Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8133849" data-attributes="member: 42582">The importance of architecture, urban design etc measured down to the last inch of length is an artefact of a particular action resolution system, namely:(i) the location of individuals is tracked on a map;(ii) the location of threats is tracked on the same map;(iii) the AoE of those threats is determined by extrapolating from (ii) to the fiction (eg "a cone of blasting fire 5' long is emitted from this part of this wall") to (i).This is a method of action resolution derived from wargames.In RPG it has been adapted to other contexts besides being hit by poison gas or cannon fire, like running races. But of course there are other, and frankly more robust, options available. For instance, for running races I prefer opposed checks (this works better in systems where individual traits are prominent relative to the random spread): this makes it fairly easy to factor in terrain, headstarts etc as bonuses, allows for ties, etc.A lot of action of the RPGs I GM happens in urban areas, but it hasn't been necessary to know the precise length of a wall in any system for a long time. Even in 4e D&D, once the wall is longer than 10 or 20 squares its precise length ceases to matter, because precise distances only really matter in combat resolution and most of the time combat resolution doesn't invoke distances larger than that.</blockquote>