Hoe does it do that? Some sort of system that forces the DM to actively screw with the players or something?
The GM has a Doom Pool, that he can spend points out of to do various things. For example:
- Normally the PCs go first in initiative always...unless the GM spends a Doom Pool point to have an NPC go when he wants.
- Think of a cool ability an NPC has, and especially their signature ability that can bring down the house (like dragon breath)...it will be a Doom Pool expenditure to use.
- These foes aren't enough...spend Doom to bring in reinforcements, or spend Doom to upgrade these Mooks into a higher form of opponent.
- In other words, most of the Fiat stuff that GMs do costs Doom to invoke, even stuff that might normally be considered cheating or illusionism. Since the GM has to spend Doom Points, it's ok.
...and here's why it's ok...
The GM starts with some Doom, but most of the Doom comes from the players. Its called the 2d20 system, but in reality, every roll the PC makes, they can choose to boost it to 5d20, by giving the GM a Doom Pool point for every die. Also some other things cost Doom. You're not a very good warrior, Parrying can cost Doom for example.
So you have a give and take between Player and GM with the Doom Pool being a type of conversation. "How far are we willing to go?" If you want to really amp the fuck up and Conan the shit out of everything, roll 5d20s for everything and you're gonna be kicking ass, but you're basically handing that Doom currency over to the GM and saying "Do your worst."
It lays a kind of collaborative/competitive storytelling throttle over everything.
An example of this would be in my gameplay runthrough of
To Race the Thunder, an intro adventure. The PCs in some cases were really angry/determined to save settlers from some Picts and really went for it, going all out...and that made the encounters with the animals under control of the Pictish shaman all that more deadly.