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
110 lines
7.0 KiB
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110 lines
7.0 KiB
Diff
--- _tmp/ccsrd.md 2025-07-21 14:23:43.229363765 -0500
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+++ _tmp/ccsrd.new.md 2025-07-21 14:25:34.508075295 -0500
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@@ -76330,92 +76330,6 @@
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some excellent advice applicable to the Cypher System.
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:::
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-##### Encouraging Play: Unclench Your Butt\! [#](#encouraging-play){.og-h-anchor aria-hidden="true"} {#encouraging-play .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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-Once you know what makes things believable within the setting, it's time to turn the players loose within it. PCs will
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-already bring a good amount of their own meaningfulness to the game---they are the main characters, after all. Who the
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-players and PCs are: their personalities, [descriptors](#chapter-7-descriptor), [abilities](#choose-abilities), and
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-[character arcs](#character-arcs) are certainly going to have an impact on the story. This will inevitably disturb some
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-parts of the setting, and when this happens, you might occasionally feel a small clench forming in your posterior. This
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-is normal. Take a deep breath. Let it out, and unclench your butt. The whole point of having players in the world is
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-precisely so that they can act upon it and bring some element of change to it. Otherwise, there's no story. There\'s
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-\"just a bunch of stuff that happens\".
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-
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-Before, during or after a session, players will tell you what is meaningful to them about the PCs, locations, creatures,
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-NPCs, and other aspects of the game in a few ways. For example, if you hear a player say things like the following, they
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-are expressing some measure of meaningfulness about something:
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-
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-- \"I hope...\"
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-- \"I want...\"
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-- \"I love...\"
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-- \"I bet...\"
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-- \"What if...\"
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-- \"Ugh, I hate...\"
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-- \"We have got to...\"
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-- \"I have a plan.\"
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-- \"That was cool.\"
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-
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-Take note when this happens. Sometimes, the best idea is to find a way to make something a player said---no matter how
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-offhandedly---become true.
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-
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-Players also express their sense of meaningfulness through Cypher System mechanics. If a player spends [Pool](#pool)
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-points to use [Effort](#effort), or [spends 1 XP to reroll the die](#experience-points-immediate-benefits), you have an
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-indicator that what happened meant something to the player---enough to spend something on it. Finding ways to honor
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-those expenditures players engaged with the game, even when the dice---or you---are saying no to something.
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-
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-In the Cypher System, there are two important ways the game ensures that some amount of narrative power and
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-meaning-making are a shared enterprise: [GM intrusions](#gm-intrusion) and [player
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-intrusions](#choose-player-intrusions). Intrusions allow either party to grab a hold of the narrative for a moment. The
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-difference between them is that players must pay 1 XP to avoid your GM intrusion, and they only gain XP if you provide
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-it. You can be generous here---after all, you have an infinite amount of XP to give. But don't underestimate the value
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-of give-and-take in *Make-Believe*. It's the original gameplay mechanic: rolling a ball back and forth, playing catch,
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-and learning to share. Ensuring pool points and XP are flowing in and out of the PCs at an acceptable rate is one of the
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-fundamental heartbeats of the Cypher System.
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-
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-It's not wrong for players to refuse a player intrusion---sometimes you must. But if you\'re on the fence, consider
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-throwing a little caution to the wind, and finding out what is on the other side of saying yes. Doing so can yield its
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-own reward, and having some narrative responsibility taken off your shoulders can be very freeing, and allow you to be
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-more playful.
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-
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-Here are a few other strategies to create a sense of shared meaning with players in a campaign:
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-
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-::: {.alert .ps-4 .pb-0}
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-- **Question Players:** Ask the players what features of adventures they enjoy---combat, exploration, social
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- interaction, and puzzle-solving are common answers, but they may have other good ideas for features of gameplay you
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- haven't thought about. When the story reaches a natural stopping point, take some time to ask again.
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-
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-- **Explore Relationships:** Involve the PCs' personal lives, NPCs they know and care about, and address their
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- [character arcs](#character-arcs) when you can.
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-
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-- **Choices Matter:** Ensure the PCs' choices and outcomes have a meaningful impact on the story.
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-
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-- **Tonal Variance:** Tell more than one kind of story. If every session is a dungeon-dive to retrieve one of eight
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- macguffins that ends in a dramatic monster battle, some players might love it. Some will get bored, seeing only
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- slight variations on a theme. Try to vary the length of adventures. Some might take eight sessions, some three, and
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- some might resolve in one.
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-
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-- **Altering Scope:** Depth and meaning in a setting should be examined from several angles. It's a good idea to
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- change your scope and stakes between adventures, too. Addressing some character arcs might be intimate and personal,
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- some are epic and decisive. Avoid threatening the world or all of existence repeatedly, or dwelling on minutiae.
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-
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-- **Make Allowances:** Sometimes the best way to subvert player expectations is to let things proceed exactly as the
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- PCs hoped they would.
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-
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-- **Beginner's Mind:** Embrace a spirit of not-knowing: this goes both for the players and for GMs. It\'s not
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- important to have all the answers all the time. The ones you really need will reveal themselves in time, but it's
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- good to preserve a little mystery for another day. Don't overdo this, though---players need a good amount of
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- information to understand and develop good traction with a story.
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-
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-- **Full Being:** Invest each NPC with as much life as you can. They should have real feelings and desires---including
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- a will to survive. Not all of them will survive, and it's okay to feel sad when they don\'t. GMs are players too,
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- so enjoy every NPC, creature, and gust of wind you become in the course of play.
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-
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-- **Reflect on Things:** When the time is right, revisit those mysteries and unconcluded stories from the past. As the
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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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-
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##### Telling Stories Together [#](#telling-stories-together){.og-h-anchor aria-hidden="true"} {#telling-stories-together .og-h-small}
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[(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)]{.og-ref .og-ref-og}
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@@ -77902,11 +77816,11 @@
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- Failure to Notice [(417)]{.og-ref}
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- Graduated Success [(417)]{.og-ref}
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- Dealing with Character Abilities [(418)]{.og-ref}
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-- [Encouraging Player Creativity](#encouraging-play) [(420)]{.og-ref}
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+- Encouraging Player Creativity [(420)]{.og-ref}
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- [Artifacts](#running-the-game-artifacts) [(421)]{.og-ref}
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- [Skills and Other Abilities](#running-the-game-skills-and-other-abilities) [(421)]{.og-ref}
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- Character Arcs [(421)]{.og-ref}
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-- [Handling NPCs](#encouraging-play) [(422)]{.og-ref}
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+- Handling NPCs [(422)]{.og-ref}
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- NPC Game Stats [(422)]{.og-ref}
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- [NPCs and Death](#npcs-and-death) [(424)]{.og-ref}
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- Interactions [(424)]{.og-ref}
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