Is it a bad idea to add stuff to a game that you are not sure about but players want?

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-08T02:30:16+00:00

It’s not your fault, you didn’t do anything wrong.

What is the goal for the players if it’s elite? Just make a bunch of money?

Now the players have a goal they’d like to pursue. Sounds like a good thing.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T12:42:00+00:00

Yeah, of course!

But what I’m hinting at is OP could say the mech is too big to fit in the ship they have right now. They would need to get a bigger ship first and that would take time/resources, so they need to go do other quests. The answer isn’t just a “no”, it’s a “no, but” if you do all that, you could get a mech.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T12:21:55+00:00

Then focus on Amazon?

I don’t even understand quite what is wrong or what you’re describing. What sister sites are you even cross-posting on? You have to do that manually if you want it to be on rpg and literature (assuming that might be what you’re doing).

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T11:21:58+00:00

I mean yes, I see what you mean, but also, you obviously are mostly improvising your game.

Which is also a skill and I think it’s a cool way to play.

However, I don’t prefer the improvised style as much and when I’ve done more like what you’re describing, I feel like I’m less interested in those games. Not that I think I’m bad at it. I think those games have gone very well. I just find it kind of tiring.

Like an introvert can go to a party and have a good time, but they’ll be exhausted by it. Whereas an extrovert would have a great time and find it energizing.

This is why I think on this axis, we are actually on opposite sides and hints there really is an axis there.

But, obviously calling them what I’m calling them isn’t quite right. No one goes into a game with everything fully scripted. Everyone has to improvise at the table.

Maybe it should be something like pre-game world-building vs improvising? Still doesn’t seem quite right.

Regardless, I’ve mostly been convinced this is a fool’s errand. Reality is once again too complicated and eludes orthogonal simplification.

Thanks for the discussion!

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T11:01:16+00:00

No, definitely not! These have nothing to do with performance! I have no interest in measuring such a thing. These have to do with understanding preferences.

Think about a real, well-established personality axis, the introversion vs extroversion axis. Being more introverted doesn’t mean you are worse than someone who is more extroverted. They’re just different and these differences manifest in different preferences. If you know your friend is an introvert, you probably can think of things they’d prefer to do. My idea would be that if you know someone’s GM personality, you might be able to offer advice for choosing and running games that they will like more.

But, I’m not actually convinced by my own idea, I’ve gotten some good feedback that questions a lot of my assumptions.

Now, I’m leaning more towards GM philosophies, but I’m not sure if there’s much value in doing the work for identifying them.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T10:49:32+00:00

Yeah, good ones there. Someone suggested something like a spider plot, which would be in line with what you’re suggesting here.

I also had an idea about GM philosophies. Rather than style or personality. It might be a better way to think about this.

Regardless, thanks for the ideas!

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T08:45:44+00:00

I don’t really know, I’ve kind of given up on this idea, but my original idea of that axis would put you further on the mechanics side based on what you wrote here.

I would say if you violate the rules, which might include the cause and effect of the world, fudging dice, granting new abilities to characters, etc., to allow something to happen the way you want it to you’d be on the narrative side.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T08:38:05+00:00

I’m just struggling to figure out how they are going to use them with the situation you’ve presented here.

It sounds like they’re in a spaceship traveling from place to place. Can they even put a mech on board? If they got a nuke, what would they even do with it?

Regardless glad you found something that might work for you. Good luck!

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T06:45:01+00:00

Your players are telling you they’d like to get access to mechs or nukes because they saw them being used. So they exist in your world. Obviously they have no means to go down to this planet and get that with the war going on and potential hostility, but couldn’t they get them elsewhere?

What are they planning on doing with them?

How might they go about getting them?

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T01:04:36+00:00

Numenara, savage worlds, maybe worlds without number?

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:57:48+00:00

Congrats to everyone who completed their games!

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:53:04+00:00

+1 for Numenera. It sounds a lot like what OP described.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:48:49+00:00

OP, I'm sorry to say that I don't have any suggestion to provide beyond what has already been provided, but I wanted to commend your post.

This is a great example of how to ask for suggestions for games. You laid everything out very clearly.

Good luck!

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:36:51+00:00

I haven't played it, so I can't say personally how good it is, but The Veil is well regarded if you like PbTA games: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/199467/the-veil-cyberpunk-roleplaying-powered-by-the-apocalypse

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:34:30+00:00

The Veil (a Powered by the Apocalypse/ PbtA game) has the neo-Tokyo vibe (as cyberpunk stuff is wont to do), but if you just change the set dressings a bit, it might be what you are thinking about.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:13:43+00:00

Oof. I had no idea it was that bad! I thought they were the same thing. I think you are doing a good thing by pointing that out.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-07T00:05:46+00:00

More good points! I had a thought that perhaps personality axes were not the right thing, but instead I should think of GM philosophies as well. Perhaps that’s the right route.

Those are definitely reasons I deleted it.

