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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3736927" data-attributes="member: 4937">No, no, no, no, no, no.  That statement is so typical of the 3rd edition mindset.  Players do not actually have to know what the consequences of thier actions will be.  DMs only need to know what the players intend to accomplish.  But out in the real world, every one is used to the fact that what we intend to accomplish is often very different than what we actually accomplish.  We all live in the 'fog of life'.  Characters within the game world similarly live in that fog of uncertainty.  It's an entirely gamist perspective to assume that the players in an RPG need to be able to reliably predict the outcome of what they do by analyzing the mechanics and examining the predictable range of results.Yes, it is possible to take this too far (and I've heard lots of horror stories) and have all sorts of arbitrary consequences to your actions, but simulationist approaches fill in the gaps in player knowledge of the game by giving them consistancy and by making the world run in a basis that is logical and consistant with the assumptions of the game world provided the player emmerses himself in it and tries to think like the character would in that situation.  If players of just starting out adventurers take thier characters to see the dragon, they are not thinking like inhabitants of the game world - they are thinking like players of the game.  If you actually lived in the game world, you wouldn't think, "The DM would never introduce an encounter that isn't reasonable, dragon's have triple normal treasure, so therefore it's a logical decision to go kill the dragon and take its stuff."  They would think, "Dragons are extremely fearsome creatures. This dragon has been living here a long time, and no one has killed it yet.  And, look at the bones!  Until I have a particular quarrel with this dragon and have more reason to be confident of my ability to face a dragon, I best leave it alone."When I decribe the entrance to a dragon's lair, I expect the player to be thinking, "How would I feel in this situation?  How would my character feel in this situation?"  Unless you've chosen to play an overconfident idiot, the sight of the bones of all the would be heroes that has gone before should scream, "Blunder this way only if you want to have an early death."Then they will be clear the next time.</blockquote>

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