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<blockquote data-quote="Thyrwyn" data-source="post: 6549450" data-attributes="member: 12354"><p>And that is where I have a problem with this approach and this application. If it works at your table, go for it and have fun! I would not use it at my table and I would have reservations about joining a game <strong>D&D 5e</strong> game where that was the norm. Here's why:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Concrete Rules</strong> - Someone mentioned upthread that D&D combat was the most abstract part of the rules - I disagree. The vast majority of the written rules relate to combat. It is by far the most mechanically detailed part of the rules set, whether we measure by page count or level of detail. It does not cover every possible situation and it is not nearly as detailed as some other systems, but compared to the rules for social interaction, they are very detailed (even if they aren't always as precise as we would like them to be).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Player Agency</strong> - The entire rules set establishes a foundation or common language through which the players (of which the DM is one) can communicate and interact with the game. The rules give the players the tools to make informed decisions about the nature of their characters and the actions their characters will take within the game. This begins with character creation and continues though-out the entire play-span of the character. The more indiscriminately those rules are applied (by the DM), the less certain the other players become in their ability to coherently interact with the game. When the rules that are being differently applied are as concrete as the combat rules (for example), it only creates greater confusion and uncertainty in the other players. Confusion and uncertainty narrow the scope of player agency, create passivity, indecision, and frustration.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>There is no such thing as common sense</strong> - Everyone has a different idea of "what makes sense in the context of the fictional situation." When the DM starts spontaneously twisting the rules to suit their idea of what makes sense, the fiction becomes their fiction, and the other players become spectators. If all the game needs is "What makes sense to the DM in the fictional context", then we needn't bother rolling the dice in the first place. The game is no longer D&D - it is "How well do you understand your DM?"</li> </ul><p></p><p>No, it's not. If the outcome is even <em>potentially</em> worse for the fighter than the miss would have been, The DM has diminished the player's ability to make informed choices regarding his character's actions. When the fighter made the decision to attack, he thought he knew the risk/reward involved: the DM changed that on a whim. Now the fighter (and the other players) have to take that into consideration from that point forward. Is the Rogue going to risk that Sneak Attack on the Dragon, knowing the DM might reduce his attack to "weapon die only" in exchange for taking a free swing from the Dragon?</p><p></p><p>Imagine that, people having opinions over something as straight forward as mathematics... Climate Change is also "disputed".</p><p></p><p>Necessarily? nope. Potentially? Absolutely.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thyrwyn, post: 6549450, member: 12354"] And that is where I have a problem with this approach and this application. If it works at your table, go for it and have fun! I would not use it at my table and I would have reservations about joining a game [B]D&D 5e[/B] game where that was the norm. Here's why: [LIST] [*][B]Concrete Rules[/B] - Someone mentioned upthread that D&D combat was the most abstract part of the rules - I disagree. The vast majority of the written rules relate to combat. It is by far the most mechanically detailed part of the rules set, whether we measure by page count or level of detail. It does not cover every possible situation and it is not nearly as detailed as some other systems, but compared to the rules for social interaction, they are very detailed (even if they aren't always as precise as we would like them to be). [*][B]Player Agency[/B] - The entire rules set establishes a foundation or common language through which the players (of which the DM is one) can communicate and interact with the game. The rules give the players the tools to make informed decisions about the nature of their characters and the actions their characters will take within the game. This begins with character creation and continues though-out the entire play-span of the character. The more indiscriminately those rules are applied (by the DM), the less certain the other players become in their ability to coherently interact with the game. When the rules that are being differently applied are as concrete as the combat rules (for example), it only creates greater confusion and uncertainty in the other players. Confusion and uncertainty narrow the scope of player agency, create passivity, indecision, and frustration. [*][B]There is no such thing as common sense[/B] - Everyone has a different idea of "what makes sense in the context of the fictional situation." When the DM starts spontaneously twisting the rules to suit their idea of what makes sense, the fiction becomes their fiction, and the other players become spectators. If all the game needs is "What makes sense to the DM in the fictional context", then we needn't bother rolling the dice in the first place. The game is no longer D&D - it is "How well do you understand your DM?" [/LIST] No, it's not. If the outcome is even [I]potentially[/I] worse for the fighter than the miss would have been, The DM has diminished the player's ability to make informed choices regarding his character's actions. When the fighter made the decision to attack, he thought he knew the risk/reward involved: the DM changed that on a whim. Now the fighter (and the other players) have to take that into consideration from that point forward. Is the Rogue going to risk that Sneak Attack on the Dragon, knowing the DM might reduce his attack to "weapon die only" in exchange for taking a free swing from the Dragon? Imagine that, people having opinions over something as straight forward as mathematics... Climate Change is also "disputed". Necessarily? nope. Potentially? Absolutely. [/QUOTE]
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