Editing Texas: Drama And Narrative Resolution (section)

=Throwing out the Rulebook=

The ''Texas'' game is pretty simple at its heart, and assumes that in any conflict both sides have a pretty good chance of winning. It doesn't really account for superior preparation, or for one sided situations.

In these circumstances the GM is encouraged to throw out the rulebook and to go with gritty cinematic pseudo-realism. For example:

- The gunslinger pulls his gun on the unarmed schoolmarm and plugs her in the gut. No conflict is needed, as the schoolmarm doesn't stand a chance. Bang! She's dead!

- The hustler is cornered in an alley by two dozen hicks with whips who want to beat him up a little. He has no chance to escape, or to fight back. Consider him whipped.

- The soldier has prepared an intricate ambush, and shoots the gunslinger through the head from a sniping position on the church roof. The gunslinger has no chance - he's shot dead.

==White Hats, Black Hats and Asshats==

The problem here, of course, is that if such outcomes have no random factor then players know they can get away with certain things. If they ''can'' shoot down every unarmed man in the street, then why shouldn't they?

To forestall this remind them of two things:

First of all, they're the white hats, and the antagonists are the black hats. Sure, they could overpower the schoolmarm and rape her on the spot, but they shouldn't because this movie has them as good guys. The GM in a game like this has ''every right'' to say that certain actions don't serve the vision of the movie he is directing, and demand that the player picks another action. This is not a sandbox game, or GTA Old West.

Second, every player has a responsibility to the story. They're not really there to have their characters "win" - in fact if their characters are empathetic and heroic, but they make it to the finale only to lose, then you've got a great tragedy right there and the player should feel like he has still won. Yes, the players can run riot with the movie and turn it into Massacre On Main Street, but ''No, they shouldn't.'' If players need it spelt out any more than that they're playing the wrong game.

Its also worth remembering that the GM has the same responsibilities too. If the players struggle through two badly directed acts only to have their characters gunned down with no recourse to the Conflict mechanics at the start of the third act, they have every right to slap their GM silly and ask him what the hell he thinks he is doing.
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