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A GMing telling the players about the gameworld is not like real life
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7597645" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>Question here: does the character have - or it is allowed to have - the ability to plan incorrectly? Can a player intentionally make sub-optimal decisions if so desired, or can the game handle a character who is simply scatterbrained or forgetful or who fills his backpack with romance novels instead of adventuring gear? If yes, good; the follow-up question then being how does the game deal with this either mechanically or otherwise?</p><p></p><p>If it otherwise makes no sense that the character would be carrying such a thing, then yes it does.</p><p></p><p>The problem with using movies or TV shows as a comparison is this: time. A movie or TV show only has a limited time in which to tell its story and thus skipping details is a necessary and constant evil; and any significant prop is expected to come into use at some point. The gadgets Q gives James Bond always turn out to be exactly what he needs, which has always over-stretched my credulity. But an RPG has no such time limits and no such expectations for the mandated use of significant props, and thus is open to going into far more detail and-or trial and error.</p><p></p><p>Your score-in-Doskvol example is excellent for this. If I'm the player immersed in my character I'll know that every piece of gear I have access to might mean the difference between life and death, never mind the difference between pulling off the score or not; and so in-character I want to carefully choose (and-or procure) that gear based on what my research/casing/scouting has told me I'm likely getting into. By the same token, every piece of gear I don't carry makes me lighter and more nimble, which might also make the difference between life and death etc. as above...and so I also have to consider that trade-off. And I might unintentionally make wrong choices, which could come back to bite me.</p><p></p><p>Having a mechanic do all this for you is nice and convenient, but it doesn't seem to allow for wrong choices except as a post-hoc explanation for a failure (effect dictates cause; something I really don't like at all); where I'd rather see things done sequentially such that the gear choices - right or wrong - are made first, followed by playing out the actual score attempt (cause dictates effect).</p><p></p><p>Cool! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7597645, member: 29398"] Question here: does the character have - or it is allowed to have - the ability to plan incorrectly? Can a player intentionally make sub-optimal decisions if so desired, or can the game handle a character who is simply scatterbrained or forgetful or who fills his backpack with romance novels instead of adventuring gear? If yes, good; the follow-up question then being how does the game deal with this either mechanically or otherwise? If it otherwise makes no sense that the character would be carrying such a thing, then yes it does. The problem with using movies or TV shows as a comparison is this: time. A movie or TV show only has a limited time in which to tell its story and thus skipping details is a necessary and constant evil; and any significant prop is expected to come into use at some point. The gadgets Q gives James Bond always turn out to be exactly what he needs, which has always over-stretched my credulity. But an RPG has no such time limits and no such expectations for the mandated use of significant props, and thus is open to going into far more detail and-or trial and error. Your score-in-Doskvol example is excellent for this. If I'm the player immersed in my character I'll know that every piece of gear I have access to might mean the difference between life and death, never mind the difference between pulling off the score or not; and so in-character I want to carefully choose (and-or procure) that gear based on what my research/casing/scouting has told me I'm likely getting into. By the same token, every piece of gear I don't carry makes me lighter and more nimble, which might also make the difference between life and death etc. as above...and so I also have to consider that trade-off. And I might unintentionally make wrong choices, which could come back to bite me. Having a mechanic do all this for you is nice and convenient, but it doesn't seem to allow for wrong choices except as a post-hoc explanation for a failure (effect dictates cause; something I really don't like at all); where I'd rather see things done sequentially such that the gear choices - right or wrong - are made first, followed by playing out the actual score attempt (cause dictates effect). Cool! :) [/QUOTE]
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