So in pbta, the premise is built into the relationship map and moves. In Mutant Year Zero its built into the starting situation of the arc, the threat cards and the metaplot. Then there’s Burning Wheel which has the starting situation questionaire, and good enough ‘theme?’ to keep it on track with low prep.

Is an ‘end’ necessary for a good premise? It’s one of my favorite things with pbta games. How moves advance and various retirement options sort of push the game to a conclusion. M:Y0 has an end built in, that makes me breath easier when starting it.

Does the premise have to enable low prep load? It’s def a highlight in my book… But if its helping out with prep work it has to be a bit more mechanical than a basic narrative premise right? Technically shadowrun is all about running jobs for shady Mr. Johnson, but the game doesn’t equip you with many tools between jobs. It’s usually up to the GM to get their hands dirty.

Anyone have any other examples of games with good premises that you enjoyed running?