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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
A discussion of metagame concepts in game design
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7470461" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Evolution, in the real world, depends (among other things) upon facts of biochemistry.</p><p></p><p>But why would anyone suppose that living things in D&D have the sorts of cellular, genetic and biochemical properties they have in the real world?</p><p></p><p>It is possible for people to have very rich common-sense understandings of how living things behave and reproduce without <em>knowing</em> any of those scientific facts: I give you most of human history as proof of that.</p><p></p><p>It's possible for people to <em>tell stories</em> about imaginary and fantastic living things, and their behaviour and reproduction, (i) without asuming any of those scientific facts, and (ii) which would be physically impossible in light of those scientific facts: I give you most myth, legend and fairy story as proof of that.</p><p></p><p>In the case of the people who originated most myth, legend and fairy story, the reason for (i) is because they can't assume what they don't know. In the case of modern fantasy writers, (i) becomes a literary device.</p><p></p><p>Once (i) is in play, evolution is out of play as far as the story in question is concerned.</p><p></p><p>Is D&D intended to be played under fundamentally different assumptions from those that govern most myth, legend and fairy story? Nothing in the rulebooks gives me that impression.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7470461, member: 42582"] Evolution, in the real world, depends (among other things) upon facts of biochemistry. But why would anyone suppose that living things in D&D have the sorts of cellular, genetic and biochemical properties they have in the real world? It is possible for people to have very rich common-sense understandings of how living things behave and reproduce without [I]knowing[/I] any of those scientific facts: I give you most of human history as proof of that. It's possible for people to [I]tell stories[/I] about imaginary and fantastic living things, and their behaviour and reproduction, (i) without asuming any of those scientific facts, and (ii) which would be physically impossible in light of those scientific facts: I give you most myth, legend and fairy story as proof of that. In the case of the people who originated most myth, legend and fairy story, the reason for (i) is because they can't assume what they don't know. In the case of modern fantasy writers, (i) becomes a literary device. Once (i) is in play, evolution is out of play as far as the story in question is concerned. Is D&D intended to be played under fundamentally different assumptions from those that govern most myth, legend and fairy story? Nothing in the rulebooks gives me that impression. [/QUOTE]
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