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Do NPCs in your game have PHB classes?
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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6884715" data-attributes="member: 6775031"><p>D&D is one of the simplest process simulations out there, which is one of the reasons why so many people enjoy it. It is strictly a process simulation, though; it doesn't care about abstract goals, in the way that Apocalypse World (for example) does. Every action in the game actually <em>does</em> correspond to a single process within the game world.</p><p></p><p>If you undergo the mechanical operations of "The orc attacks with its sword, it hits, and you take damage"; then the in-game reality which corresponds to those mechanics is just "The orc attacks with its sword, it hits, and you take damage". They may not be as <em>detailed</em> as some systems would have, but there is no doubt anywhere that the orc actually hit you with its sword and that it caused damage. (In any edition prior to 4E, I would add that damage meant there was definitely some amount of physical injury involved, but that doesn't really hold up in recent editions.)</p><p></p><p>If you move 30' feet in six seconds, and then cast a spell 25' feet away, then that's what actually happened - you moved at an average rate of five feet per second, for six seconds, and then finished casting a spell which takes effect more-or-less instantaneously. It may not be <em>as</em> detailed as you could get with GURPS, because it sacrifices a little of its granularity in favor of playability, but it's not abstract by any stretch.</p><p></p><p>Meta-gaming is always an evil, even if it is sometimes the lesser of two evils. When your assassin agrees to not backstab the paladin, because it's a PC, then that is one of those rare cases where meta-gaming might be justified. It's still jarring to the players at the table. The better solution is to simply not play a character who would be put into such a situation.</p><p></p><p>If the player chooses option A instead of option B, because A would be more fun even though the character would honestly probably do B instead, then that's just poor role-playing. It <em>might</em> be acceptable, particularly if B would involve other players sitting out of the game for an extended period of time, but it's definitely not ideal. Any supposed-RPG which tells you to take the fun option rather than the RP option is bad at being an RPG (whatever its other merits may be).</p><p></p><p>Yes, part of the issue is that some players don't understand what role-playing is, or don't actually care about role-playing, but insist on playing an RPG anyway. Some game designers don't understand role-playing, or do not actually enjoy role-playing, but insist on labelling their games as RPGs when they aren't actually about role-playing. </p><p></p><p>Role-playing is making decisions as your character would. If you make decisions <em>beyond</em> the scope of character agency, then you're not role-playing; you might be game-playing, or story-telling, or otherwise exerting agency within the game world (depending on the specific circumstances). If you are furthering the goals of the character by exerting this agency, then you compromise the integrity of the world, and you're back to deus ex machina territory.</p><p></p><p>The difference between rolling dice for damage, and choosing to spend an inspiration point (where it doesn't correspond to anything in-game), is that the latter is actually a <em>decision</em> which the player makes. Role-playing is only about the decisions which the <em>character</em> makes - which the player makes while pretending to be the character. Rolling dice isn't a <em>decision</em>; it's just administrative overhead, like talking, or writing something down on your character sheet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 6884715, member: 6775031"] D&D is one of the simplest process simulations out there, which is one of the reasons why so many people enjoy it. It is strictly a process simulation, though; it doesn't care about abstract goals, in the way that Apocalypse World (for example) does. Every action in the game actually [I]does[/I] correspond to a single process within the game world. If you undergo the mechanical operations of "The orc attacks with its sword, it hits, and you take damage"; then the in-game reality which corresponds to those mechanics is just "The orc attacks with its sword, it hits, and you take damage". They may not be as [I]detailed[/I] as some systems would have, but there is no doubt anywhere that the orc actually hit you with its sword and that it caused damage. (In any edition prior to 4E, I would add that damage meant there was definitely some amount of physical injury involved, but that doesn't really hold up in recent editions.) If you move 30' feet in six seconds, and then cast a spell 25' feet away, then that's what actually happened - you moved at an average rate of five feet per second, for six seconds, and then finished casting a spell which takes effect more-or-less instantaneously. It may not be [I]as[/I] detailed as you could get with GURPS, because it sacrifices a little of its granularity in favor of playability, but it's not abstract by any stretch. Meta-gaming is always an evil, even if it is sometimes the lesser of two evils. When your assassin agrees to not backstab the paladin, because it's a PC, then that is one of those rare cases where meta-gaming might be justified. It's still jarring to the players at the table. The better solution is to simply not play a character who would be put into such a situation. If the player chooses option A instead of option B, because A would be more fun even though the character would honestly probably do B instead, then that's just poor role-playing. It [I]might[/I] be acceptable, particularly if B would involve other players sitting out of the game for an extended period of time, but it's definitely not ideal. Any supposed-RPG which tells you to take the fun option rather than the RP option is bad at being an RPG (whatever its other merits may be). Yes, part of the issue is that some players don't understand what role-playing is, or don't actually care about role-playing, but insist on playing an RPG anyway. Some game designers don't understand role-playing, or do not actually enjoy role-playing, but insist on labelling their games as RPGs when they aren't actually about role-playing. Role-playing is making decisions as your character would. If you make decisions [I]beyond[/I] the scope of character agency, then you're not role-playing; you might be game-playing, or story-telling, or otherwise exerting agency within the game world (depending on the specific circumstances). If you are furthering the goals of the character by exerting this agency, then you compromise the integrity of the world, and you're back to deus ex machina territory. The difference between rolling dice for damage, and choosing to spend an inspiration point (where it doesn't correspond to anything in-game), is that the latter is actually a [I]decision[/I] which the player makes. Role-playing is only about the decisions which the [I]character[/I] makes - which the player makes while pretending to be the character. Rolling dice isn't a [I]decision[/I]; it's just administrative overhead, like talking, or writing something down on your character sheet. [/QUOTE]
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