[RPG] a “shared narrative” RPG

The term "shared narrative" indicates substantial player participation in shaping the game's narrative elements (e.g. setting, plot, NPCs). In some games, GMs establish and orchestrate the world, and players can only use their characters to interact with what the GM gives them. I'll call that style "GM-directed.” In games with a shared narrative, on the other hand, players have a chance to establish at least some of those elements themselves. They get to control parts of the world beyond their characters.

Player impact varies, though. It depends on how the system (if any) defines what actions can be taken, how much narrative control the GM relinqueshes, and whether there’s a GM at all. Imagine it as a scale from GM-directed to shared narrative: games can (and often do) lie somewhere in between. They may also shift back and forth. Sometimes the GM might have the reins, and sometimes players might.

Games like D&D3.5/Pathfinder are traditionally GM-directed. For example, I played a pirate PF game. I created my character and established some history, subject to GM approval. That's it, though. During play, I couldn't just say, "My character spots land from the crow's nest!" The GM and mechanics had to establish that. If I had character man the crow’s nest, the GM asked me to roll Perception. When I rolled well, the GM decided that I spotted land.

By contrast, freeform games often spread the narrative control around. Say I’m playing a freeform pirate game, and we’ve agreed that everyone can add locations to the world. In that case, I can say that my character spots land from the crow’s nest. I have the narrative control required to do that. In this case, there's no GM, and all players are sharing narrative control equally.

Fate is a good example of narrative control shifting. Fate points can be spent to "compel" someone, or make their life more difficult. GMs can compel PCs; players can compel both NPCs and PCs. One can spend a fate point to block the compel, although someone else can offer yet another fate point to make it happen anyway. Participants can bid back and forth to decide what happens. However, if the player accepts the compel, they receive any fate points bid, which they can spend to improve their dice rolls and create new facts about the world. Thus, a player can allow others enough narrative control to complicate their character's life in exchange for more narrative control later.