I just finished playing a 2.5-hour session of My Life with Master with Phil, Bryan, and John from the Four Ugly Monsters community. We’re using Ventrilo and Fantasy Grounds. Our master is none other than the Blood Countess herself, Erzebet Bathory.
My Life with Master is a story game by Paul Czege that places the players in the role of minions for an evil master. The mechanics directly influence the story, and the story directly influences the mechanics. It is a prime example of the theory that “system matters.”
We had a short discussion about this and I attempted to illustrate it: you cannot play My Life with Master without narrative; the mechanics of the game are designed to create a tale of horror and despair, and do so very well.
D20, on the other hand, requires absolutely no storytelling or roleplaying. The roleplaying aspect of a D20 session is completely separate from the game, almost as if you are playing two games simultaneously.
Next week, perhaps the much abused minions will finally destroy their evil mistress.
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