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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7809260" data-attributes="member: 42582">I don't really know what you mean by "at odds with" in this context.But the bit that I have bolded is the contrast that I and [USER=16586]@Campbell[/USER] are referring to. When Campbell declares that his barbarian PC enters a rage, the GM does not have to adjudicate anything. Nor does the GM have to consider whether or not a check is required. It's no different, in this respect, from a 4e "power" or an AD&D spell.Declaring attacks is a bit different from raging, because of the more intricate action economy considertions. But the basic contrast still holds.[USER=16586]@Campbell[/USER], your post provides two contrasting approaches: 5e-style fiction first (4e is also very similar in the skill challenge context, though the consequence side of things is a bit different because of the skill challenge context) and PF-style abilities+action-economy (the paradigm of these in the D&D tradition is spells, but as you note classsic D&D used abilities +action economy in other contexts, like opening doors, searching, etc).A different approach again is provided by MHRP/Cortex+ Heroic: sneaking past an orc encampment would be an attempt to create an Asset (eg Unobserved) or perhaps a Covert Stunt or even, in the right context, a Covert Resource. Any of these requires a move within the action economy and/or expenditure of metagame currency (not unlike D&D). But the actual descriptors that can be established are open-ended (like fiction first). But the principal function of an Asset, Stunt or Resource is to create a bonus die for future dice pools (a bit like, say, spending an encounter power outside of combat in 4e). Because of the way that resolution works in this system, success doesn't need to be attrition-based and so it can often be rational to spend turns building your pool before then going for the big win.I provide this example just to reinforce your point that there are differences that matter to the play experience. Cortex+ Heroic produces evocative player-generated descriptors, but the impact of fictional positioning on resolution is modest. D&D-style ability+action-economy gives us (once we're used to the system) a strong feel for the effort the PC is making, but once we've established that the action declaration is valid the resolution can often somewhat bypass fictional positioning, and we may not know much about the fictional details of what's going on (the orc is dead at zero hp, but how? the door has been opened, but is it busted? the trap was disarmed, but what exactly did this involved?). A purely fictional first system makes fictional positioning crucial and tends to yield strong fictionally-grounded outcomes, but it also positions the GM not just as a referee but as an interpreter and expositor of the fiction. Etc.</blockquote>

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