Changes at the Table

There are some growing pains when you’re playing a new tabletop role playing game. Whether it’s delving into a newly released system or just a handle on a system that’s new to you and your group, it’s a process. It typically involves getting comfortable with the rules, feeling out the boundaries of what’s acceptable and finding the narrative tone you want to set as a group.

When you’re broadcasting it on stream (as we are with Six and Twenty), there are a whole set of additional issues to consider. It’s things like understanding your viewers comfort level with the tone, limiting the game mechanics discussions so that they don’t dive to deep and making sure that the table doesn’t loose sight that they’re playing to an audience. It becomes a tradeoff as when you’re an a stream, since you aren’t the only engaged in what the other players are doing.

The really interesting thing about systems like Blades in the Dark is that they give you permission to make mistakes. You use what you remember during a session and make make course corrections after. It’s liberating as a GM and a Player to not let mechanics get in the way of the narrative. Which for a broadcasted game, means the action keeps moving and the discussion can happen later.

In the course of the first season of Six and Twenty, we definitely made some missteps with the rules. For season 2, I’m attempting to steer things back towards the rules as their written in the book while enhancing the viewing experience for the users by being a little more “mysterious” with mechanical results (when possible).

We’ll be taking some time to write about the evolution of our game and our understanding of the rules at the table. Within that context, there will also be some commentary on streaming tabletop role playing games and putting on the best show for the viewers.

Let us know what you think.