The Principle of Yes

 

There is no such thing as a tabletop RPG system that can provide rules for everything, and Mythmaster does not even attempt to deliver that. Mythmaster aims to be broad, systemic, and robust, and to leave plenty of room for players and Directors to extrapolate rules as needed. This does not mean Mythmaster is incomplete, it means Mythmaster seeks, at the core, to foster and develop trust and understanding between players by allowing them to decide, collaboratively, what the best rules are to cover any random, unpredictable situation.

Over years of play testing, I have learned many things, but perhaps the most important thing I can share with anyone who would play Mythmaster is this; the game is better when the rules are allowed to interact freely with one another. If a player ever asks an unpredictable question, such as, ‘using the Breathe Spell to breathe underwater, can I then exhale air into my empty wine-skins in order to inflate them to create flotation devices?’ the answer should always be ‘yes’. Does this make sense? Probably not… but who cares? Is it awesome that the player has a plan to do something intentional with some empty wine-skins and a rarely used spell? Yes. It is awesome. Whatever that plan is, you should want to see it unfold (even if it fails in the end), not nip it in the bud because of the chemistry of gas solubility.

The Principle of Yes is not intended to empower extroverted or confident players over those who are more thoughtful or quiet. It does not mean that charismatic or loud players should be allowed to talk their way around the rules. The rules create the safe space that should apply uniformly to all players, while the Principle of Yes is about rewarding ingenuity, creativity, and thoughtful exploration of the undefined ‘edges’ of the game. The Principle of Yes means that if someone has an interesting, creative idea for how something not otherwise covered by the rules might work - go with it. As a Director, you should support and embrace it, as a player, you should celebrate it, and collectively, ideally, your Mythmaster group will inculcate this kind of creative and exploratory playfulness into your play sessions. More ‘yes’ makes the game more enjoyable for everyone.