Never Say No
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In the end, RPGs are just big games of improv. No matter how firmly the GM has everything plotted out and is railroading the players along, there’s still going to be improv on all counts.
One of the big rules of improv, is the “Yes, And” rule. The “Yes, And” rule states that you should never say “no” to what someone brings into the scene, only agree with what they said, and build on it. For example, someone suggests that they are an alien, and you say, “yes, and I’m your captive!”
Alright, bad example.
In roleplaying games it’s a little different. I think, instead of saying, “yes, and…” a GM should say, “yes, but…”
Too often, GMs, on a failed roll by a player, simply tell them, “sorry, it doesn’t work.” You try to pick a lock and fail? “Sorry, you can’t get the door open.” You try to pick a pocket? “Sorry, you aren’t able to do it.”
What if, instead, you said, “Yes, but…”
Here’s some examples: You are trying to pick the lock, and fail the roll? You succeed at picking the lock, but your picks break, and now you’ll have to get new ones. You try to pick a pocket and fail? You get the coins, but the guy you’re picking the pocket of notices, or perhaps someone else nearby does.
Minor rolls are allowed to fail by simply saying, “no, you don’t succeed,” but you should never tell someone “no” if that roll will be moving the story forward. Instead, let the story move forward, but with a complication.
In Mouse Guard, every failure leads to a complication. If you fail a pathfinder roll, you don’t completely lose your way, you simply show up two days late, and perhaps with the Angry condition, or perhaps Hungry and Thirsty because you ran out of supplies on the way. That’s what really inspired this post.
Next time your players fail a roll, don’t tell them no, instead, introduce some complications and see how it turns out.
I try to implement the “Yes and…” and “Yes but…” as much as I can too, especially when the players are being as crazy as your wife — the one who puts chairs in bags and takes them out to gain combat advantage.
In a recent game, one PC insisted on rummaging through the dressers, trying to learn ‘secrets’ about the airship crew. I told him to roll an Arcana check, which puzzled him as he has GREAT Arcana. On a 29, he learned that the socks are infused with a magical pattern that make them less prone to bleach-fading and resistant to static electricity.
In the same game, another PC kept trying to steal valuable statues bolted to office desks. She rolled low when she tried to use her dagger to pry them off, which disheartened her, but then her face lit up when I told her that she got the statue. Then it faltered once more when I told her she tore half the desk off making the statue difficult to pocket.
.-= Matthew Arcilla´s last blog ..Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik and His Approach to DMing =-.
Spirit of the Century has a great mantra – when you roll the dice, something meaningful should happen. That means if the character succeeds, the story is advanced in a beneficial way. If the character fails, the story still advances but with a serious complication. Things just got harder.
Saying, “yes” as a DM is a wonderful thing to do. Role playing is an inherently creative thing, telling a player “no” does nothing but stifle creativity. That’s never fun.
I really like that you phrase it, “yes, but.” Players are out to demolish the dungeon and generally kill a bunch of stuff. Sometimes they need to be reigned in because their ideas are too powerful. The art of compromise is a powerful tool in these cases.
The way I see it, “Yes, but…” means “Yes you do exactly what you said you wanted to do, BUT that doesn’t account for anything else that might happen as a side effect or after.”
Yes, you can successfully pickpocket the Pope, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t put a bounty out on you. Yes, you can trash the furniture searching for the one thing you need to complete your quest, but that doesn’t mean the repair bill doesn’t get debited to yr sponsor. Yes, you can mage hand fondle the tavern girls, but that doesn’t mean they don’t file a sexual harassment case.
The players can do what they want. But it doesn’t mean the world or the individuals that populate it, don’t have their own responses.
.-= Matthew Arcilla´s last blog ..Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik and His Approach to DMing =-.