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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://idiomdrottning.org/" style="border:none;"><img style="border:none; width: 154px; margin: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://idiomdrottning.org/idiomdrottning_just_thistle.png" alt="Idiomdrottningâs homepage"/></a></p>
<h1 id="riss">RISS</h1>
<p><small>This is version 1.4.2 of RISS official, canonical theory. Previous version is <a href="https://idiomdrottning.org/riss-1.4.1">here</a>, current version is <a href="http://idiomdrottning.org/riss">here</a>.</small></p>
<p>Getting on the same page about which techniques are kosher and which are iffy is SUPER IMPORTANT to us humans! Itâs the outside-in approach to finding common value ground.</p>
<p>Now what is RISS? It stands for Railgnusto, Impronitfol, Sandboxblorb and Skillfrotz.</p>
<p><strong>Railgnusto</strong>, Rails for short, is about making a prewritten story unfold at the table, seeing it play out and seeing the other participants react to it. This could be a GM writing âFirst the players are gonna do X, then theyâre gonna do Y, then theyâre gonna do Zâ style notes before play, this could be a player writing ten pages of backstory for their character to slowly reveal during play, or pre-writing story beats that they want their character to hit over the campaign. The core technique is: âPre-write storyâ.</p>
<p><strong>Impronitfol</strong> is about building on each otherâs ideas during play, with or without a twist. A typical Impronitfol game is about characters with inner or outer conflict that are worked through in play, such as âShould the hard-working cop abandon her family in order to protect them?â. The play isnât about whatâs best for the character but what would have the most interesting outcomes within the gameâs tone, and choices arenât always made with the characterâs victory in mind. The core technique is âSwerve to create storyâ.</p>
<p>In <strong>Sandboxblorb</strong>, players want the games shared imagined space to be consistent and tangible and feel real; real even if magic makes the chairs float or the beholders shoot eye lasers. Precommitment to some of the facts is a common technique, both concrete like âThe statuette in the second desk drawer from the topâ and generational like âRoll on this table every time a player searches a strangers pockets to see what they findâ. The core technique is âStick to the truthâ.</p>
<p>If Impronitfol is about the characterâs choices, <strong>Skillfrotz</strong> (Skills for short) is all about the playerâs choices. Choices that make meaningful differences in howâor sometimes even ifâovercoming challenges. âShould the hard-working cop equip a +1 one beastmaster sword or a x3 mod lightning round gun in order to best protect her family?â The choices can be about game mechanics and system mastery, or it can be a very rules light game filled with puzzles, obstacles and mystery. The goals when making such choices can be victory or it can be something else the player set out to do (âWonder if I can make an Unchained Rogue with only one arm and still break the tier ceiling?â). The core technique is âMake it difficult and possible.â</p>
<p>Wait, thereâs more!
These four corners of the RISS quartet may sound like mortal enemies. But thatâs not the case, they are the best of friends!
Here is the official poster for the RISS kumbaya of FRIENDSHIP:</p>
<p><img src="https://idiomdrottning.org/riss_friendship_1.4.png" /></p>
<p>The corners can cooperate in many ways and itâs possible to design a game to leverage all four corners to some extent.</p>
<p>Railgnusto and Impronitfol are close friends because they care about story. Dramatic arcs, story structures from all over the world, the theatre and narrative tradition. Seeing meaningful things play out and come to a satisfying conclusion.</p>
<p>Railgnusto and Sandboxblorb can also work together well. Either using Sandbox techniques to create a believable, solid world where the pre-written Rails events can take place, and with a wide area around the tracks where play can stray before finding its way back, or using Railsâ technique to string together a sequence of interesting Sandbox areas limited in scope.</p>
<p>Skillfrotz and Railgnusto have often been seen hand in hand down by the boardwalk, K-I-S-S-I-N-G some might say. D&D 4e and Pathfinder are sometimes played in this manner, with Adventure Path play. A game where the big story beats are outlined can also design its challenges to be surmountable, possible and fair. The players skills can be tested and they still get to experience the story. Skill challenges is a typical mechanic for this sort of play.</p>
<p>Sandboxblorb and Impronitfol fold their hands together tightly and pray âLet us play to find outâ. A pre-written story or a fair challenge isnât interesting to them if thatâs not what wouldâve happened. An Impro player putting their characterâs heart out there in Psychodrame, waiting for the hammer to fall as their loved one hesitates to give an answer they donât want to hear. A Sandbox player crossing their fingers and chanting âeight eight eight eighâ as they hope for the best possible random encounter for their Fear-stricken NPC friend as he darted around the corner.</p>
<p>Impronitfol and Skillfrotz are strange bedfellows but they snuck away at the prom, leaving their boyfriends by the punchbowl. Losing in style is winning. âPlaying to loseâ and âplaying to winâ come together in a game of portraying your character truly, completely and to the hilt, taking the consequences both mechanical and diegetic, but taking the challenge seriously. My friend said, and Iâll never forget this: âI do want to win. But I want to win <em>as Joanne</em>.â</p>
<p>Sandboxblorb is Skillfrotzâs main squeeze. Their parents set them up after church dinner and they hit it off right away. They have so many common values. Adhering to the consequences of the gameâs mechanics, making sure that the DM is a neutral referee, reading Sage Advice regularly to sort out any rules issues. Sandboxblorbâs obstacles and challenges are played for keeps and this is exhilarating to Skillfrotz. Welcome to the big leagues.</p>
<p>But not everything is a paradise in the RISS land!
