Dec

20

Departure

Moments and Experiences

I’m just taking a break right now from packing. Packing for a 2+ month trip down the Pacific NW. I’m also packing up the rest of my stuff and putting it into long-term storage.

It’s an interesting feeling. I feel there are two dynamics that compete for attention in my life. The first is being excited about potential, and wanting to really jump on it. The second is being excited about establishing deep and purposeful roots, of reaping the rewards of invested energy. Whenever I think about traveling, especially the type of free-as-the-open-road traveling I’m about to depart on now, those two dynamics go to war.

Often, the purposeful roots dynamic wins. But, without that “excited new potential” underdog getting the upper hand now and then, those roots have nothing to grow for.

So, here’s to new enterprises. And to figuring out what you want to bring back home with you.

Oh, also! Speaking of new enterprises, Perfect is done. Expect the PDF to go on sale the moment I figure out how to host/distribute it. Finishing a big project right as you cast off on a big journey is a really good feeling.

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Sep

11

How To Resolve Intense, Interpersonal Situations in Ribbon Drive

Promotion / Telling Stories Together

Graham Walmsley recently hosted a game of Ribbon Drive and his group encountered an interesting situation – two characters were locked in intense struggle, and the players didn’t know how to resolve this tense situation. To really zoom in on the issue, although either of them could have just decided what happened, they wanted the game to support them by providing some kind of structure (whether concrete resolution, flags, choices or else). A game should indeed do this for its players. Ribbon Drive gives you those tools, but they aren’t very obvious. This how to post will explain what those tools are and how to use them, in the context of resolving intense, interpersonal situations between characters.

Specifically, Steve posted the following situation:
I played Rashid. My character’s futures were “I hope I find someone” and “I’m never going back”. Rashid was on the run from the gang from whom he’d stolen drugs. Basically he was an asshole, causing Jenni to clip a jackknifed lorry.

In the scene with the crash, Rashid pinned Jenni’s foot on the gas pedal. It was a good moment of tension but it didn’t have any clear method of resolution.

I think part of the problem might have been that there wasn’t any clear way of resolving issues between the travellers. They didn’t seem like obstacles. I mean, could I have made Jenni not leave the band by using my drugs trait to keep her happy? That didn’t seem right either.

The first thing to keep in mind is that Ribbon Drive differs from many games that you’ve played, in that it is not a game that cares very much about what happens. That sounds like a big statement, and indeed it is. What do I mean by it? Well, this: the system doesn’t offer “conflict resolution” tools, because even in the midst of the conflict, it has different priorities. Two of those priorities are music and Futures, and I’m going to unpack how to turn to them in such a situation:

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