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What DM flaw has caused you to actually leave a game?
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7515643" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>Fair enough - I can see how what I said might be interpreted that way. However, there's an important (well, I think so anyway <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ) distinction between the two examples.</p><p></p><p>The example with shield, magic missile, etc. is entirely built around mechanical actions/resolutions and how they mesh with the fiction; and my position is that they should match as far as possible all the way throughthe process.</p><p></p><p>The example with walking across a room, however, has no mechanics attached. This one's simply the player declaring an (attempted) action and the GM - skipping the mechanical action resolution step as she knows none is necessary in this case - narrating the result. In other words, 5e by the book and many other games by default.</p><p></p><p>The GM hasn't said anything else about it because she doesn't need to.</p><p></p><p>This one's different. There's a reason (an unseen pit trap) for mechanics to get involved, and so the GM invokes them. She may well (and in fairness probably should have) have rolled in secret to see whether your path across the room happened to hit or miss the trap; and if you hit it then whether you noticed the trap before falling in.</p><p></p><p>No. The player makes the case that the PC TRIES TO move across the room and open a door, and the GM narrates the results.</p><p></p><p>In the example as given I ignored it because it wasn't relevant. The GM assumes the PC won't fall flat on his face while crossing the room, and that he's capable of operating a door handle. (very slightly more contentious to the truly pedantic among us, she also reasonably assumes the PC will look through the door he's just opened, if for no other reason to avoid being caught off guard by whatever might be lurking on the other side) As she knows there's no other in-fiction obstructions to the attempted action she skips past resolution straight to narrating the result: you cross the room, open the door, and here's what you see beyond it on first glance.</p><p></p><p>But if she knows the door's locked she'll instead narrate that you cross the room but that when to try to open the door it seems to be locked or stuck; at which point the player (or another player, same difference here) needs to declare another attempted action.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7515643, member: 29398"] Fair enough - I can see how what I said might be interpreted that way. However, there's an important (well, I think so anyway :) ) distinction between the two examples. The example with shield, magic missile, etc. is entirely built around mechanical actions/resolutions and how they mesh with the fiction; and my position is that they should match as far as possible all the way throughthe process. The example with walking across a room, however, has no mechanics attached. This one's simply the player declaring an (attempted) action and the GM - skipping the mechanical action resolution step as she knows none is necessary in this case - narrating the result. In other words, 5e by the book and many other games by default. The GM hasn't said anything else about it because she doesn't need to. This one's different. There's a reason (an unseen pit trap) for mechanics to get involved, and so the GM invokes them. She may well (and in fairness probably should have) have rolled in secret to see whether your path across the room happened to hit or miss the trap; and if you hit it then whether you noticed the trap before falling in. No. The player makes the case that the PC TRIES TO move across the room and open a door, and the GM narrates the results. In the example as given I ignored it because it wasn't relevant. The GM assumes the PC won't fall flat on his face while crossing the room, and that he's capable of operating a door handle. (very slightly more contentious to the truly pedantic among us, she also reasonably assumes the PC will look through the door he's just opened, if for no other reason to avoid being caught off guard by whatever might be lurking on the other side) As she knows there's no other in-fiction obstructions to the attempted action she skips past resolution straight to narrating the result: you cross the room, open the door, and here's what you see beyond it on first glance. But if she knows the door's locked she'll instead narrate that you cross the room but that when to try to open the door it seems to be locked or stuck; at which point the player (or another player, same difference here) needs to declare another attempted action. [/QUOTE]
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