D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

[Micah Sweet]

What does this mean?

Consistently in what way? How do you know if it’s consistent if you aren’t aware of all the factors that play into his decision making?

That's where trust comes in again. So much of play comes down to it, Nd no amount of system constraints on the GM can make it irrelevant.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm not sure which post you are referring to, but using likes to assume that every bit of a post was liked or agreed with is likely to lead you astray.

Quite often if I really like part of a post, even if I'm not on board with other parts, I will click like. I'm not saying this was the case with the post you are referring to, as I'm not sure which one it was. Just putting it out there to be careful about using likes to assume about people.

I click "like" on posts that contain something I like in them quite often.

 

[Micah Sweet]

You sir are the Giles Corey of flamewar threads

Who's Giles Corey?

Edit: never mind, I looked him up.

Thank you.

 

[Micah Sweet]

For the time being. Whatever was at stake in that scene has been decided, and in the short run, that's what's happening. But it's not done and dusted for all time. Another example from the text: "A horse trader who lost a haggling duel will sell his destrier for a lower price, but he'll regret itr later. He might harbor quite a bit of resentment towards the silver-tongued rascal who bedeviled him. He may even outright refuse to sell to him in the future!" (BWGR 400).

I guess part of my problem is I don't generally think of RPG sessions consisting of a series of "scenes". That why the concept of scene-framing has never sat right with me. I don't see play as a story I'm framing out.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Hang on.

Upthread, you posted the Gimli could choose. And so, in BW, a player can choose.

Obviously, it's possible that someone (say, Legolas) might remonstrate with Gimli, and try to persuade him to refrain from acting on his preference. That can happen in BW too.

In other RPGs, Gimli could choose to go against the winner of the argument regardless. Because he can do whatever he wants, subject to setting logic. In BW, it appears he cannot.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I didn't say "as much". Obviously, being dead precludes a wide range of action. Whereas being led, here and now, to do X, doesn't preclude as wide a range of action.

My point is that it is hardly a radical innovation in game play to have mechanical processes that can result in the player's freedom of action declaration being curtailed.

True, but IME experience there's generally a reason more along the lines of, "I'm physically restrained" or "I'm mind-controlled" or "I'm subject to a supernatural fear effect". Those reasons to constrain action feel a lot better to me.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

I guess part of my problem is I don't generally think of RPG sessions consisting of a series of "scenes". That why the concept of scene-framing has never sat right with me. I don't see play as a story I'm framing out.

Two thoughts --

(1) I find it's something that's taken me a while to get used to, and I'm still learning. It's not something that's come naturally to me.

(2) I tend to avoid thinking of story during the course of play. It comes after play. I think thinking of it too much during play leads to artificial play, if that makes sense. However we're playing, there'll be a story afterwards. In the meantime, there's a game.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Whereas, interestingly, the sort of RPGing you do seems to me far more story than game.

Like I said, fiction informs rules. But you're not telling a story, you're exploring the setting as your character.

 

[hawkeyefan]

You can't know. At a certain point the GM tells you they're doing their best and you have to choose if you want to trust them.

Okay… then how do you determine if you’re playing the GM?

You said

If the GM is adjudicating the world consistently, you aren't playing the GM.

And so I asked what that meant. But it seems you don’t know?

 

[Bedrockgames]

Who's Giles Corey?

Edit: never mind, I looked him up.

Thank you.

It was a callback to earlier in the thread lol