Brian S. Stephan
1d0d489ad2
these are things that are not included in my version because they're homebrew, because they are a lot of writing/creativity that I don't feel comfortable stealing/distributing, or so on this includes ideas that I like, but either plan to write my own way in the future, or again I just don't feel comfortable copying verbatim, especially if, for instance, I have my own process and don't need to advocate for a different one
95 lines
6.8 KiB
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95 lines
6.8 KiB
Diff
--- _tmp/ccsrd.md 2025-07-21 14:17:32.441992956 -0500
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+++ _tmp/ccsrd.new.md 2025-07-21 14:19:03.337574123 -0500
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@@ -76476,63 +76476,6 @@
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PCs' stories move through time, ask yourself: \"What is going on everywhere else that matters?\"
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:::
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-##### Making Rulings and Pacing the Game [#](#making-rulings-and-pacing){.og-h-anchor aria-hidden="true"} {#making-rulings-and-pacing .og-h-small}
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-
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-[(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)]{.og-ref .og-ref-og}
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-
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-In many systems, the GM is given power---and responsibility---to choose ways or times the rules can be applied, bent, or
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-broken---that's still the case in the Cypher System. It\'s a good idea to be judicious about these powers. Here are
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-some good ways to think about your role in making meaning during the game:
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-
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-::: {.alert .ps-4 .pb-0}
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-- **Maintain belief and make meaning:** As I mentioned previously, meaningfulness is like gravity,
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- and that gravity must be respected. It grounds the story, and helps define what's at stake in the story.
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- Contradicting yourself for arbitrary reasons will sabotage players' belief in the story and in you, and this kind
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- of mistrust is corrosive to the game of *Make-Believe*. That isn't to say you have to be rigid and make the same
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- rulings all the time---in fact, quite the opposite. Instead, try to make your rulings for the specific situation you
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- are in based on what is meaningful about that specific situation.
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-
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-- **Describe phenomena:** Without you, the PCs don't really have senses. You must provide their sight, sound, smell,
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- touch, taste, temperature, and humidity. To a certain extent also control what PCs know about the world, what they
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- would immediately recognize, or might infer given their experiences. This is tricky---generally, you want to avoid
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- dictating what a player thinks, believes, or feels. You also don't want to produce a feeling of betrayal by lying
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- to a player about the nature of their experiences. That kind of mistrust is corrosive to belief. You can avoid lying
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- to players by describing not what things *are*, but what things *are like*. For example, if the party enters a dark
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- cavern, you might tell the PCS that they notice an uptick in the humidity, a downtick in the temperature, and a
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- gentle white noise far off in the distance. Whether the source of those phenomena end up being a completely natural
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- waterfall, a raging [water elemental](#creature-elemental-water), or something else entirely, you have avoided lying
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- to the players by equipping them to make their own assumptions about nature of their experiences, and encouraged
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- them to make discoveries as a result of their own choices and actions.
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-
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-- **Call for fewer, more meaningful dice rolls:** When PCs are making relatively inconsequential actions---especially
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- those that are in their character's wheelhouse---into [routine actions](#routine-actions) that require no roll.
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- This requires you to know something about the PC and what's on their character sheet, but you will learn those
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- things in a longer-form game. Only call for a roll when the outcomes would be interesting. Allowing players to
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- proceed confidently with their PC and abilities helps them take more bold or decisive actions rooted in their
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- character, rather than second-guessing each course of action they might Take.
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-
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-- **Let players try things:** Do not fear player actions or dice! If players are being creative with their abilities,
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- that's a good thing---it means they\'ve decided they are meaningful. If you have an outcome you\'d like to see in
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- the game, don't call for a roll and then force it even if the outcome wasn\'t what you wanted. Don\'t call for roll
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- at all, and propose a [GM intrusion](#gm-intrusion) instead.
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-
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-- **Keep the story moving forward:** One trap GMs fall into too frequently is to assume that a failed roll results in
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- nothing happening. \"Nothing happens\" can provide a great occasional dramatic (or comedic) beat---but if you use
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- this as a device too often, the game will slow down to a crawl. Creating meaningful consequences for the results of
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- a roll is usually more interesting than \"nothing happens\", because it prompts the PCs to take additional action
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- rather than wallow in any negative feelings that came from a \"bad roll\". If things have slowed down too much,
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- devise and propose a [GM intrusion](#gm-intrusion) that revitalizes the game's pace or direction.
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-
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-- **Let encounters resolve:** Sometimes players will use a [cypher](#choose-cyphers) or [special
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- ability](#choose-abilities) that causes an encounter to end too quickly for your taste. Take heart---even a foe who
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- has been knocked off a cliff might later claw their way back to the top, reappearing as a [GM
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- intrusion](#gm-intrusion). But it is wise to for the moment that doing this will be most meaningful in the story.
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-
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-- **Be a team player:** While you are usually playing the role of a creature or situation that is antagonistic to the
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- PCs, be sure you make some time to also be their head cheerleader---and a fellow player. Don't make yourself an
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- adversary---celebrate their victories, and agonize in their defeats, too. When they have good ideas, tell them so!
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-:::
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-
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##### Handling Players and PCs [#](#handling-players-and-pcs){.og-h-anchor aria-hidden="true"} {#handling-players-and-pcs .og-h-small}
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[(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)]{.og-ref .og-ref-og}
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@@ -78057,7 +78000,7 @@
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- The Rest of the Rules [(412)]{.og-ref}
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- Adjudicating [(412)]{.og-ref}
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- Logic [(413)]{.og-ref}
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-- [Dice Rolling](#making-rulings-and-pacing) [(414)]{.og-ref}
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+- Dice Rolling [(414)]{.og-ref}
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- [The Flow of Information](#passive-difficulty) [(416)]{.og-ref}
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- [Failure to Notice](#passive-difficulty) [(417)]{.og-ref}
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- [Graduated Success](#graduated-difficulty) [(417)]{.og-ref}
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@@ -78077,15 +78020,15 @@
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- The First Few Sessions [(427)]{.og-ref}
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- Running Cypher System Combats [(427)]{.og-ref}
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- Crafting Stories [(428)]{.og-ref}
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-- [Pacing](#making-rulings-and-pacing) [(428)]{.og-ref}
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-- [Description](#making-rulings-and-pacing) [(430)]{.og-ref}
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+- Pacing [(428)]{.og-ref}
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+- Description [(430)]{.og-ref}
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- [Preparing for the Game Session](#session-preparation) [(431)]{.og-ref}
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- [Handling the Players](#handling-players-and-pcs) [(433)]{.og-ref}
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- [Mature Themes](#horror-rules-consent) [(434)]{.og-ref}
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- Designing Encounters [(434)]{.og-ref}
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- Complex Encounters [(434)]{.og-ref}
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- [Balancing Encounters](#balancing-encounters) [(434)]{.og-ref}
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-- [Resolving Encounters](#making-rulings-and-pacing) [(435)]{.og-ref}
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+- Resolving Encounters [(435)]{.og-ref}
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- [Challenging Characters](#creating-challenging-encounters) [(435)]{.og-ref}
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- Higher-Tier Characters [(436)]{.og-ref}
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- Character Death [(436)]{.og-ref}
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