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The "Powergamers (Min/maxer)" vs "Alpha Gamers" vs "Role Play Gamers" vs "GM" balance mismatch "problem(s)"
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7284239" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>In open air, perhaps; but we're in a forest here. If the dragon tries to fly through the trees it's not going to get very far, and if it flies above the trees it'll have a harder time finding the PCs - particularly if they do the smart thing and scatter then take cover.</p><p>There's a huge difference - and one I think you fail to recognize most of the time - between that... ...and this. The PCs meet a massive dragon, obviously beyond their pay grade - yet while their only reasonable option is to flee <em>they still have a choice in the matter</em>; and who says PCs are ever going to do the reasonable thing?</p><p></p><p>"The party met a dragon and ran away" might be what appears next day in the game log for that session, but that's merely a narrative summary of the choices made at the time if in fact that's how it went. It could just as easily have ended up reading "The party met a dragon, Alastair made himself a noisy distraction to allow the party to sneak away, Alastair killed" or "The party met a dragon, talked with it, and were allowed to leave with their lives after each giving up a magic item" - you'll never know if you don't play it out.</p><p>The choice factor can make for some great RPGing. Does someone decide to be a self-secrificing hero and distract the dragon while the others flee? Does the whole party try to fight the dragon anyway, even though the odds are stacked against them? If the party flees, do they (or can they?) stay together and-or work together; or do they scatter, each hoping the dragon goes for someone else? Do they try talking to and reasoning with the dragon instead of fighting or fleeing?</p><p></p><p>Or - as happened in my game once - do they do all three at the same time without planning to; where one character talks to the dragon in hopes of befriending it (after telling the party not to attack), another two sneak up and attack it anyway using the talker as a distraction, while the rest of the party takes cover?</p><p></p><p>Lanefan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7284239, member: 29398"] In open air, perhaps; but we're in a forest here. If the dragon tries to fly through the trees it's not going to get very far, and if it flies above the trees it'll have a harder time finding the PCs - particularly if they do the smart thing and scatter then take cover. There's a huge difference - and one I think you fail to recognize most of the time - between that... ...and this. The PCs meet a massive dragon, obviously beyond their pay grade - yet while their only reasonable option is to flee [I]they still have a choice in the matter[/I]; and who says PCs are ever going to do the reasonable thing? "The party met a dragon and ran away" might be what appears next day in the game log for that session, but that's merely a narrative summary of the choices made at the time if in fact that's how it went. It could just as easily have ended up reading "The party met a dragon, Alastair made himself a noisy distraction to allow the party to sneak away, Alastair killed" or "The party met a dragon, talked with it, and were allowed to leave with their lives after each giving up a magic item" - you'll never know if you don't play it out. The choice factor can make for some great RPGing. Does someone decide to be a self-secrificing hero and distract the dragon while the others flee? Does the whole party try to fight the dragon anyway, even though the odds are stacked against them? If the party flees, do they (or can they?) stay together and-or work together; or do they scatter, each hoping the dragon goes for someone else? Do they try talking to and reasoning with the dragon instead of fighting or fleeing? Or - as happened in my game once - do they do all three at the same time without planning to; where one character talks to the dragon in hopes of befriending it (after telling the party not to attack), another two sneak up and attack it anyway using the talker as a distraction, while the rest of the party takes cover? Lanefan [/QUOTE]
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