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
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Rules Transparency - How much do players need to know?
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="GMMichael" data-source="post: 6967136" data-attributes="member: 6685730"><p>I feel like this cuts to the chase a bit. If you're out to slay the <a href="http://art-wallpaper.net/vintage-poster/Attack%20of%20the%2050%20Foot%20Woman/img1.jpg" target="_blank">50' woman</a> (seems kind of inhumane to me), it would be good to know that your +2 machete isn't going to make a whole lot of progress. Or maybe the rules give you all sorts of reasons to be able to do massive damage with that machete, but you throw out the idea because it seems ludicrous.</p><p></p><p>So I return to Silverbane's words: meaningful choices. The above example is a meaningful choice, but how is that knowledge acquired? The player who knows the rules knows that the +2 machete deals 1d4 +2 magic +1d6 sneak attack +1d6 luck bonus x2 level bonus +38 strength bonus...and someone has to figure out that number. When a game is going to be calculation intensive like that, it's probably good for the player to know how to add that up. The player who doesn't know the rules needs another player or the GM to add it up.</p><p></p><p>What if it's a more qualitative decision? Psikerlord needs to defuse the bomb that the army placed in the 50' woman's favorite warehouse to sit on. He can choose the Solve Problem with Knowledge move or Solve Problem with Intelligence move...but he doesn't know the rules and is in danger of feeling frustrated. </p><p></p><p>PL: "I defuse the bomb."</p><p>P2: Sighs because PL didn't say one of the moves verbatim.</p><p>GM: Knows that PL has 50% odds with Knowledge, or 25% odds with Intelligence. "It looks like you should cut the red wire, but you've studied this type of bomb, and you remember that there's a timer countermeasure that could go off, so it might be better to cut the green wire."</p><p></p><p>This scenario adds meaning to the decision, and detail to the story, but doesn't flow faster because it takes time to explain options to the player. It can backfire if the GM misses an opportunity and says:</p><p></p><p>GM: "Roll for your Solve Problem with Knowledge. Hey, great, you defuse the bomb."</p><p></p><p>Now I'm thinking the answer to my question is: players need to know enough rules to facilitate the GM's job - which will vary a lot by just how much help the GM needs.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GMMichael, post: 6967136, member: 6685730"] I feel like this cuts to the chase a bit. If you're out to slay the [URL="http://art-wallpaper.net/vintage-poster/Attack%20of%20the%2050%20Foot%20Woman/img1.jpg"]50' woman[/URL] (seems kind of inhumane to me), it would be good to know that your +2 machete isn't going to make a whole lot of progress. Or maybe the rules give you all sorts of reasons to be able to do massive damage with that machete, but you throw out the idea because it seems ludicrous. So I return to Silverbane's words: meaningful choices. The above example is a meaningful choice, but how is that knowledge acquired? The player who knows the rules knows that the +2 machete deals 1d4 +2 magic +1d6 sneak attack +1d6 luck bonus x2 level bonus +38 strength bonus...and someone has to figure out that number. When a game is going to be calculation intensive like that, it's probably good for the player to know how to add that up. The player who doesn't know the rules needs another player or the GM to add it up. What if it's a more qualitative decision? Psikerlord needs to defuse the bomb that the army placed in the 50' woman's favorite warehouse to sit on. He can choose the Solve Problem with Knowledge move or Solve Problem with Intelligence move...but he doesn't know the rules and is in danger of feeling frustrated. PL: "I defuse the bomb." P2: Sighs because PL didn't say one of the moves verbatim. GM: Knows that PL has 50% odds with Knowledge, or 25% odds with Intelligence. "It looks like you should cut the red wire, but you've studied this type of bomb, and you remember that there's a timer countermeasure that could go off, so it might be better to cut the green wire." This scenario adds meaning to the decision, and detail to the story, but doesn't flow faster because it takes time to explain options to the player. It can backfire if the GM misses an opportunity and says: GM: "Roll for your Solve Problem with Knowledge. Hey, great, you defuse the bomb." Now I'm thinking the answer to my question is: players need to know enough rules to facilitate the GM's job - which will vary a lot by just how much help the GM needs. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Rules Transparency - How much do players need to know?
Top