Improv Night Featuring the Quantum Ogre

This article is inspired by a rather lengthy series of conversations from the NSR Cauldron.

The Quantum Ogre

Courtney wrote a series of articles on the quantum ogre when OSR was getting its start and folks were having many conversations like they are now about what makes games fun, why, and how we talked about it.

You may not be super familiar with the ogre, but you should read the original articles.

Imagine a party is faced with three identical doors. The party approaches one and decides to enter it. The GM knows that door leads to the exit. The GM also spent a lot of time on their cool encounter with an ogre. So the GM swaps what's behind the door for the cool encounter. The players never know it happened, and run through the encounter the GM prepped.

This is the quantum ogre.

From the GM's perspective they used what they prepped to make the game more fun and interesting. From the players' perspective they experienced the encounter. But here's the problem: None of the doors mattered, nor the choices the players made.

In other words, the exact same thing would have happened no matter what, so why pretend?

This is a variation of railroading. Forcing the players to experience what the GM prepped, even if the players don't intend to.

In old-school games a big part of the game is built around the players making choices, accepting a steep risk & reward gambit, puzzling things out, and managing resources. The quantum ogre turns all of this into an illusion. Nothing the players do matters. They'll experience what the GM wants them to, no matter what the prep was, the dice say, or what the players' choices and intentions are.

For this style of game, the ogre is a dangerous thing to let in. Most folks have experienced the dissatisfaction that comes from a game where the ogre shows up.

Blorb

Now, the ogre is theory with a bit of guidance, but it really leaves a lot of the, "What do I do with this," to each GM. Blorb helps by introducing a set of principles and guidelines for GMs to use and players to expect.

A big part of reading blorb is how much it emphasizes that you will respect what exists or is created. If you prepped the exit down one door, that's what it is. If you have a wandering monster that is a dragon, that's what it is. These principles keep the ogre away.

Though when you read blorb it is easy to think you have to spend a lot of time in prep. But do you?

Expectations are Good

In TTRPGs where there is a GM/DM/Ref and players, there is an issue with asymmetry. There is a power dynamic, a massive gap of information, and a difference in function. These differences lead to all kinds of oddities, like the GM making what they think is a sound ruling but is very dissatisfying to players. It might be because the GM is using information the players don't have, or the GM is unfamiliar with rules, or that they let the ogre in. To the players it seems wrong, and they might even feel cheated.

Setting expectations to say how the game will be run and ruled helps with this. Setting expectations is a good thing.

The TTRPG hobby benefitted when conversations around safety, expectations, and techniques were introduced. This set expectations that allowed players to engage or not. Setting expectations about how you'll run the game and how it will feel is good.

Improv with the Ogre

How much do you prep, and how much can you improv if you want to be faithful to blorb and to keep the ogre away?

Table Aids

There are elements of prep that exist for use during play. Various random tables, maps, lairs, NPCs, can all be pre-cooked or represented as various rolls on tables. They don't exist until the players need them.

You could ONLY prepare these and run an entire session rolling on various tables and remain consistent with blorb and keep the ogre at bay. The key is you have to accept the dice where they lie, even if you think something else would be "better." When the GM's opinion alters what would have emerged, that's the issue.

Set Pieces

Prepping the set pieces is everything that the GM preps in advance that will simply be referenced at the table. Unlike table aids which help fill in what doesn't exist, set pieces are created in advance.

Common set pieces are towns and dungeons.

A set piece, once created and placed, exists in that condition. It doesn't move, alter, or shift based on what the players do.

Now, how many set pieces vs table aids do you need? I think that depends entirely on you as a GM. I personally like to prep dungeons in advance so I have one less thing to juggle, and so I can focus on getting the rulings right as folks explore.

Example: The Tree of Potential

In a game, a lone towering tree that was blasted by magic exists. One person prepped it as a set piece, the other generated it at the table. Unfortunately, neither has more material than that. What do they do?

Make it up!

I can hear your gasps.

You neither invite the ogre in, nor violate blorb by doing so. Provided you don't swap something else in, or do something inconsistent with your understanding of the game and world.

Could the tree be a corrupt dryad that wants help? Sure. Could the tree have remnants of magic that are a useful component? Yep. Could it just be a burnt tree? Absolutely.

The point is, once you improvise, it's a fact in the world.

Where's the line?

Here's the crux of it, to me anyway. The ogre and blorb exist to prioritize player choice first. Their choices create the story, not the GM's.

To make their choices as meaningful as possible, a GM has to have a useful framework to create, represent, and maintain the world the players exist in. Consequences matter because choices matter. If a GM only improvised, the play shifts from actions and consequences to drama and interest.

Improvising in the small empty spaces within a framework respects the choices the players make, and keeps gameplay around the choices and consequences of players.

It's Just a Style

Are you still reading?

Blorb and the Quantum Ogre are for a specific style of play. It is neither "Good" nor "Bad"!

If you like games with more narrative and story building, set expectations and play that way. Play games that make that work well.

If you want to run an old-school game but reserve the right to make it up as you go, set the expectations, and do it.

The bottom line here is that there is enough room for all of us. While I have found deep satisfaction in keeping the ogre away and blorbing, it's far from the only thing I've enjoyed or played. I found myself drawn to these ideas to address issues I kept seeing at tables that left me deeply unsatisfied because my choices didn't matter.