Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Given that in a typical D&D setting (and maybe those of some other games as well) there's elements in the world that really are out to "getcha", I have no problem with "gotcha" play.But people don't generally walk around with the equivalent of ten foot poles in real life. That really says to me that play is gonna be about "gotcha" type elements.... that if I don't ask the right question (which my character would not have to ask, by the way) then I'll miss some key bit of info or similar.
And yes, ideally the GM gives out enough useful info and describes things well enough for you to make decisions. That said, sometimes the characters just aren't going to have all the info to hand, and-or what they do have is wrong.
"All is not as it appears" is a trope as old as time. The GM can only describe what the PCs think they see and perceive.There's something inherently conflicted about the person who is responsible for my understanding of the game world actively trying to deceive me.
I'm not saying that it never has a place, but I just don't think "how can I lie to them?" needs to be a major consideration.
The boxed description and-or GM will likely fall short in their description of minutae until and unless asked, but in theory ought to get the major stuff while still leaving room for things to not necessarily be as they appear.Also, you didn't respond to the second half of my previous post, and I'd love to get your take on the below as a justification for sharing game information like ACs and distances and the like. Several posters have expressed similar sentiments, and most have been responded to vaguely or avoided entirely.
I think the point here is that no matter how good a GM or boxed text may be at this, they will fall short compared to what the character can perceive and intuit from their "actual" surroundings.
What do folks think of this idea?
For example, in a classic "gumshoe" setting: "The door opens inward on to a very warm room, about 15x15' with an 8' ceiling. There's a small partly-open window in the far (west) wall through which comes sunlight, lighting the room well enough to see by. The floor is wooden, the walls and ceiling are painted plaster, once white but now faded and yellowed; and there's a rough hole in the plaster midway up the south wall (to your left) as if someone had once put a fist through it. The only furniture is a simple wooden chair and a rickety-looking wicker table. On the table sits an almost-empty glass and a part-full bottle, a few other empty bottles lie on the floor beneath the window. In the chair is a sweat-covered man in stained street clothes, slumped forward with his head on the table, who may be aware of your presence but isn't doing much to react to it. Without a better look at his face, you can't tell if this is the man you seek. Oh, and the smell in here is a bit much: a mix of liquor, sweat, and stale cigarette smoke."
That ought to be good enough to get started, shouldn't it? And not a number in sight, other than the dimensions of the room which are obvious to all. If and when someone asks anything about the window is I'll give its dimensions, mention it has a thin drawn-back curtain, and note that it's a sash-style window open about 6"; but until then I'll assume they and many other minor elements are irrelevant.
And yet - you don't yet know if the man is really drunk or just faking it, you don't yet know who he is or whether he's at all relevant, you don't yet know if he's got a gun concealed somewhere, you don't yet know if the fist-hole in the south wall means anything, and I've yet to mention the several house-flies lazily doing circuits above the slumped man or the cockroach that scurried for cover as you opened the door.
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