[UA] Never saying No

[Royal Minister of Stuff]

Don't forget. White Wolf has changed.  Take that
anyway you want, but they don't go in for that "never
say no" stuff anymore, either.

I still do, though.  I guess I can't move with the
times.  The trick is, though, that you're right.  It
doesn't work if ONLY the GM is permissive.  The
players have to be permissive as well.  A player
protesting that the Emporer can't teleport is saying
"No."  A game master saying "act like you're hurt" is
providing stimulus and focus, not saying "no."  If the
GM says "you're hurt, so you can't climb that
building," then, yeah, that is a type of negative
input.

The GM, however, can always afford to be generous. 
All the players can do is find another GM.  Players
are pretty forgiving, though, as long as they get what
they want as far as genre conventions and little
victories go.

--- Cassady Toles <Con_Job at excite.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 8 May 2001 22:55:55 -0700 (PDT),
> ua at lists.uchicago.edu wrote:
> 
> Unfortunately, he's seen as one of
> the area patron saints
> of gaming and it's a big political issue if you
> don't invite him to games
> (one I usually take the rap for) but kicking him out
> would cause problems
> with the other players.  One of whom worships the
> fat stupid jerk.

Ha! I'm a fat stupid jerk.  I think I see where our
problem lies.


>   That's one of the laws of improvisational
> anything. 
>   Never say no.
>    
> Every time you make someone roll a madness check,
> test a skill, wait their
> turn, or tell them how injured they are, you're
> saying No.  It's all a
> matter of degrees.

What? I refer to the reference work "Stop Making
Sense" when I say that even improvisational theatre
has its rules.  One of those rules is taking turns and
cooperation.  What "never say no" refers to is: don't
belittle or negate someone's contribution.  Always
provide an "out" or an opening for more interaction
rather than throwing up a brick wall.  Having a player
roll dice is not saying no because it allows the
player more things to react to and something to do. 
Injuries, and skill checks are defining moments, not
stops - unless the GM plays it that way.

If a player says "I'm tring to climb in through the
bathroom window" and the GM responds with "make a roll
on your pathetic agility score."  Then, yes, that is
saying no.  If the GM has the character end up making
noise, getting stuck or falling in the noisome toilet
on the other side, then a focus for the player to
react to has been provided.

Now, I am SURE you and everyone else on the list does
these things.  They're pretty simple tricks and your
players seem to adore you most of the time.  I forgot
where I was going with this.

Besides, "it's a matter of degrees" is not any sort of
excuse. Everything is very probably a matter of
degrees.  As you know, one of the uses of a discussion
like this is to find out where other people draw the
line and say "This end of the scale is yes and the
other is no."

Yeah, it's clear to me that, should I ever find
another UA player or GM, we'd be in a fist-fight
within minutes, but it's good that I find that out.

"Healthy! All very healthy! All by the book.  Builds
confidence! Teamwork! Stretching the limits and then
some, but that's GOOD! That's a Good Thing, don't you
see?"  -- Hard Drive from YOUNG HEROES in LOVE (by Dan
Rasplet and Dev Madan)


=====
-- Rp Bowman, Royal Minister of Stuff
The Electronic Nation of Yokeltania:
http://www.geocities.com/yokeltania/

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