D&D General A glimpse at WoTC's current view of Rule 0

[Micah Sweet]

Logic does a lot of heavy lifting in a fantasy setting.

Maybe so, but I believe we should still use whenever it fits. "Fantasy" doesn't equal inconsistent chaos.

 

[Vaalingrade]

If that's the system you want to use, I'm fine with the DM doing the homework here.

Not every comment secretly means the DM wants to give the players grief.

More the designers in most cases.

And that's more 'don't know a better way' than 'want'.

 

[KYRON45]

Maybe so, but I believe we should still use whenever it fits. "Fantasy" doesn't equal inconsistent chaos.

Logic and consistency don't always go hand in hand.

 

[Cadence]

It depends on the context of their usage. Their definitions are not necessarily synonymous, but once again we’re running into the complexity of language. I would say that a person who decides to play a game with rules they might not like but are willing to tolerate is necessarily agreeing to play by those rules. Especially in the context of roleplaying games, which are played under a shared social contract. Contract is definitionally synonymous with agreement. If you are playing in an RPG, you are agreeing to the terms of its social contract, which includes whatever the rules of that game are decided to be. One could try to negotiate for different terms, and one could agree to terms despite having some objectives to them. But one can’t, in my understanding, play in the game without agreeing to the terms of its social contract.

They may have connotational differences, depending on how they’re being used, but I think in this context, an agreement to play in a game is an agreement to the rules of that game, and any objections to that statement are based on baggage one may be carrying over from some other context.

Made me think of the definitions of "accept".

OED
1a: "To take or receive (something offered) willingly"
1b: "To receive (a person) with favour or approval, esp. to take up a particular role
1c: "To endure (an event, situation, or person) with patience or resignation, to tolerate, submit to; to come to terms with"

6: "To understand (a word or phrase) as having a particular meaning"

In hypothesis testing in statistics I think it was originally used as an antonym of reject (so possibly a hint of 1c being possible), but then took on more of a 1b flavor, and so isn't used anymore, with the awkward but technically correct "fail to reject" taking its place.

In any case, I love 6 in this context.

Edit: And then I saw this on the next page...

Not really. It might mean so in a legal context, but in general usage I'd still use "accepting".

 

[Cadence]

But this doesn't seem to make sense - why would a supernatural effect make an Elf age more than a Halfling more than a human?

It's a supernatural effect why can't it age you a percentage of your life span, rather than a number of years. Either makes as much sense as the other being supernatural in origin.

It's not like they are travelling close to the speed of life where we have scientific equations to calculate the time dilation.

Maybe the creating supernatural agent once got in an argument about whether raises should be given as flat amounts or as percent of current income, was bitter over losing the argument, and decided to go with something like percentages on everything else?

(Is it the Finns who do that for speeding tickets?)

 

[Cadence]

Now we have to add percentages to this thing?

Why is it that every 'consequence' also punishes the player with homework?

No...... not sixth grade math! And here I thought level draining was the worst!!!

They should just have used fractions, looks like that's much earlier, at least in our state standards. Does that make it akin to tracking rations in terms of awfulness?

 

[Vaalingrade]

No...... not sixth grade math!

They invented an entire mechanic and made it the primary mechanic for everything to avoid adding 2 to a number.

 

[clearstream]

But it's a pun in a language that's not even in the settings.

Coppers aren't even called pennies!

Who are you, the language police?

A copper, if you will...

 

[Vaalingrade]

Who are you, the language police?

A copper, if you will...

I'm more of a gumshoe. A flatfoot. The 5-0. The Po-Po.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Let us not forget that magic in D&D is not only powered by a distinct lack of an economic system, but puns. You cast detect thoughts by literally paying a penny for their thoughts.

There is definitely some whimsy there, yes.