The most fun tabletop RPG experiences, for me, have used the story as an excuse to throw people together and interact in unique circumstances. Much like a TV drama set in an operating room, the story (save the region from the dragon!) is just a way to establish a backdrop of drama and conflict for the players to interact within. The RPG is less fun when the GM sticks to the rulebook and relies on modules, frequent dicerolling and number crunching to move the story along.
Too true, Shaej.
I'm not sure how this applies to rewilding, however, as I think most people are more interested in being the dragonslayer than in being the herb gatherer.
From what I see of watching over someone’s shoulder while she plays WoW, that game lets you do both–just with fictional herbs. The crafting seems to fill a lot of the gaming time.
As for dragonslaying, Jason left a nice opening in 5W with the bugbears–one that my playgroup had a lot of fun exploring. Big Bads make for excitement–finding the phlebotinum that will heal your world’s hurts. So what kind of Big Bads would a typical native encounter? I don’t quite know. But when the tribalist lives in the post-apocalyptic remains of civilization’s crash–well, I bet mayhem just might ensue at every turn.
