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acronym, ttrpg

FKR

2023-1-16

FKR (Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying) is an approach to playing tabletop roleplaying games. Its popular catchphrase, "play worlds not rules" , is as reasonable as any catchphrase. Play requires the following:

  1. A shared understanding of a world.
  2. A Game Maestro trusted to represent "the world", and adjudicate player actions and their consequences.
  3. One or more players who control a character and play the world set before them.
  4. Play is a conversation. The GM describes a situation; the player describes what their character does. Outcomes are negotiated together and add to the emerging narrative.

That's it. Everything else is a preference for accomplishing these requirements. Some considerations:

  • Rules tend to be lite but there is no "correct" amount. Rules should effectively be "invisible" and not hinder play.
  • Roll dice when it makes sense or not at all.
  • There are no FKR systems. Any system might be used in an FKR game. No system; a mashup of multiple systems; a coin flip... this is up to you and your table.