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<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5875602" data-attributes="member: 92305">Yep.&nbsp; That's how ours went, too.&nbsp; And, it's not bad.&nbsp; It works.&nbsp; I rolled out in the open like you did as well.&nbsp;But, see, you say &quot;roll 'em&quot;, and what's the player doing?&nbsp; Thinking about what it feels like to battle that orc?&nbsp; Visualizing the experience?&nbsp;No.&nbsp; What he's doing is focussing on that die roll you just told him to make.&nbsp; &nbsp;Active Defense takes focus out of the experience of the game and places it on dice rolling, game mechanics.&nbsp;And, once he knows that he parried the orc's blow, you saying &quot;Clang, you slam your shield against the blade and force him back and off balance, open to your attack as he scrambles to recover,&quot; has a lot less impact than if the player knew nothing and was hanging onto every word.&nbsp;In other words, with Active Defense, the cat gets out of the bag too early.&nbsp; The player knows the outcome.&nbsp;With static Defense (normal AC), the player learns what happens by experiencing it--through hearing your description.&nbsp;When you say, &quot;Clang, you slam your shield against the blade and force him back and off balance, open to your attack as he scrambles to recover,&quot; it's a hell of a lot more dramatic if the player lives through that attack by listening to what you say than by learning he wasn't hit because of a dice throw.&nbsp;Think about it.&nbsp; Watch in your game next time.&nbsp; When your PCs are being attacked, your players are thinking about rolling that damn dice, beating your attack number.&nbsp;Do you really want them thinking about that?&nbsp; Or this...&nbsp;&quot;CLANG!&nbsp; You SLAM your shield against the orc's blade.&nbsp; You force him back!&nbsp; He's off balance and breathing hard, but it's not over yet.&quot;&nbsp;To me, that's a no brainer.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 5875602, member: 92305"] Yep. That's how ours went, too. And, it's not bad. It works. I rolled out in the open like you did as well. But, see, you say "roll 'em", and what's the player doing? Thinking about what it feels like to battle that orc? Visualizing the experience? No. What he's doing is focussing on that die roll you just told him to make. Active Defense takes focus out of the experience of the game and places it on dice rolling, game mechanics. And, once he knows that he parried the orc's blow, you saying "Clang, you slam your shield against the blade and force him back and off balance, open to your attack as he scrambles to recover," has a lot less impact than if the player knew nothing and was hanging onto every word. In other words, with Active Defense, the cat gets out of the bag too early. The player knows the outcome. With static Defense (normal AC), the player learns what happens by experiencing it--through hearing your description. When you say, "Clang, you slam your shield against the blade and force him back and off balance, open to your attack as he scrambles to recover," it's a hell of a lot more dramatic if the player lives through that attack by listening to what you say than by learning he wasn't hit because of a dice throw. [COLOR=green]Think about it. Watch in your game next time. When your PCs are being attacked, your players are thinking about rolling that damn dice, beating your attack number.[/COLOR] [COLOR=green][/COLOR] [COLOR=green]Do you really want them thinking about that? Or this...[/COLOR] [COLOR=green][/COLOR] [COLOR=green]"CLANG! You SLAM your shield against the orc's blade. You force him back! He's off balance and breathing hard, but it's not over yet."[/COLOR] To me, that's a no brainer. [/QUOTE]

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