By Jason Campbell
In TTRPG player circles many games are labelled as “more narrative”, usually compared to Dungeons & Dragons. What exactly does “narrative” mean in this context?
We should begin by saying that most TTRPGs can be played in any style; you could play an adventure in Pathfinder or Dungeons & Dragons focused entirely on role-playing social encounters. Likewise you could run a game using FATE centered on tactical combat. After playing these games for a time you’ll probably find that although that is true, each game has a sort of “sweet spot” – a style of adventure that the game supports most easily.
If we examine the rules of game systems, is there anything we’ll find that could be used as a “litmus test” dividing narrative games from those less narrative? The presence of a combat subsystem might fit the bill.
Combat as a Subsystem
Combat in many games is designed as a subsystem, also known as a mini-game. Combat is a mini-game in the sense that there are rules that apply to combat that aren’t used during other phases of adventures. These games could be played without players realizing that combat works this way. Games where combat has its own rules include Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Cypher System, Call of Cthulhu and many more.
Facets of combat subsystem rules include using initiative and taking turns using actions. Of course having combat be its own mini-game doesn’t impede a game’s use of social encounters, exploration and other parts of the adventure. In that sense it doesn’t make your adventure less narrative. But we’re discussing the rules of games here, not how adventures play out. If you think of adventure TTRPGs in terms of combat, social encounters and exploration (famously described in Dungeons & Dragons) having one of those three with its own subsystem has the effect that the rules isolate and highlight the area that subsystem covers.
No Combat System? How Do You Play That?
Games without a separate combat subsystem can still involve combat as an important part of adventures. For every Golden Sky Stories (players play magical animals who attempt to solve problems) there’s a Blades in the Dark (players play thieves running heists, which may end in combat, but the thieves probably hope not).
In Blades in the Dark the players play a group of thieves, the players choose the heists they try and how they go about it. The characters might have conversations with NPCs during each heist, they might explore the area to learn secrets, and they might end up fighting the authorities or rival gangs of thieves. Anytime a player describes their action, the Game Master uses the characters’ abilities and the rules to resolve how the story moves forward. If the action involves attacking someone the resolution uses the same basic pattern. There’s no initiative or system of taking turns. The GM will need to “move the spotlight” to keep all characters involved, but this is done not by initiative order, but by a general sense of pacing, and in part by the way the players have set up their heist. Because there are no particular rules for combat, the game is inherently stating that it’s just a part of the story, no more or less important than any other phase.
Other games take the opposite approach. Index Card RPG (also known as ICRPG) uses turns for the entire game. Players are in order for the entire game, whether their characters are attacking, chatting or investigating. Because combat isn’t isolated with its own mini-game, the game rules are saying that all aspects of the game are equally important.
Conclusion
I’m sure fans of a particular game are getting ready to scream that their favorite game is indeed more narrative. For that reason I’d like to again highlight these points:
- “Narrative” doesn’t mean better (or worse). This is a discussion of game rules and what each rule set is implying within their books.
- This article examines game rules, not game sessions or adventures. As said before, this examines how various game systems deal with combat and what that implies. It doesn’t mean you can’t have epic discussions and go many sessions without combat while playing your game. We’re looking specifically at the rules.
What do you think? Please let us know in the comments below!
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