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  1. The Shadow

    Commentary thread for that “Describe your game in five words” thread.

    "Undead Pharaoh matryoshka - run away!" (Not literally a Pharaoh - we decided that Stygians use Calormene titles from Narnia instead. So the ruler is actually a Tisroc. Next rank down is Tarkaan, next rank below that (Ludovico/Moshiyah's) is Kha'an.) We decided to leave Giovanni behind on...
  2. The Shadow

    Describe your last rpg session in 5 words

    Undead Pharaoh matryoshka - run away!
  3. The Shadow

    ToV Black Flag Playtest 2: Magic, Luck, Fighter, Wizards!

    So warlocks aren't arcane any more at all... Are wizards and clerics really losing all planar-travel spells? That seems... unlikely.
  4. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Purist for System.
  5. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Who said they don't? We aren't talking about answering an argument here. I'm talking about vituperation and insult. I wouldn't be mentioning this if he'd been making rational arguments. EDIT: In any case, I don't think Mr. Edward's character or personal opinions are relevant to the discussion...
  6. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    It doesn't, of course. But the original question was whether he is biased or has animus against simulationist play. Perhaps he's changed since I stopped reading the Forge, but while I was there, the answer was emphatically 'yes'. I honestly don't blame people highly committed to that mode of...
  7. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    What I'm taking Umbran's point to be is that there are lots of ways to scratch the "simulation" itch. I don't think anyone can deny that J. R. R. Tolkien worked harder than just about anyone else to make his world as intensely realized, as living and breathing, as possible. It was a lifelong...
  8. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    This is what I was getting at above, when I said that it isn't an end in itself, but a means to other things. Speaking as someone who adores worldbuilding, let's face it, one of the worst things that can happen to the pristine beauty of a freshly-made world is to loose a bunch of players in it. ;)
  9. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Double post, sorry.
  10. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    This question isn't intended as rhetorical or leading at all, I really want to know the answer: Is it the verisimilitude itself that you ultimately want? Or is it the aesthetic pleasure you take in the constructed world, in which you see verisimilitude as an important element? (Perhaps even...
  11. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Well, sure, but was anyone in fact equating it with a loaded term like 'authenticity'? If they were, we certainly haven't been talking the same language!
  12. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Perhaps a better way of saying it is that realism is not an end in itself. I don't think anyone wants realism just for the sake of realism, do they? They want it for the sake of something else that they value.
  13. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    @Micah Sweet is right. I stopped lurking at the Forge in part because Edwards was so toxic on the subject. Really, @pemerton, despite how great his essays are, in his posts he can be very insulting and abrasive. I'm not going to repeat some of the things I read from him, but they were beyond...
  14. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Is it of the essence of a game that one gets better at it? I looked up a dictionary definition just now, the one Google gave me was: 'A form of play...', check. '...especially a competitive one...', no check, but the definition does acknowledge that it isn't a requirement. 'according to...
  15. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Got it in one! The multiclass advantage is simply overwhelming. It's kind of surprising to me that I don't recall hearing of anyone just saying, "Heck, let's let humans multiclass too!" Don't forget my single favorite combination, the gnomish thief-illusionist! Good grief, I had so much fun...
  16. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Not in the least! It's not like "suspension of disbelief" is an oddity or anything, or that writers of fiction don't work at fostering it! I'm not even trying to identify flaws, I'm trying to describe. I mean, if you want to insist that "fiction is lying", you'd be in company with Plato...
  17. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    I don't see even the slightest reason to think this is true. Surely it's of value even for the wizard in the back to have a certain degree of physical fitness. I would hope he's decent at running away, anyway. ;) But again, for another thread. EDIT: I just had a flashback to Zombieland...
  18. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Oh good heavens yes! I have a degree in physics, and SF games can be hard for me. I want the orbital mechanics to be right! :) (Or, even more so, the stellar systems to be realistic - even though our understanding of planetary systems is in constant flux!) That said, I think Diaspora...
  19. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    Even from an ultra-"realistic" perspective, I don't see how this is true. Surely it takes either a certain distinct personality type, or else an unusual degree of desperation, to undertake such a high-risk task? I mean, do you expect that mercenaries in the real world, in the time before...
  20. The Shadow

    Of Mooks, Plot Armor, and ttRPGs

    The word 'just' is doing a lot of work in that sentence. ;) And the difference seems pretty clear to me, anyway. Okay, first a quibble: In the system you describe, actions don't have the same chance of success. Every third action has 100% chance, others have a 0% chance. Also, I gotta say...
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