ogre
First Post
Great thread.
I have to say I agree with your sentiment Disengage, but not all of your execution. For certain, the best games I've played in the last 30 years have been with DMs who design worlds for the players to play in, not DMs who made (or used a premade) a world and directed the characters along on an adventure. Hell, finding the adventure is half the fun in my book! I like to explore, not be guided along. It immerses me greatly.
However, I also feel that metagaming is necessary for both fun and realism. The fun aspect is all about getting the mechanics out of the way as seemlessly and quickly as possible. If someone should know a condition (like bloodied) I'd prefer being told as such, and will roleplay my PC accordingly. Ya see, we players aren't 'there' in the game, we're in the real world. Letting the player know the mechanics (not AC or HP, that's silly), but conditions helps me visualize what my character is seeing. The mechanics are for both the players and the DM, not the PC and monsters. I dunno, to me that's part of the fun of roleplaying is acting on mechanics. Immersion and realism also stem from this, as the players can make 'real' decisions based on things someone that was actually there would know, albeit abtractly. Just because its abstract doesn't mean it can't improve realism.
Anyway, great thread folks.
I have to say I agree with your sentiment Disengage, but not all of your execution. For certain, the best games I've played in the last 30 years have been with DMs who design worlds for the players to play in, not DMs who made (or used a premade) a world and directed the characters along on an adventure. Hell, finding the adventure is half the fun in my book! I like to explore, not be guided along. It immerses me greatly.
However, I also feel that metagaming is necessary for both fun and realism. The fun aspect is all about getting the mechanics out of the way as seemlessly and quickly as possible. If someone should know a condition (like bloodied) I'd prefer being told as such, and will roleplay my PC accordingly. Ya see, we players aren't 'there' in the game, we're in the real world. Letting the player know the mechanics (not AC or HP, that's silly), but conditions helps me visualize what my character is seeing. The mechanics are for both the players and the DM, not the PC and monsters. I dunno, to me that's part of the fun of roleplaying is acting on mechanics. Immersion and realism also stem from this, as the players can make 'real' decisions based on things someone that was actually there would know, albeit abtractly. Just because its abstract doesn't mean it can't improve realism.
Anyway, great thread folks.
