Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raduin711" data-source="post: 4751079" data-attributes="member: 15303">I don't know about edition wars or one-true-wayism, but I would say there is a difference between:"I move 6 squares and attack the orc"and"I move up to the orc.  Can I attack him?"In the first case, presumably the player is sitting in front of a game board where everything is definitively located, for everybody, enabling the player to strategize and know with a great deal of certainty what he can do and what might happen if he did it.In the second example, there is no game board, except the one that the players have imagined in their heads.  This has benefits as well.  A DM is not limited by squares or miniatures.  The greater number of undefined questions means that a good DM can make choices about how a battle unfolds in a way that entertains the players.  For example, if a PC is up in a tree when a group of orcs attacks, and the player humorously falls from the tree, the DM can decide who the PC falls upon, taking into account how the battle is faring, and what would be entertaining to the group.Now I am not saying which one is better, just pointing out that each has its merits.  Each has its flaws as well.Going back to the first example, if a battle is not going well, there is very little a DM can do about it.  He continues to role play the opposition, roleplaying their actions and strategy.  If things get ugly, the DM is usually left with two options: discard strategy and/or roleplaying, or cheat.  (fudging the dice, removing a monster before all its hit points have been depleted, and so on.)In the 2nd example, communication is absolutely crucial to the experience.  If a player is not paying attention, he may miss some important detail.  Player1: "Okay, after spending the past three rounds desparately evading my foes, I have finally made it to the moat.  I race across the drawbridge and into the castle!"Dm:"..."Player1: "What?"DM: "I hate to break it to you, but the drawbridge is closed."Player2: "Don't you remember? back at the beginning of combat, DM said..."That isn't to say communication problems only fall upon the listener.  Sometimes the DM forgets some crucial detail in describing the scene, which can wreak havoc on the enjoyment of the players.  Not only that, so much power rests in the hands of the DM, that an especially poor DM can turn a game into a veritable nightmare.  Ego, thy name is DM.</blockquote>

Verification