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A GMing telling the players about the gameworld is not like real life
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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7558458" data-attributes="member: 6696971"><p>Let me just say one thing about "Bill" and:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>There is a problem with this that is similar to the error classical economists have made when assuming free markets are efficient and self-regulating because of the belief that individual people and collectives (a) can model the volatility of complex downstream interactions, (b) respond coherently to incentives and disincentives, and (c) tend toward a process of optimal decision-making (cost-benefit analysis, opportunity cost) for their (including themselves and their immediate social body) well-being.</p><p></p><p>"Bill" is a lot of people. He isn't just one person (that is the first mistake a lot of people make in their conception of self and their conception of others). There may not be an outright discontinuity in Bill's conscious mind, but there are many "Bills" which he will pivot from as cause/stress takes him. </p><p></p><p>Bill almost surely is average to poor at (a) above (no matter how good you or he thinks he is). As Bill pivots mentally as cause takes him, his decision-making (volatility, presence of various biases) will be subtly influenced. Social incentives and disincentives will arise in the course of play (the want to move the game along, the want to clarify a point, the sense that social capital is on the line, etc) which will impact Bill's judgement. All of the above will create subtle incoherency-creep due to Bill's information-retention (either due to perception bias or merely due to forgetting something or the day's fatigue), Bill's mood, Bill's forensic knowledge-base (and the errors therein), Bill's ability to cogently (which is key....as length expository dialogue will cause players to mentally check-out) and accurately portray individual gamestates (ethos, pathos, physical characteristics, NPC dispositions) so players can make informed action declarations that they are secure in.</p><p></p><p>There are so many snares set for Bill and his group. This is why the overwhelming % of intrigues and metaplots end up with several/all players at the table in an utter confounded and ultimately disconnected state...and just looking for the nearest thing to attack (because the combat mechanics and their outputs are the only thing that aren't opaque). This harkens to @<em><strong><u><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=6972053" target="_blank">Numidius</a></u></strong></em> 's experience in Italy above. This isn't an Italian RPG macro-culture problem. It isn't a "little corner of Rome" micro-culture problem. This is a human problem. Its why we hear these horror stories all the time and why so many refugees flee games with GMs who don't understand their own limits, don't possess the humility or awareness to confront them...and therefore cannot confront them. </p><p></p><p>Those that do and can confront them with a longterm group of allies (players/friends) can pull it off. But these are extreme edge cases. Therefore, its a good thing to do the analysis on why these things occur, how to recognize them, how to confront them, and how to work around them.</p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p>* I say all of the above with all of the confidence in the world that I can pull off the phenomenon you are prescribing to Bill as well as any human can...which is to say...I'm quite aware of my own strengths and my own (very human) shortcomings.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 7558458, member: 6696971"] Let me just say one thing about "Bill" and: There is a problem with this that is similar to the error classical economists have made when assuming free markets are efficient and self-regulating because of the belief that individual people and collectives (a) can model the volatility of complex downstream interactions, (b) respond coherently to incentives and disincentives, and (c) tend toward a process of optimal decision-making (cost-benefit analysis, opportunity cost) for their (including themselves and their immediate social body) well-being. "Bill" is a lot of people. He isn't just one person (that is the first mistake a lot of people make in their conception of self and their conception of others). There may not be an outright discontinuity in Bill's conscious mind, but there are many "Bills" which he will pivot from as cause/stress takes him. Bill almost surely is average to poor at (a) above (no matter how good you or he thinks he is). As Bill pivots mentally as cause takes him, his decision-making (volatility, presence of various biases) will be subtly influenced. Social incentives and disincentives will arise in the course of play (the want to move the game along, the want to clarify a point, the sense that social capital is on the line, etc) which will impact Bill's judgement. All of the above will create subtle incoherency-creep due to Bill's information-retention (either due to perception bias or merely due to forgetting something or the day's fatigue), Bill's mood, Bill's forensic knowledge-base (and the errors therein), Bill's ability to cogently (which is key....as length expository dialogue will cause players to mentally check-out) and accurately portray individual gamestates (ethos, pathos, physical characteristics, NPC dispositions) so players can make informed action declarations that they are secure in. There are so many snares set for Bill and his group. This is why the overwhelming % of intrigues and metaplots end up with several/all players at the table in an utter confounded and ultimately disconnected state...and just looking for the nearest thing to attack (because the combat mechanics and their outputs are the only thing that aren't opaque). This harkens to @[I][B][U][URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=6972053"]Numidius[/URL][/U][/B][/I] 's experience in Italy above. This isn't an Italian RPG macro-culture problem. It isn't a "little corner of Rome" micro-culture problem. This is a human problem. Its why we hear these horror stories all the time and why so many refugees flee games with GMs who don't understand their own limits, don't possess the humility or awareness to confront them...and therefore cannot confront them. Those that do and can confront them with a longterm group of allies (players/friends) can pull it off. But these are extreme edge cases. Therefore, its a good thing to do the analysis on why these things occur, how to recognize them, how to confront them, and how to work around them. [HR][/HR] * I say all of the above with all of the confidence in the world that I can pull off the phenomenon you are prescribing to Bill as well as any human can...which is to say...I'm quite aware of my own strengths and my own (very human) shortcomings. [/QUOTE]
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