Here is the official diagram of the official RISS Hatred Parade of Eternal Enmity:</p>
<p><img src="https://idiomdrottning.org/riss_enmity_1.4.png" /></p>
<p>When Impronitfol, Sandboxblorb and Skillfrotz get together, they gossip about how Railgnusto sometimes have gone behind their back in the past. Promising to play by their rules, pretending to do so, but the minute they look away, bam! Manipulating the group to do what Railgnusto wants. âWhy did you roll the dice if you had made your mind up already?â they say.</p>
<p>Every day Railgnusto, Sandboxblorb and Skillfrotz sit at the same lunch table. Sometimes the topic goes to that emo, Impronitfol. âWhat a drama queen!â they protest. âAlways going on about emotions and conflicts and psychology. Oooh, Iâm sooo dark and mysterious. Get over it, not every story is about The Agony of Getting Braces.â</p>
<p>One day after class, Railgnusto whispered to Skillfrotz and Impronitfol. âCan you believe that nerd Sandboxblorb raised their hand seven times in class today! I mean get <em>over</em> it, not everybody wants to dwell on all of that physics and geography and history. Like, get to the <em>point</em>. The three of us, we know the core of play and we know the value of sticking to the point. We want to get right to the fight, the story, the drama!â</p>
<p>After Skillfrotz broke a femur climbing a tree, their three friends were walking to the hospital to visit. They wondered why Skillfrotz wanted to make a game out of everything. âWho cares who can drink their soda fastest? Weâd rather savor every sip and not feel bad because we werenât as fast or clever as them by some arbitrary contest rules theyâve set up.â</p>
<p>Friday afternoon, Railgnusto and Impro where having the theatre club to themselves of the room dark except for a soft light on the stage, where they were practicing. âWhy are you wrecking my script!â Railgnusto shouted, tossing the stapled pages on the floor. âYouâre supposed to say Yes when he proposes marriage and then cry when he dies in act two!â Impronitfol put down a set of bongos. âI feel you but Iâve got to stay true to the character, and she decides that this isnât the guy for her.â</p>
<p>Railgnusto went to Sandboxblorbs house to find a shoulder to cry on, and propose they take a vacation together, flashing two train tickets. âStuck on a train all day? I wanted to go hiking,â Sandboxblorb said. âI wanted to explore the woods by the shore, I wanted to see what we could find if we wandered around freely. Maybe we could build something there.â âBut⊠what if itâs boring there? Iâd rather know my destination, if we get on this train now â and I already spent a lot of money on the tickets â we can savor the journey there and weâll get a Banana Split when we get there.â</p>
<p>Some months later, Skillfrotz and Railgnusto were dancing cheek to cheek to a slow song under the disco lights. âDonât you know the steps?â asked Railgnusto. âI do,â said Skillfrotz, âIâm just doing them faster, try to keep up.â âCâmon, let me leadâ, Railgnusto replied. Thatâs when Skillfrotz took a step back. âRailgnusto⊠Are you cheating on me?â âWhat do mean?â âAre you going behind my back? You know Iâm all about fairness. Thatâs my One Rule.â âBut⊠but⊠you wouldnât let me do what I wanted!â</p>
<p>Later, Impronitfol tried to tell Sandboxblorb about the problems at the theatre club. âSo we were standing on the stageâŠâ âHow did you get there?â âWe walked⊠anyway, it was dark except for a soft spotlight.â âWho operated the lights, I thought you were the only ones there?â âWe set the lights before we got on stage. Anyway, I was trying to add some bongos to the big proposal scene, whenâŠâ âWhere did you get those bongos?â âI bought them at the pawn shop, remember? You were with me. AnywayâŠâ âWhere did you get the money for that purchase?â âWill you please just let me open my heart to you and not fiddle over every single detail! Why canât you just trust me when Iâm speaking?â</p>
<p>After the big game, Skillfrotz gave Impronitfol a scolding. âHow could you drop the ball like that? Oh, cut the sulking. Everyone depended on you out there! We were one point away from winning and you couldâve scored a two-pointer easily; the net was wide open!â âYou donât understand my angst and my fear, and you never have!â Impronitfol said through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>Skillfrotz was frustrated. âOh, come one, eighty orcs in one fight? How is that fair, Sandboxblorb?â âBut⊠but⊠that room <em>had</em> eighty orcs. Itâs their annual gathering to celebrate Gruumsh.â</p>
<p>The key to getting the corners to work together is to identify their conflicts and making a choice in favor of one of the two for that particular problem area. For example, when Skillfrotz, which is all about playerâs choices in challenges, and Impronitfol, which is all about characterâs choices in challenges, get together, a common conflict is when a player makes a choice for the sake of being true to their character, but the choice endangers the rest of the characters, whose players would rather make choices to try to succeed that particular mission. Adressing the issue with a choice in favor of one or the other corner, through rules (âYou should do your best to succeed. This is a challenge based game.â) or conveyance (âWhen you stay true to your character and that puts the character in risk, you get an Inspiration tokenâ) is key to making the corners work together. If thatâs what you want. Usually focusing on one, two or three corners and deliberately excluding three, two or one corners can make an interesting and coherent game.</p>
<p>Any questions?</p>
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