Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Abstract versus concrete in games (or, why rules-light systems suck)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 2314527" data-attributes="member: 32164"><p>I agree. It is a matter of taste and mindset. But it's not as simple as a preference for "immersive" vs. "tactical" roleplaying. It's a matter of whether you want rules that allow your character to get "better" at things.</p><p></p><p>I can choose to "describe" an action any way I want. But there's no sense of accomplishment beyond what I get from telling or writing a story. As a player (and speaking strictly as a player), a large part of the enjoyment of D&D is the vicarious thrill of "accomplishing" something. Simply deciding that I, in story form, complete my attack by bounding over a table may be satisfying from a storytelling standpoint, but from a "vicarious thrills" standpoint, it's exactly the same as "I swing my sword. I hit." There's no reason to come up with the descriptive language. However, if I know that by tumbling past the guy I might get a bonus on the attack, I'll do it.</p><p></p><p>I guess to me, it's a matter of risk versus reward. In rules-light, description-heavy systems, the risk-reward is in your head (combat is obviously abstract enough to allow it to all be description). In more tactical games, there is a tangible effect of risk vs. reward. While this obviously isn't necessary (or even "realistic" in such an abstract system), it's much more satisfying to me <em>as a player</em> to accomplish something cool because I took a risk and succeeded, rather than simply <em>deciding it happened</em>.</p><p></p><p>Like you said, it's a matter of taste, but it's not as simple as immersive vs. tactical. I'd say it's more about emphasizing "collective storytelling" vs. "vicarious thrills."</p><p></p><p>Obviously, there's elements of both in both. If the one side was just interested in collective storytelling, you wouldn't need a resolution mechanic at all, but then it's just improvisational theatre. And if the other was just about "vicarious thrills," we'd just gamble. So the happy medium is somewhere in the middle. Some systems lean one way, others lean others. As an example, the Hero system is TOO tactical even for me. And Palladium (with its "resolve every strike, parry, and dodge") is too. On the other hand, Amber Diceless roleplaying with its utter lack of a resolution mechanic is way too far the other way. C&C, Warhammer, and D&D 3e fall between these extremes.</p><p></p><p>I stand by my broader point about C&C. Without feats, spellcasters have more tactical options (that actually have RULES implications) than the combat-focused classes. Note that "you can do this but it has substantial penalties with no measurable reward" is not an option any sane person would take. Ergo, it's not a "real" option. Nor is "you can do this, but it has no penalties and makes no difference" because that's not an option with any rules implications either.</p><p></p><p>Just my personal take on "descriptive" combat.</p><p></p><p>If the CKG adds feats, skills and such back into C&C, I don't see how it's any less complicated than 3e. Although I freely admit that statting up and equipping a mid-high-level 3e character is a pain in the A. A system that solves this issue ALWAYS gets my attention (at least for a short time).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JohnSnow, post: 2314527, member: 32164"] I agree. It is a matter of taste and mindset. But it's not as simple as a preference for "immersive" vs. "tactical" roleplaying. It's a matter of whether you want rules that allow your character to get "better" at things. I can choose to "describe" an action any way I want. But there's no sense of accomplishment beyond what I get from telling or writing a story. As a player (and speaking strictly as a player), a large part of the enjoyment of D&D is the vicarious thrill of "accomplishing" something. Simply deciding that I, in story form, complete my attack by bounding over a table may be satisfying from a storytelling standpoint, but from a "vicarious thrills" standpoint, it's exactly the same as "I swing my sword. I hit." There's no reason to come up with the descriptive language. However, if I know that by tumbling past the guy I might get a bonus on the attack, I'll do it. I guess to me, it's a matter of risk versus reward. In rules-light, description-heavy systems, the risk-reward is in your head (combat is obviously abstract enough to allow it to all be description). In more tactical games, there is a tangible effect of risk vs. reward. While this obviously isn't necessary (or even "realistic" in such an abstract system), it's much more satisfying to me [i]as a player[/i] to accomplish something cool because I took a risk and succeeded, rather than simply [i]deciding it happened[/i]. Like you said, it's a matter of taste, but it's not as simple as immersive vs. tactical. I'd say it's more about emphasizing "collective storytelling" vs. "vicarious thrills." Obviously, there's elements of both in both. If the one side was just interested in collective storytelling, you wouldn't need a resolution mechanic at all, but then it's just improvisational theatre. And if the other was just about "vicarious thrills," we'd just gamble. So the happy medium is somewhere in the middle. Some systems lean one way, others lean others. As an example, the Hero system is TOO tactical even for me. And Palladium (with its "resolve every strike, parry, and dodge") is too. On the other hand, Amber Diceless roleplaying with its utter lack of a resolution mechanic is way too far the other way. C&C, Warhammer, and D&D 3e fall between these extremes. I stand by my broader point about C&C. Without feats, spellcasters have more tactical options (that actually have RULES implications) than the combat-focused classes. Note that "you can do this but it has substantial penalties with no measurable reward" is not an option any sane person would take. Ergo, it's not a "real" option. Nor is "you can do this, but it has no penalties and makes no difference" because that's not an option with any rules implications either. Just my personal take on "descriptive" combat. If the CKG adds feats, skills and such back into C&C, I don't see how it's any less complicated than 3e. Although I freely admit that statting up and equipping a mid-high-level 3e character is a pain in the A. A system that solves this issue ALWAYS gets my attention (at least for a short time). [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Abstract versus concrete in games (or, why rules-light systems suck)
Top