Brian S. Stephan
281a0acbe1
these are things that are not included in the core commons version because they're homebrew, because they are a lot of writing/creativity that I don't feel comfortable stealing/distributing, or so on. most of Old Gus's and the community's content is removed in order to have a near-CSRD state what remains is the rules clarifications, errata, splicing together some information from secondary sources (like the Starter Set or from game authors on Twitter), and organizational assists things removed 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 stuff that's likely to get folded into my core is arbitrarily numbered 300s instead of 000s
110 lines
7.0 KiB
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110 lines
7.0 KiB
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--- _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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