Post originally by Kat at 2003-07-09 09:29:14
Converted from Phorums BB System

Everway does offer several different ways for a GM to arbitrate the system, and one of those ways discards the Fortune Deck, this is true.
Everway allows the GM to chose the style of play that the GM is most comfortable with. Once you chose a style, Drama, Karma, or Fate, you don't have license to change styles in the middle of the game if you don't like the out come.

The Law of Drama allows the GM to determine the outcome of a situation by what makes the best story, and that's the style offered that seems most GM Fiat like. In my opinion it is the most difficult style to run and a GM who chooses that style and runs it as a way to take over the game should find soon his players wanting to play something else. Of course a Bad GM can ruin the fun of any game. A good GM that could pull of the Drama style would be open to the interpretations of the other players as they describe how they think the story unfolds and will actually use a lot less Control over the game allowing the players to mold out the adventure. This can be just as exciting and exhilarating as any dice based gaming system.

The Law of Karma allows that the numbers set the rules. If your a 5 fire and your attempting to fight a swordmaster whose fire is 6 you loose. Again a bad GM will be certain that his favorite NPCs are always rated at higher numbers than the players, but you will have this in any game system with a prima-donna gm. A good GM will run this game under the law of Karma and the numbers will never be brought up. You know what your rated and She knows what the NPCs are rated and through narration of what the players and NPCs do, the players guess a lot if they can take a challenge.

Finally the Law of Fate which uses the Fortune deck instead of dice. At first glance the meanings of the cards do seem vague, and a Bad GM will use that vagueness to push the outcome that he wants. A good GM Knows her game. I good GM has studied the deck and therefore the meanings are not vague to her. I run with the fortune deck myself, and I love it, but I wouldn't say that it has given me the freedom to determine all outcomes my way. I use fate with the numbers because I believe that master swordsman of the 6 fire could have a bad day and the player with the 5 fire could have blind luck and if he's being attacked by a Street rat with a 4 fire The street kid could also get lucky, if the right card gets flipped.

The point is there are specific rules to each of the styles presented in the game. None of the rules mention the right of the GM to take over the game. Again that won't stop some people from doing it, but they would do that with any game. I've had a miserable time as a player in an Aberrant game where the GM used the players as an audience so his super powerful NPCs could talk to themselves. We were way outclassed by the NPCs and almost all the players died at the climax of the game until heroic NPCs could save the day (yawn).