#dis megan koseh etc all also have interesting character conflict delights but that's definitely another post entirely lol

[artemissoteira]

something I love about watching Aabria play ttrpgs is her absolute delight in character conflict and specifically characters who insist upon sitting in conflicts of deeply held convictions that don't have an easy resolution.

I feel like in Failed Save alone there are multiple times where both Fess and Chi have interrupted someone (PC and NPC!) who is trying to move past or minimize or make light of a conflict in order to make things easier or more comfortable (spitting over Dew, Amelia, everything about the contract in s6). it's such a cool way to interrupt the assumed 'yes and' / narrative flow of a ttrpg by forcing not just continued focus on a scene, but refocus in the framework of - no, you don't get to be comfortable, the camera isn't going to turn away, we're going to sit with the implications of this conflict and take it seriously even if it's hard because there's something here for us to dig in to, if you'll trust me to do it together and go there together.

I just think it's such a fun approach to this medium of fantasy and creative freedom and shared storytelling, especially in a game like Failed Save that is so over the top and lackadaisical with reality - until it's not, until the characters face something very, very real. and of course the GM has a lot of tools to manipulate that contrast and set up those emotionally intense scenes, which vince does very well, but it's very cool to see a player* using their more limited scope of tools to do the same thing.

I imagine it's a style that not everyone is comfortable with, given the way it challenges cultural expectations around conflict and specifically conflict in improv / ttrpg settings (and coming from a Black woman especially). I think it's not something a player can pull off well without a) an excellent sense of narrative pacing to know when it's appropriate and b) more importantly, a ton of trust at the table, with both other players and the GM. and naturally it's harder for the audience to be certain of the latter when we're watching through a screen and don't have the same context, so I don't think it's an uncomplicated thing by any means.

but god is it marvelous to watch when it lands.

*everyone in the Failed Save cast does this in really interesting ways, actually, but I think Aabria's style is the most overtly challenging to common ttrpg sensibilities and so the most stark. Gina's emotional sneak attacks with Murray and Saige's decidedly unheroic choices for Dasle are also always on my mind but. that's another post entirely lmao.

obligatory plug to go check out Failed Save (and other shows) @PixelCircus on twitch/youtube for high-octane high-chaos ttrpg fun