In order to develop characters we need to make them play-fight with one another in a stakes-free environment where we can simply explore through tiffs that are totally irrelevant to the "plot"
I'm a big proponent of "play-fighting" as a mode of conversation with friends and thusly in ttrpgs but I often feel for certain folks it reads as "pvp". I'm never sure of how to break folks out of that perspective but I am in agreement though. In deepening or furthering relationships of all kinds you usually end up with these “meaningless” discordant dialogues and part of that is learning each others boundaries but it's also learning more about each other period. It's interesting to focus on the game of relationships at a table, part of what makes tabletop more intimate, than the goals that game itself provides I'm going to have to play with that.
Unrelated in anyway other than your post, I highly recommend *The Accidental Empress* for a Girls of Genziana Hotel game. More about royalty than your common workers but provides both what you need to fall in love with Bavarian and the Alps adjacent areas and the intrigue of the era.
> I often feel for certain folks it reads as "pvp". I'm never sure of how to break folks out of that perspective but I am in agreement though.
Yes, this is a huge problem for games where characters are used to thinking that conflict is going to have a negative material impact on the game state, because most combats break out into stuff like violence. I mean, I think the best way is to just name it. "I think we should have a playfight with no consequences, cause I think it'll bring up good stuff for our characters." But yes, I hear you, some players do not want to go here!
> it's also learning more about each other period. -- part of what makes tabletop more intimate
Yes totally, and also learning about our OWN characters. These kinds of play-fights have been really instructive when I've been surprised to see how my OWN character reacts to a fight. We dredge up deeper layers.
> Unrelated in anyway other than your post, I highly recommend *The Accidental Empress* for a Girls of Genziana Hotel game...
Not unrelated, VERY VERY welcome, thank you so much for the recommendation!!
There are two game systems that specifically address this sort of gaming :
Drama System : https://pelgranepress.com/2011/09/29/introducing-dramasystem/
Protocol Games series : https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/124469/gmzero-introduction-document-a-primer-for-gmless-play
I'm a big proponent of "play-fighting" as a mode of conversation with friends and thusly in ttrpgs but I often feel for certain folks it reads as "pvp". I'm never sure of how to break folks out of that perspective but I am in agreement though. In deepening or furthering relationships of all kinds you usually end up with these “meaningless” discordant dialogues and part of that is learning each others boundaries but it's also learning more about each other period. It's interesting to focus on the game of relationships at a table, part of what makes tabletop more intimate, than the goals that game itself provides I'm going to have to play with that.
Unrelated in anyway other than your post, I highly recommend *The Accidental Empress* for a Girls of Genziana Hotel game. More about royalty than your common workers but provides both what you need to fall in love with Bavarian and the Alps adjacent areas and the intrigue of the era.
> I often feel for certain folks it reads as "pvp". I'm never sure of how to break folks out of that perspective but I am in agreement though.
Yes, this is a huge problem for games where characters are used to thinking that conflict is going to have a negative material impact on the game state, because most combats break out into stuff like violence. I mean, I think the best way is to just name it. "I think we should have a playfight with no consequences, cause I think it'll bring up good stuff for our characters." But yes, I hear you, some players do not want to go here!
> it's also learning more about each other period. -- part of what makes tabletop more intimate
Yes totally, and also learning about our OWN characters. These kinds of play-fights have been really instructive when I've been surprised to see how my OWN character reacts to a fight. We dredge up deeper layers.
> Unrelated in anyway other than your post, I highly recommend *The Accidental Empress* for a Girls of Genziana Hotel game...
Not unrelated, VERY VERY welcome, thank you so much for the recommendation!!