Keeper and Seeker Actions

I have a refinement of the core model of discourse we engage in during tabletop roleplaying. Based on Chris McDowall's ICI Doctrine, I present a core set of actions that the player and the game master use to play (players = seekers, game masters = keepers):

Seekers

• Deliver Impact
• Gather Insight
• Find Sources

Keepers

• Frame Obstacles
• Reveal Triggers
• Invite Context

For context, playing make-believe raises an obvious question: What can we get away with? If a seeker says "I solve the riddle and save the day" why is that a faux pas when they can say "I drive to the market and buy some breakfast" without issue? The reason is due to the others at the table - nothing goes 100% anyone's way, it is always some part mine and some part yours and some part the world's, and in particular the more ambitious the action the greater exposure the course of events have to the intentions of others.

To formalize this, the seekers are assumed to seek their goals - trying to impact upon any obstacles to their plans, gather insight into the scene and scenario, or find sources of information or resources to leverage against their challenges. The keepers are reacting by framing obstacles to their progression, revealing tripped triggers their actions have stumbled upon, and inviting the seekers to fill in the context of their character's world (both presently and internally) to have more material to respond to.

These core actions are handy system-agnostic agendas for the players and game master. They are the fundamental model I fall back on when running games and designing them.