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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 5458609" data-attributes="member: 29398">The following statement may at first reading sound kinda stupid, but allow me to explain afterwards:The game world needs to be real in all ways except those in which it isn't real.That's the &quot;simulation&quot; people want...that obvious but often-forgotten things like gravity, flotation, solids cannot pass through other solids, etc. work as normal (i.e. like on earth) except when there's magic preventing or changing said operation.&nbsp; Thus if the DM says &quot;the birds are singing in the trees as you pass through the sun-dappled edge of the Woods of Avenae&quot; and gives no further description any player can close their eyes and envision exactly what that looks and-or sounds like, because the baseline assumption is that it's the same as the real world until-unless you're told otherwise.&nbsp; If a player asks &quot;what's in the field&quot; and the DM answers &quot;a small herd of cattle, maybe 15 or so&quot; the baseline assumption is that these are normal earth-like cows rather than 7-legged tentacled carnivores that fly and produce purple milk.Thus, even if the DM doesn't describe the scenery for each mile as your party walks from Torcha to Karnos you can still get a vague idea of it from &quot;you spend 5 days travelling through rolling farmland and occasional quiet villages&quot; and your imagination.&nbsp; This is simulation, at least from my perspective, and it is essential.The same is true of combat effects; but here it's a question more of where to draw the line - it's quite possible to simulate a combat down to the nth degree, even including magic, provided you have limitless amounts of time and patience.&nbsp; The game recognizes this can't happen, but each system and each edition does it a bit differently; and it's a matter of pick yer poison.Lan-&quot;my mind wanders, freed from the bounds imposed by reality&quot;-efan</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 5458609, member: 29398"] The following statement may at first reading sound kinda stupid, but allow me to explain afterwards: The game world needs to be real in all ways except those in which it isn't real. That's the "simulation" people want...that obvious but often-forgotten things like gravity, flotation, solids cannot pass through other solids, etc. work as normal (i.e. like on earth) except when there's magic preventing or changing said operation. Thus if the DM says "the birds are singing in the trees as you pass through the sun-dappled edge of the Woods of Avenae" and gives no further description any player can close their eyes and envision exactly what that looks and-or sounds like, because the baseline assumption is that it's the same as the real world until-unless you're told otherwise. If a player asks "what's in the field" and the DM answers "a small herd of cattle, maybe 15 or so" the baseline assumption is that these are normal earth-like cows rather than 7-legged tentacled carnivores that fly and produce purple milk. Thus, even if the DM doesn't describe the scenery for each mile as your party walks from Torcha to Karnos you can still get a vague idea of it from "you spend 5 days travelling through rolling farmland and occasional quiet villages" and your imagination. This is simulation, at least from my perspective, and it is essential. The same is true of combat effects; but here it's a question more of where to draw the line - it's quite possible to simulate a combat down to the nth degree, even including magic, provided you have limitless amounts of time and patience. The game recognizes this can't happen, but each system and each edition does it a bit differently; and it's a matter of pick yer poison. Lan-"my mind wanders, freed from the bounds imposed by reality"-efan [/QUOTE]

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