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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ariosto" data-source="post: 5288875" data-attributes="member: 80487">Have you not heard the saying, "Experience builds character"?Are you not acquainted with the meanings of the words in normal English, as opposed to D&D-geek-ish?I used mechanisms and numbers as seemed meet to reflect events in the imagined world. This was the same principle in, e.g., RuneQuest as in D&D.The difference was that in D&D, player-characters were generally assumed to be adventurers by profession, at least as competent as Boy Scouts at sitting horses, tying knots, sailing boats, making fires, polishing boots, and sundry other quotidian matters to which the authors of fantastic adventure fiction tended to devote no special attention. That was not where the interest lay.It was not the case that players were eager to turn their warriors and conjurers into butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, only to be frustrated by an absolute prohibition on doing so! No, the demand as a rule was not there for such rules. People came to play Dungeons & Dragons to explore dungeons and deal with dragons.If baking a cake or spinning a thread, planting beans or climbing a beanstalk, chanting a verse or milking a cow or riding a flying horse or anything happened to be conducive to adventure, then it was not in our interest to keep it from happening.If it was not interesting, then again we usually had no reason to prevent it -- but also no reason to spend a lot of time and energy on it. We did not need rules for making horseshoes in Boot Hill, for the same reason we did not need rules for going to the outhouse.Now, if our group happened to be fascinated by some usually neglected subject, then we could always add rules. D&D, and RQ -- indeed, most games prior to WotC-D&D, in my experience -- were easily extensible this way."Hey, can Jocko spend a season with the Circus? It would be neat to learn how to juggle." Sure. Why not? The other characters meanwhile will be off getting experience points in their classes, but when Jocko returns he might have "Juggler" noted on his character record.Anyone else who chooses to do so may. Likewise, whoever proves himself or herself worthy to study at the feet of the Mountain Hermit may learn secrets of the Still Voice. Whoever wrests from the deep the Sea Queen's Pearl will possess its powers.The game does not consist of spending so many points. It consists of taking actions, with no set allotment of helps or hindrances to acquire.As for non-player characters, they are however the referee describes them. There is simply no game in making NPCs, no peer in competition with the Dungeon Master!</blockquote>

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