Blorb #TTRPG

blorb_summary.md

• Blorb Principles Several key principles of "Blorb," which is a prep-focused playstyle for tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons:
  • Never Prep Plot: Instead of prepping plot, prep entities such as places, enemies, friends, items, and rewards. What happens in the game should be emergent, not prewritten, based on mechanics and dice rolls.
  • No Paper after Seeing Rock: This principle is about commitment to your prepped decisions. For example, if you've prepped a room to have a certain number of skeletons, you don't change that number when the players reach the room.
  • Three Tiers of Truth: This refers to a method of answering player questions. First, check your prep for the answer; if the answer isn't in your prep, then use a rule or mechanic you've established; if no rule or mechanic applies, make something up but be mindful of game balance.
  • Wallpaper Salience: This principle emphasizes the importance of prepping crucial details, particularly things that can impact gameplay. Less critical details, such as the color of a room's wallpaper, can be improvised.
  • Salience Time Zoom: Time in the game should pass as needed to answer the questions that arise in play. The Dungeon Master should facilitate this, rather than trying to pace the game dramatically.
  • Prepping is Different from Running: The mindset of creating a game module (prep) should be different from the mindset of running it. While a game creator may focus on things like balance, fairness, or theme, once the game starts running, those thoughts should be set aside in favor of commitment to the prepped decisions.
  • Diegetical Mechanics: This principle promotes mechanics that are tied to the characters' actions in the game world. It emphasizes that having a well-prepped game allows for meaningful engagement with the game world, instead of relying solely on abstracted, symbolic mechanics.
• Example: Instant Blorb