Against Replicability
just something I have been stewing on for a bit I do not value a consistent and replicable experience the most. I do not. Every few years or so the british internet will suddenly remember ISO 3103 and get miffed “Oh this isn’t the best way to make tea” and yeah they are right, but the point isn’t that it’s good it’s that it is replicable. You can follow the instructions and get the same cup of tea. It’s fine for what it is. It’s fine for science, it is not fine for art. RPGs are two forms of art that exist on two separate levels. There is the art of the book, and the art of the game. The book is the text used to negotiate the framework to understand the events of the game. The game is what happens at the table. The game (unless in very specific “AP” style game a la Critical Role) is a form of folk art. The book is sometimes folkart, hastily assembled in google docs, stapled together so on and so forth, things in the DIY sphere I typically run in. However, overwhelmingly it is no...