RPGaDay 2026 9&10

 

9. Privilege

Since I'm getting into a  bit of a groove of responding to these prompts in the context of the three-way tension model, let's consider the idea of "privilege" from that perspective. What is a privilege in a TTRPG, and how might it impact of the dynamics of the session?

My first thoughts here linger on the notion of "niche protection". A player who is portraying a cleric or healer has a privilege on their actions when it comes to removing wounds from other characters. This privilege might be diegetic or non-diegetic. Now I'm trying to work out which of these options is more diegetic, and which is more non-diegetic....but here's where my current thought patterns lie.

Non-Diegetic (existing outside the narrative): The player who has a privilege with regard to this sort of action is the one who has a bonus on their skill rolls (or whatever mechanisms is used for randomising an action result). It is also known among players that this person has the better chance of successfully achieving their goals, so everyone steps back and gives them the opportunity to shine. There's a bit of a meta effect happening here, because players know based on character sheet numbers who is better and who is privileged in this regard.

Diegetic (existing within the narrative): The character who has the privilege with regard to this type os action is the one who has shown in the past that they are most capable of achieving a successful action for this type of task. The numbers on the character sheet don't mean anything, it's the results within the narrative that matter. These results could come from lucky (or unlucky) die rolls, from reputation in the setting (deserved or otherwise), or from some other means.

In each case, the privilege is allowing this person to take the limelight momentarily and make their own impact on the wider story while others take a step back. Privilege is opportunity, and the chance to act when others aren't.

10. Secret

Secrets can make games, and they can break games. I've certainly seen plenty of both in my time. 

Traditional TTRPGs are riddled with secrets. DMs rolling dice behind screens, notebooks with hidden clues that might prevent players from proceeding through the game if the players don't think to ask the right questions, or if they don't roll well enough for their characters, players with hidden things in their character's backstories (which may or may not impact on the course of play)... in all of these cases, the secret can make for a moment of dramatic tension as it is revealed, but unless it's revealed it becomes a non-event. Why bother including Chekov's gun if it never gets fired? Why bother including the gun as a part of the setting if it's never mentioned and no-one even knows it's there.

Again, we come to the duality of diegetic and non-diegetic, and this is something a lot of more modern TTRPGs have experimented with. Perhaps letting players know the secrets even if characters don't, perhaps allowing benefits to players who deliberately avoid the secret (especially when it might be advantageous to their character diegetically to reveal it). I've been meaning to play with this idea in some of my games.