NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 9213993" data-attributes="member: 7023840">Let me elaborate.If someone is using the term "simulation" in the TTRPG context, they are referring back to the jargon meaning, because that's where it came from.Think of the debates in D&D about whether it should be played as people just going around, doing things in the world, or whether there should be some "larger narrative purpose." That's the core of the issue.For a "simulationist," the question isn't whether there is an accurate mapping of the economy, or plate tectonics, or an inn. It's just whether or not decisions are made in accordance with the fiction of the world. Which is established by the game system, norms, lore, and (on occasion) by "common sense" rulings.Contrast that with a pure gamist. The easiest way to put this is thinking about "Gygaxian skilled play." A gamist views this more as a game; so after Klud Mudderhunk dies in the dungeon, Klud Mudderhunk II sallies forth. Except that Klud I died from an earseeker, so Klud II is especially careful when it comes to listening at doors. A gamist thinks this is fine, but a simulationist would decry this as it relies on information (meta-knowledge) that is antithetical to the fiction of the world; why would Klud II be aware of earseekers?If you're all about the D ... um ... you know what I mean ... anyway, you're looking for the story reasons. You want to increase moments of drama and tension, even if it's not necessarily in keeping with the "game" or the "cause and effect of the game world." Early attempts at this would be considered today (from the DM's perspective) as a type of railroading, but the "Hickman Revolution" was all about making D&D about the D.I would say that early D&D was strong S/G, and was ill-served for D. People tried to keep beating the D into it, and that's usually where the pressure points came in. 3e (for example) went heavy into the S direction, and 4e reversed course and went heavily into the D direction.(I would add that, for the most part, these decisions are rarely mutually exclusive. Most people enjoy a little bit of each. Which is why D&D has traditionally allowed for games to be pushed in different directions. If you really want to go heavy into a single direction, you're going to be better served with a game that eschews the other concerns.)</blockquote>

Verification