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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 9050405" data-attributes="member: 177">It arises from the idea that play centers on meaningful choice.&nbsp; If you are asking the player for clarification, that implies that the difference is meaningful, where they didn't think it was before.So, perhaps you, personally, are perfection.&nbsp; Broadly speaking, however, even GMs who &quot;always&quot; ask for approach are not so consistent about it as they may think.&nbsp; &quot;I walk across the room,&quot; is usually not challenged with, &quot;How do you walk across the room?&quot; We have some shared conception of what &quot;walking&quot; is.&nbsp; That the character is walking without Pythonesque silly flourishes, are using the character's usual pedal extremities, and so on, are usually assumed by all sides.&nbsp; &nbsp; These assumptions are common, because they are reasonable - we have limited time at the table, and so we have limits on the granularity of descriptions, lest we never get anything done.So, the &quot;always&quot; is perhaps not literally an absolute.&nbsp; And the table then creates buckets of expectation of when it is true, and when it is not.&nbsp; Defying those expectations by asking for clarification when the player doesn't expect it is necessary means their conception of the situation was wrong - including the possibility that they didn't understand the stakes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 9050405, member: 177"] It arises from the idea that play centers on [I]meaningful[/I] choice. If you are asking the player for clarification, that implies that the difference is [I]meaningful[/I], where they didn't think it was before. So, perhaps you, personally, are perfection. Broadly speaking, however, even GMs who "always" ask for approach are not so consistent about it as they may think. "I walk across the room," is usually not challenged with, "[I]How[/I] do you walk across the room?" We have some shared conception of what "walking" is. That the character is walking without Pythonesque silly flourishes, are using the character's usual pedal extremities, and so on, are usually assumed by all sides. These assumptions are common, because they are reasonable - we have limited time at the table, and so we have limits on the granularity of descriptions, lest we never get anything done. So, the "always" is perhaps not literally an absolute. And the table then creates buckets of expectation of when it is true, and when it is not. Defying those expectations by asking for clarification when the player doesn't expect it is necessary means their conception of the situation was wrong - including the possibility that they didn't understand the stakes. [/QUOTE]

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