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Legends & Lore 09/03 - RPG design philosophy
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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6012217" data-attributes="member: 6696971"><p>This is my experience as well. Further, this is one of the components of the system I value the most as it lets me compose encounters with a high level of predictability from my end of the table. I know what to expect from my antagonists (monsters, NPCs, hazards, terrain features) individually and I can pin down within a reasonable margin-of-error how they will likely behave as a unit. With those things pinned down, I can perturb the system up or down to add difficulty (up to an inevitable TPK) or subtract difficulty (down to a genre-relevant flavor combat or something that shouldn't give the PCs trouble but will allow them to flex their protagonist muscles) and get further predictable results. </p><p></p><p>Where I want unpredictability is how the PCs approach the conflict strategically and tactically and the resultant fiction that emerges by way of their choices and my reaction to those choices. </p><p></p><p>With the well balanced encounter system I can create compelling, dynamic, mobile combats...scale them up or down as needed...and I can go full bore with no restraint whereas if the system wasn't well balanced, I would have less confidence in the predicted potency of what I'M PRODUCING (where I want predictability of potency) and therefore my climactic, campaign arc-spanning battle could be a dud...or my mere genre-relevant, flavor encounter that is supposed to be protagonists "flexing their muscle" could turn into the worthless death of a character (which has certainly happened in the past). If that happens because of player choices...ok! If that happens due to the high margin-of-error embedded in the system (which I'm responsible for eyeballing and constraining)...not so good!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 6012217, member: 6696971"] This is my experience as well. Further, this is one of the components of the system I value the most as it lets me compose encounters with a high level of predictability from my end of the table. I know what to expect from my antagonists (monsters, NPCs, hazards, terrain features) individually and I can pin down within a reasonable margin-of-error how they will likely behave as a unit. With those things pinned down, I can perturb the system up or down to add difficulty (up to an inevitable TPK) or subtract difficulty (down to a genre-relevant flavor combat or something that shouldn't give the PCs trouble but will allow them to flex their protagonist muscles) and get further predictable results. Where I want unpredictability is how the PCs approach the conflict strategically and tactically and the resultant fiction that emerges by way of their choices and my reaction to those choices. With the well balanced encounter system I can create compelling, dynamic, mobile combats...scale them up or down as needed...and I can go full bore with no restraint whereas if the system wasn't well balanced, I would have less confidence in the predicted potency of what I'M PRODUCING (where I want predictability of potency) and therefore my climactic, campaign arc-spanning battle could be a dud...or my mere genre-relevant, flavor encounter that is supposed to be protagonists "flexing their muscle" could turn into the worthless death of a character (which has certainly happened in the past). If that happens because of player choices...ok! If that happens due to the high margin-of-error embedded in the system (which I'm responsible for eyeballing and constraining)...not so good! [/QUOTE]
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