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DM advice: How do you NOT kill your party?
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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7401019" data-attributes="member: 996"><p>Not in /exactly/ the same way, but the analogy is close. In both cases, you know that you're not seeing everything that's going on to create the experience. In the case of the DM, the screen is right there. In the case of the magician, you don't have access to the stage, and are viewing everything from angles he's chosen. </p><p> (I got the impression 'participationalism' is more like "sure, I'll watch the magic act, but we need to know how all the tricks work.") </p><p></p><p> I don't actually disagree. Most players seeing you roll behind the screen should realize you may or may not be rolling to see what number comes up on the die - or you'd be rolling it in the open. But actually shining them on would be analogous to the magician who tries to convince you he has real magical powers.</p><p></p><p> His comments didn't make huge amounts of sense taken at face value, I admit, yet they rang true for many of us who'd had that sort of experience back in the day. </p><p></p><p>A significant Gygaxism of the classic game was that the DM should know the rules /better/ than his players, and that he should maintain that gap, even as the players gained 'skill.' Today, that'd probably be considered part of illusionism.</p><p></p><p> Levels are part of the mechanics, not using some of them is the same as opting out of any other mechanic - if it makes the game better for your purposes, that's a 'fix.' A pretty easy one, in this case. </p><p> It'd reduce the frequency of such delivered by the system, so less fudging after the fact - and between the two, that'd be 'solved,' as the problem wouldn't have occurred. </p><p>I agree it doesn't help if your strategy is to avoid them by avoiding all chance of death, up-front...</p><p></p><p>...though, in a way, it's not that different, it's still dealing with the issue mainly by avoiding it. </p><p></p><p>::shrug::</p><p></p><p>Illusionism isn't based on being untruthful, just on not providing complete information - not 'showing them the strings.' </p><p></p><p>I don't disagree, but you will exclude a whole range of play opportunities (stories, character concepts, &c) in choosing not to tie PCs into the story, just as you loose a swath of 'em for doing so. </p><p></p><p>Neither's an innately bad choice, in itself, they just each present different challenges & opportunities.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 7401019, member: 996"] Not in /exactly/ the same way, but the analogy is close. In both cases, you know that you're not seeing everything that's going on to create the experience. In the case of the DM, the screen is right there. In the case of the magician, you don't have access to the stage, and are viewing everything from angles he's chosen. (I got the impression 'participationalism' is more like "sure, I'll watch the magic act, but we need to know how all the tricks work.") I don't actually disagree. Most players seeing you roll behind the screen should realize you may or may not be rolling to see what number comes up on the die - or you'd be rolling it in the open. But actually shining them on would be analogous to the magician who tries to convince you he has real magical powers. His comments didn't make huge amounts of sense taken at face value, I admit, yet they rang true for many of us who'd had that sort of experience back in the day. A significant Gygaxism of the classic game was that the DM should know the rules /better/ than his players, and that he should maintain that gap, even as the players gained 'skill.' Today, that'd probably be considered part of illusionism. Levels are part of the mechanics, not using some of them is the same as opting out of any other mechanic - if it makes the game better for your purposes, that's a 'fix.' A pretty easy one, in this case. It'd reduce the frequency of such delivered by the system, so less fudging after the fact - and between the two, that'd be 'solved,' as the problem wouldn't have occurred. I agree it doesn't help if your strategy is to avoid them by avoiding all chance of death, up-front... ...though, in a way, it's not that different, it's still dealing with the issue mainly by avoiding it. ::shrug:: Illusionism isn't based on being untruthful, just on not providing complete information - not 'showing them the strings.' I don't disagree, but you will exclude a whole range of play opportunities (stories, character concepts, &c) in choosing not to tie PCs into the story, just as you loose a swath of 'em for doing so. Neither's an innately bad choice, in itself, they just each present different challenges & opportunities. [/QUOTE]
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