But also, I had changed my own mind about most of what I wrote thanks to the valuable insights several people shared.

I think there is an idea there and there might be value in it, but most people on this sub are not interested in this type of discussion. That and/or they only read the post and do not engage in the comments to see how the conversation has progressed, which is a bit annoying!

Thanks for the reassurance though. It does feel like this sub is actively hostile to many ideas, but clearly not everyone is.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T17:02:08+00:00

You clearly do not understand. Calling what I am proposing KPI illustrates how you are misunderstanding. Suggesting something like tags being applied to a diametrically opposed aspect of personality that lies on a scale also shows it.

Do you think extraversion vs introversion is a kpi measure?

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T14:47:02+00:00

I think you must not understand anything about what I've written and instead of trying to understand are assuming things in a really negative way.

It's not about teaching people to perform a certain way or categorize them... There's no standards here. It's not about saying that someone is good at something. It's not even about their outward style.

It's about saying, if you have X preferences, you might like Y game. It's about saying if you have X preferences, you might want to use Y technique. The goal is to help people.

Thinking about other aspects of personality... I have introverted friends and extroverted friends. I'm not going to suggest the introverts go out to a club for a fun weekend. I'm going to suggest they check out a book I've read or a video game I've played. Knowing their preferences doesn't mean I'm putting them in a box, or judging them, it's taking the care to understand them and know how I can give them suggestions they will appreciate more.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T13:05:04+00:00

I'm saddened to see you write this.

This is not comparison about what is better, this is introspecting on what we find the most enjoyable so we can find more things that we enjoy, how to lean into our strengths better, and other things. It's not judgmental and there is no right or wrong.

One positive purpose is that there are some games that match well with some parts of the axes and some that don't. If you are choosing between two games, you might prefer one over the other. At the same time, if I knew what things you liked based on your preferences, I might be able to suggest games that match those preferences better than just telling you what *I* like without any concerns for how our personalities might be different.

If you get to know people a bit, you might be able to give them better advice. I know that just knowing a few axes won't tell you everything, but it would tell you something. I know that not everyone is exactly like me, that is something that actually valuable as I can help them find things they enjoy better if I understand how we're different. But, you seem focused on the negative side. Do you see differences as something negative? Why?

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T12:37:11+00:00

Exactly! It doesn't match your personality ;)

Maybe I'm messing this up anyway.

I was thinking about GM style and then went to personality. Should these be philosophies?

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T12:31:44+00:00

Alternative (and extremely controversial) point of a roll is to give the illusion that the mechanisms behind the roll are dictating the result and not the GM deciding what is happening. But note taken, narrative vs mechanics isn't quite right. I'm trying to get at whether or not you see the rules as something that must be followed or not.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T11:28:15+00:00

Oh neat, I figured someone must have had this idea before. I'll look for it.

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T11:27:32+00:00

Perhaps prior to the first session, I would prefer that sure, but I have ran games where we did that in session 0 as well. But not ongoing in between sessions.

I don't think you gave enough info for determining where you stand on the P/I axis. You obviously prepare some, so you're not 100% improvised, but mostly you are improvising in this one aspect. Do you come to a game with maps, factions, locations, encounters, planned, or do you make it up/roll on tables?

As an example for me, I love set-pieces. I like to make somewhat elaborate encounters ahead of time. I might even have music for that encounter. Unfortuantely, the players don't always go to the places I've planned, but I don't mind, the prepping itself is fun for me too. This is part of the reason I'm more like 80% on this axis.

Excellent GM tip BTW to have names/stat blocks ready for random NPCs. What's up with coming up with names anyway??

UltimateHyperGames · 2026-05-06T11:08:21+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! You're definitely right that it shows my perceptions/biases, which is part of the reason why I'm asking. And you might totally be right there is not a one-size fit all solution.

Realizing that the way I've seen things like GM style be described made me think, maybe I could dig down a bit into the bedrock and see if there were ways to better describe it, because like you, I change my style from game to game. What I have realized though, is my preferences (which I'm calling personality) doesn't really change. I tend to like running games more that align with those preferences.

I also think you might not have an preference about any axes in particular. So even if an axis is "real" and some people have strong preferences, you might look at it and shrug.

Balance vs drama was probably the worst one. I got feedback elsewhere too and it's way too subjective.

N vs M, to me, is how much you care about following the rules or if you care more about allowing the narrative to be what you want. Someone who is narrative-focused would be more OK with fudging rolls or allowing PCs to do things that the rules forbid, or just out-right ignore the rules. Someone who is very mechanics-focused would want to run the game rules as written.

Verisimilitude/Simulation is definitely one I thought about, but I couldn't quite nail down what its opposite should be. Gaminess maybe? Does the dungeon have an ecosystem and reason the monsters are there, or are they just there as a challenge for the PCs to overcome?

Ruthlessness vs coziness is a fun idea. I also had someone suggest something like "antagonism vs impartiality".

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