On fudge points and player rewards

What is the problem I am trying to solve?

I find myself wandering from the core problem, and I need to re-center and focus on what the original problem was. All the talk about combat models comes back to this...

Karen says (more or less), "Roleplaying is disfunctional storytelling. We hand control of the story to the dice, which don't know how to tell a story."

It's not just that dice can do really, really bad things once in awhile, but that dice routinely produce undramatic results. They fail not just when the heroes really need to beat the bad guy, but when the player simply wants his hero to look competent or flashy. They ruin well-thought-out plans that would make a great story if they succeeded.

Maybe my problem is with the dice. But it goes beyond the dice.

An adjacent problem I am trying to solve is what The Shadow of Yesterday's "Keys" mechanics are aimed at. Getting the players to be pro-active in things outside the main plot. To create their own sub-plots, ala Theatrix, or otherwise get themselves involved in doing something other than just pursuing the big bad. But TSoY rewards players with experience points, which aren't a very effective reward for players who aren't interested in advancing their characters.

This is the secondary problem I'm trying to solve here... needing a reward to encourage the players to be pro-active. And in one way, I'm setting up fudge points to be a required reward. If they don't earn the reward, they'll have a very hard time beating the big bad.

It's purely meta-game, to encourage a certain style of play. So let's look at what I want the system to do...

Requirements:

• Fudge points must be necessary. They are more than simply a patch on a bad die mechanic... if the characters should have to spend a certain amount of them in order to succeed in the climatic scene.
• Lack of fudge points should not force undesirable results. Running out of fudge points shouldn't destroy a scene.
• This implies that players will need to be able to borrow against the future, ideally at some penalty of plot complications and the like.

So, here's my first draft, as much for my players to have something to respond to as anything else.

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The New Fudge Points

What can I do with them?

• Power "stunts" - power-up your abilities to do out-of-the-ordinary things with them.
• Change any die roll to a result you prefer.
• Eliminate all damage on the highest level on your wound track.
• Dictate elements of the setting.
• [ What else ? ]

Why do I need them?

Without them, your characters will fail to reach their goals. The game will be structured in such a way that you will lose battles, not find important clues, and so on if you don't spend fudge points.

How do I get them?

• By doing things that make the story more interesting or entertaining.
• Good roleplaying. Playing "in character" and really interacting with the player and non-player characters around you. By your character "being himself" outloud, even when it doesn't serve to further the game goals, because it adds color and interest to the story.
• Creative roleplaying. Improvise, improvise, improvise. Suggest scenes that the GM can set up to explore your character and his relationships.
• Good storytelling. Create and drive sub-plots involving your character. Have a "life" outside of being a hero or adventurer, and show us what that life is like. Let your life get in the way and create conflict. Get your character's Faults and personal goals involved in the story. Suggest scenes that make this possible.
• By taking a loss when it's not required.
• By borrowing them. When you've run out of fudge points and you still really need them, you can borrow against future earnings.
• You can borrow as many points as you need
• For every point you borrow, you get a point of "bad karma."
• Not only do you have to pay off the borrowed point, but for every point of bad karma, the GM gets to declare that your character fails at something or otherwise has a bad moment that you cannot spend fudge points to counteract.

Appendix

Suggesting Scenes

This is something useful from the recent innovations in indie games.

So you're thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool if Fastlane and Magma got into an argument about responsibility?" Why keep that to yourself? Suggest it, create the starting parameters with the other players and GM, and then play out the scene. The GM can either work the scene into the main flow of the game, or can let it stand by itself. These don't have to be long, drawn-out scenes... they can be quick little vigenttes that take only a few minutes to play.

Here's an example. In the movie Outbreak, Daniels (Dustin Hoffman), recently divorced, goes by his old place to get some of his stuff. He and his ex get into an argument, of course, and it sets up the relationship for the viewers so they understand the tension later in the movie.

So you're Daniels' player, and you'd like to help define the character by having a conflict with his ex-wife. In a traditional game, you might declare that you go by your old house to get some stuff before leaving town. The GM, says, "Sure, you get your stuff and head to the airport," not picking up on the opportunity for a good scene. So instead of just declaring your character's actions, you explain to the GM what you want to do. That your ex should be there, and the two of you should get into a fight that shows the character's stubbornness, or how unfair his ex is, or whatever it is you want to explore.

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What think ye? No, it's not all-original newness. It's rather similar to something that I've been mulling over for a few years, and there are various systems that are similar.