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Reliable Talent. What the what?
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<blockquote data-quote="Xetheral" data-source="post: 7299181" data-attributes="member: 6802765"><p>I understand that at some tables it is verboten to tailor encounters (combat or non-combat) to the PCs' abilities. For players used to that style of play, you may well be right that they learn to distrust DMs who tailor the game to the party despite the players' preferences.</p><p></p><p>But I disagree with your assertion that it's a universal truth. At some tables, mine included, it is expected that the DM will tailor the game to both the players' preferences and their characters' abilities. I've had players approach me to ask for more opportunities to use certain abilities that, despite my efforts, aren't seeing much play. I think that's pretty strong evidence that those players are fine with tailored encounters.</p><p></p><p>You mentioned upthread that tailoring removes the incentive to (e.g.) be the best fighter one can be. But tailoring also removes the requirement to <em>try</em> to be the best fighter one can be, and in some gameplay styles that's a good thing--it removes pressure to optimize at both the character and the party level. For example, in a tailored game it's not a problem if the party is missing traditional roles, so everyone can play whatever class(es) they want without regard to party effectiveness.</p><p></p><p>Player agency can still be maintained in a tailored game if the difficulty of the encounters still depends on the characters' choices. The challenge of the game becomes a question of <em>how</em> to use the abilities one has, rather than a question of <em>what</em> abilities one has. Similarly, verisimilitude can be maintained in a tailored game if the difficulty level matches the fiction. For example, a tailored game might see a level 4 party go up against a challenge usually more suitable for a level 2 or 6 party. As long as it isn't the <em>same</em> level 4 encounter with the serial numbers filed off in each case, it belivably fits in the game world.</p><p></p><p>(Note that tailoring doesn't always mean matching power levels exactly. If the players build powerful characters specifically because they want their character to <em>be</em> powerful, it defeats the purpose to only put the characters up against foes against whom they don't feel powerful. But if the players pick redundant or non-optimal abilities for fun, scaling the challenge level to the resulting characters doesn't thwart the players' purpose.)</p><p></p><p>So if a party had two lockpicking specialists, would I deliberately include opportunities for both to shine? Absolutely. I would include such tailored encounters, and, for immersion purposes, try to make them seem like a seemless, logical part of the game world. Whether or not the players noticed the contrivance during the game, my players would expect me to include it because that's the style of game we play.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Xetheral, post: 7299181, member: 6802765"] I understand that at some tables it is verboten to tailor encounters (combat or non-combat) to the PCs' abilities. For players used to that style of play, you may well be right that they learn to distrust DMs who tailor the game to the party despite the players' preferences. But I disagree with your assertion that it's a universal truth. At some tables, mine included, it is expected that the DM will tailor the game to both the players' preferences and their characters' abilities. I've had players approach me to ask for more opportunities to use certain abilities that, despite my efforts, aren't seeing much play. I think that's pretty strong evidence that those players are fine with tailored encounters. You mentioned upthread that tailoring removes the incentive to (e.g.) be the best fighter one can be. But tailoring also removes the requirement to [i]try[/i] to be the best fighter one can be, and in some gameplay styles that's a good thing--it removes pressure to optimize at both the character and the party level. For example, in a tailored game it's not a problem if the party is missing traditional roles, so everyone can play whatever class(es) they want without regard to party effectiveness. Player agency can still be maintained in a tailored game if the difficulty of the encounters still depends on the characters' choices. The challenge of the game becomes a question of [i]how[/i] to use the abilities one has, rather than a question of [I]what[/I] abilities one has. Similarly, verisimilitude can be maintained in a tailored game if the difficulty level matches the fiction. For example, a tailored game might see a level 4 party go up against a challenge usually more suitable for a level 2 or 6 party. As long as it isn't the [I]same[/I] level 4 encounter with the serial numbers filed off in each case, it belivably fits in the game world. (Note that tailoring doesn't always mean matching power levels exactly. If the players build powerful characters specifically because they want their character to [i]be[/i] powerful, it defeats the purpose to only put the characters up against foes against whom they don't feel powerful. But if the players pick redundant or non-optimal abilities for fun, scaling the challenge level to the resulting characters doesn't thwart the players' purpose.) So if a party had two lockpicking specialists, would I deliberately include opportunities for both to shine? Absolutely. I would include such tailored encounters, and, for immersion purposes, try to make them seem like a seemless, logical part of the game world. Whether or not the players noticed the contrivance during the game, my players would expect me to include it because that's the style of game we play. [/QUOTE]
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