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<blockquote data-quote="Laurefindel" data-source="post: 8391812" data-attributes="member: 67296">I found that my game mechanics transparency (lets call it that) changes with the tone of the game i'm DMing. My last campaign was a high stake FR game. Two of the players were teenagers so the game wasn't particularity dark, but it was serious, for lack of better words. Decisions, alliances, combat outcomes had significant consequences. That game was pretty opaque when it came to game mechanics vs narrative.My present game is a more light-hearted Eberron game with a bit of a comedy feel. The stakes are just as high but the tone is very different, and the game mechanics are much more apparent, down to in-game notions of spell slots, spell levels, character classes, and to a lesser extent, hit points. In this game, the mechanics are often part of the narrative, on purpose, often in a tongue-in-cheek way. (I think a NPC once referred to a +3 sword as a &quot;trice-magical sword&quot; or something)In the example of the OP, this game would have gone something like...<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Me: &quot;You take 6 points of piercing damage.&quot;</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">PC: &quot;Wait, how is that 6 points? Why did you roll another die? Is he a rogue? I'm not flanked, so there shouldn't be sneak attack damage.&quot;</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Me: &quot;No, you are his enemy, and he has favoured you among all others! Mouhahah!</li>
</ul>[edit] boooo! Bad DM, wrong ability! Take 2d4 psychic damage! It should have been something like : « No, he is on the Hunt, and he has marked you! Mouahaha! »That would have not happened that way in our other game. It would have gone something like:<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Me: &quot;You take 6 points of piercing damage.&quot;</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">PC: &quot;Wait, how is that 6 points? Why did you roll another die? Is he a rogue? I'm not flanked, so there shouldn't be sneak attack damage.&quot;</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Me: &quot;Indeed there must be something more to it, but you can't identify what it is. Now the next enemy hit you for [roll] 9 damage...&quot;</li>
</ul></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Laurefindel, post: 8391812, member: 67296"] I found that my game mechanics transparency (lets call it that) changes with the tone of the game i'm DMing. My last campaign was a high stake FR game. Two of the players were teenagers so the game wasn't particularity dark, but it was serious, for lack of better words. Decisions, alliances, combat outcomes had significant consequences. That game was pretty opaque when it came to game mechanics vs narrative. My present game is a more light-hearted Eberron game with a bit of a comedy feel. The stakes are just as high but the tone is very different, and the game mechanics are much more apparent, down to in-game notions of spell slots, spell levels, character classes, and to a lesser extent, hit points. In this game, the mechanics are often part of the narrative, on purpose, often in a tongue-in-cheek way. (I think a NPC once referred to a +3 sword as a "trice-magical sword" or something) In the example of the OP, this game would have gone something like... [LIST] [*][B]Me[/B]: "You take 6 points of piercing damage." [*][B]PC[/B]: "Wait, how is that 6 points? Why did you roll another die? Is he a rogue? I'm not flanked, so there shouldn't be sneak attack damage." [*][B]Me:[/B] "No, you are his [I]enemy[/I], and he has [I]favoured [/I]you among all others! Mouhahah! [/LIST] [edit] boooo! Bad DM, wrong ability! Take 2d4 psychic damage! It should have been something like : « No, he is on the [I]Hunt[/I], and he has [I]marked[/I] you! Mouahaha! » That would have not happened that way in our other game. It would have gone something like: [LIST] [*][B]Me[/B]: "You take 6 points of piercing damage." [*][B]PC[/B]: "Wait, how is that 6 points? Why did you roll another die? Is he a rogue? I'm not flanked, so there shouldn't be sneak attack damage." [*][B]Me:[/B] "Indeed there must be something more to it, but you can't identify what it is. Now the next enemy hit you for [roll] 9 damage..." [/LIST] [/QUOTE]

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