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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Compelling and Differentiated Gameplay For Spellcasters and Martial Classes
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<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7825041" data-attributes="member: 16586"><p>I think there is a tendency to assume that having mechanics for a thing means it must function much in the same way that combat or spells have traditionally functioned in most versions of Dungeons and Dragons. This was largely the way it worked when 3rd Edition added detail to the other pillars. It does not have to be this way. Game mechanics can be written in a way in which they embrace GM judgement and fictional positioning to allow for creative play. You do this by explicitly calling out areas for the GM to apply their judgement as a referee and having fictional positioning requirements built in to how you design mechanics.</p><p></p><p>There is a middle ground between rigidly defined mechanics and no mechanical support. Games like Apocalypse World, Exalted Third Edition, Chronicles of Darkness, and the new Legend of the Five Rings live in this space. I find many role playing games are written in this binary way where they either forget that there are human beings playing these games or they leave it entirely up to the group to handle everything.</p><p></p><p>I find the danger in not defining exploration or social encounters at all is that it becomes difficult to design encounters that will engage all the players and meaningfully differentiate what the characters are capable of. The GM is basically performing game design in the middle of play instead of acting as a referee and playing the opposition. I find this often leads overly conservative rulings, particularly from newer GMs who do not want to break things. It can also lead to a temptation to sway things towards predetermined outcomes.</p><p></p><p>The other danger is no clear distinction between what characters are capable of. How much better is a 7th level Ranger at exploring his environment than a 2nd level Ranger? How do we provide a niche for a socially capable Rogue that a Wizard cannot duplicate? How do I as a GM make this social encounter distinct from the last seven?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 7825041, member: 16586"] I think there is a tendency to assume that having mechanics for a thing means it must function much in the same way that combat or spells have traditionally functioned in most versions of Dungeons and Dragons. This was largely the way it worked when 3rd Edition added detail to the other pillars. It does not have to be this way. Game mechanics can be written in a way in which they embrace GM judgement and fictional positioning to allow for creative play. You do this by explicitly calling out areas for the GM to apply their judgement as a referee and having fictional positioning requirements built in to how you design mechanics. There is a middle ground between rigidly defined mechanics and no mechanical support. Games like Apocalypse World, Exalted Third Edition, Chronicles of Darkness, and the new Legend of the Five Rings live in this space. I find many role playing games are written in this binary way where they either forget that there are human beings playing these games or they leave it entirely up to the group to handle everything. I find the danger in not defining exploration or social encounters at all is that it becomes difficult to design encounters that will engage all the players and meaningfully differentiate what the characters are capable of. The GM is basically performing game design in the middle of play instead of acting as a referee and playing the opposition. I find this often leads overly conservative rulings, particularly from newer GMs who do not want to break things. It can also lead to a temptation to sway things towards predetermined outcomes. The other danger is no clear distinction between what characters are capable of. How much better is a 7th level Ranger at exploring his environment than a 2nd level Ranger? How do we provide a niche for a socially capable Rogue that a Wizard cannot duplicate? How do I as a GM make this social encounter distinct from the last seven? [/QUOTE]
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