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I thought you just said that Edwards switched from "premise" to that particular usage of "point"? Did I misunderstand you?

Could you clarify where you disagree? Do you not think @Ovinomancer's description is controversial, don't think it's reductionist, or don't think it's reductionist to the extent to reasonably imply ridicule?

It sounds like "point" is Forge jargon then. Thanks for sharing the history!

I suspect that the reason that describing D&D's play loop as "the players take actions to prompt the GM to provide more information" is controversial is because it's reductionist to the point that (IMO) one can reasonably infer implied ridicule. It would be like describing PbtA games as: "the...

Thank you for clarifying! I am unfamiliar with that usage. It appears to be blending several related senses of "point" and then applying them in a highly specific context. For my own edification (and in the spirit of this thread's topic), may I ask if your usage of "point" is idiosyncratic...

Could you please clarify in what sense you're using the word "point"? (I realize you've tried to clarify by analogy already, but I still don't follow.) The closest I've been able to get is that you're using it in the sense of "an argument or idea put forward by a person in discussion" but that...

(Emphasis added.) On the occasions I've tried to fit my own preferred style into GNS terms, based on definitions similar to the first part of the above quote, I've tended to conclude that I prefer Process Sim. But if I take the bolded synopsis as true, then I think my style might instead be High...

(Emphasis added.) If the bolded claim is true, and under GNS theory we can't infer anything about something labeled "incoherent" other than that it has conflicting priorities, then wouldn't that make the entire concept of "coherence" in GNS theory tautological? In other words, what's the...

To clarify, it appears that you're implying that in order to have fun with a TTRPG, you need a metric by which to judge if you're doing a good job. Am I understanding correctly?

Keep in mind that with larger battlefields you can safely increase the number of opponents without risk of TPK far beyond the number possible in a short-range encounter. There are several reasons this is so: When a sufficient fraction of the opponents are too far away to get into effective...

I entirely agree. And to be clear I think @payn's explanation also explains some of the difference. I was just pointing out that a large chunk of the difference can be explained simply by differences in how readily available each hobby is.

Nova fights can afford to last much longer than ordinary fights while still being fun, since the party has enough resources to last throughout the combat without resorting to basic attacks and cantrips. One can make longer fights without making them harder fights simply by making the battlefield...

I think there's an even simpler explanation that accounts for much of the difference. Unlike video games, TTRPGs have complicated logistics, meaning that TTRPG fans can't play on demand. Video games, by contrast are far more readily accessible. Accordingly, of the time fans spend on each hobby...

There are rarely explicit ticking clocks in my game, but there is always time pressure from the fact that the party always has multiple simultaneous priorities. The faster they accomplish any given priority, the sooner they can tackle the next one. For example, let's say the party is exploring...

Very true. And I'm all for shutting down the coffeelock exploit, although I personally think it's simpler to do so socially than mechanically. I just don't think that the normal interaction of Pact Magic and Flexible Casting rises to the level of an exploit without the resting shenanigans of...

True "Coffeelocks" address the first with Aspect of the Moon (or by sleeping for six hours and then deliberately breaking the Long Rest before it reaches the required 8 hours). For the second, they convert the Sorcery points to spell slots. (So I should have said arbitrarily large numbers of...

To my understanding, "Coffeelock" requires deliberately avoiding Long Rests (which is where the "coffee" comes from--drinking caffeine to avoid sleeping) in order to stack Sorcery point totals to arbitrarily high levels. Just using leftover Pact Magic slots to top up Sorcery points is just the...

(Emphasis added.) I think your post is a very concise and useful description of where fudging crops up, and why it crops up. I think your description also implicitly highlights where fudging has the most utility: when the DM is trying to balance multiple agendas of play.

Ability checks, like initiative, are only needed to resolve uncertainty. In a situation where only one character is trying to start combat, there's no uncertainty regarding who starts combat for an ability check to resolve. Accordingly, in the situation described I would have the initiator at...

Thanks for the detailed reply! I agree that correcting the miscommunication is the preferable response when it's quick and easy. If fixing the miscommunication involves winding back past decisions (as can be the case when the decision was a strategic one, rather than a tactical one), however, I...