Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Gygax on Realism in Game Design
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6008733" data-attributes="member: 1465"><p><em>(...came to the thread because of the sound of a can opening...)</em></p><p></p><p>I think the word "realism" is used by different people to mean different things:</p><p></p><p>- consistency/reliability of the rules, meaning that if I can do X in situation Y, more or less I expect to be able X again if Y repeats at a later date; I don't think "realism" is exactly the same as "consistency" but sometimes the word is used for this</p><p></p><p>- support of suspension of disbelief: yes, there can be hydras in a small room and it's up to you to figure out how it's possible... but if the DM exaggerates with the quantity (especially if then she repeatedly doesn't deliver an explanation at all) it may just be too absurd for many people to take</p><p></p><p>- correspondence with real-life expectations: if you crit someone in the eye with a sword and he doesn't die... the problem is if you start feeling unable to make predictions on even basic phenomena, because most of the times predictions are the starting point of a tactical choice</p><p></p><p>- differentiation of details: having 10 types of rapiers with slightly different rules can be a boon to someone's campaign and totally boring to someone else; you can't really criticise either way, it's just a matter of gaming style and preference</p><p></p><p>I suppose Gygax had in mind certain gamers who can be obsessed with any of the above, which of course can become detrimental to everybody's fun at the table if they don't share the same preference. But I hardly believe he was against any level of realism... to me his early editions of D&D even had more realism than I can personally take, with all those rules subsystems and tables for everything!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Li Shenron, post: 6008733, member: 1465"] [I](...came to the thread because of the sound of a can opening...)[/I] I think the word "realism" is used by different people to mean different things: - consistency/reliability of the rules, meaning that if I can do X in situation Y, more or less I expect to be able X again if Y repeats at a later date; I don't think "realism" is exactly the same as "consistency" but sometimes the word is used for this - support of suspension of disbelief: yes, there can be hydras in a small room and it's up to you to figure out how it's possible... but if the DM exaggerates with the quantity (especially if then she repeatedly doesn't deliver an explanation at all) it may just be too absurd for many people to take - correspondence with real-life expectations: if you crit someone in the eye with a sword and he doesn't die... the problem is if you start feeling unable to make predictions on even basic phenomena, because most of the times predictions are the starting point of a tactical choice - differentiation of details: having 10 types of rapiers with slightly different rules can be a boon to someone's campaign and totally boring to someone else; you can't really criticise either way, it's just a matter of gaming style and preference I suppose Gygax had in mind certain gamers who can be obsessed with any of the above, which of course can become detrimental to everybody's fun at the table if they don't share the same preference. But I hardly believe he was against any level of realism... to me his early editions of D&D even had more realism than I can personally take, with all those rules subsystems and tables for everything! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Gygax on Realism in Game Design
Top