with it as you like?
Cheers
Pete
Changing the backstory to get "a better story" in DitV is a sure, sure way to get a worse game experience. Don't do it. Really. Don't. It's the way countless GM ruined their games and got bored and uninterested players. It never worked with any game and surely will not wotk in DitV. Read again page 137-144
Thanks Moreno - I agree, although I had to think about it for a bit :)
Does the rule apply generally though, or just for Dogs? Actually nerf that: I'm of the opinion that it does apply generally, which goes against the grain of what the folks I play with in the main think but there you go :)
Cheers
Pete
And yeah, as an aside, reading the DitV book again is a good idea. I read it a few times back when I started playing Dogs, and then only bits of it now and again. I just read it cover to cover again, and it has plenty of good advice... strangely no mention of what snacks are good round the gaming table though :) (A reference to a review of Burning Empires moaning about the fact that Luke Crane recommended wasabi peas.)
There are some very, very good games where you don't nail down backstory before you start, where the backstory's up for grabs in play: Polaris and InSpectres, for example. There are others where you don't nail down backstory before you start but the game's best if you start now and go forward, without ever caring about the backstory: Primetime Adventures, Shock:, my own In a Wicked Age, for example.
It all depends on how the game works. Trying to play InSpectres the way you'd play Dogs in the Vineyard would suck horribly, and vice versa would suck just as bad.
-Vincent