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Experiencing the fiction in RPG play
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7822774" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>It can't be done. Like every other game, and indeed every other human endeavour, RPG design and RPG play involves trade-offs.</p><p></p><p>A system that is designed to stongly support PC synergy (of which 4e D&D is an exemplar) is inevitably going to be poorer at PC vs PC, because one of the core features of the system is, ipso facto, not being invoked in such circumstances.</p><p></p><p>Have you played both systems?</p><p></p><p>BW does not provide the sort of synergy between PC abilities that 4e does. That's simply not its thing. A well-oiled 4e team during a combat feels like a fight scene from Claremont-ear X-Men: one PC sets things up for the next PC's move, with the system elements such as healing rules, positioning rules, condition infliction etc all feeding into this.</p><p></p><p>BW plays more like RQ or another BRP system. It has a few more bells and whistles, including a solid <em>helping</em> option, but not the sort of intricate synergies that 4e provides.</p><p></p><p>This is mere stipulation, and for many RPGers is an arbitrary one.</p><p></p><p>The notion of the DM <em>having no right</em> simply makes no sense here. We're not in the realm of law or justice; we're in the realm of hobby gaming. And many RPGers don't fetishise setting - they see "setting" restrictions as simply gameplay devices. And there can be good reasons to adopt the gameplay device <em>all the PCs are friends</em> as much as the device <em>none of the PCs is a gnome</em>,</p><p></p><p>The system won't support it. (For instance, a cultist is already insane and so can't engage with the system's Insanity Die mechanics.) So the harm is that the game can't get off the ground.</p><p></p><p>It's like playing DDG Zeus in a Keep on the Borderlands game (to use a rough metaphor which uses elements you may be familiar with). That game won't get off the ground either.</p><p></p><p>This reinforces the point about fetisihing setting, and also <em>race </em>(which is not an <em>objective thing</em> in RPGIng, but simply a feature of D&D PC building taken up in other systems that ape D&D). The actual constraint derives from gameplay, including the elements of PC build and the methods of action resolution as well as more "story" or "narrative" concerns.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7822774, member: 42582"] It can't be done. Like every other game, and indeed every other human endeavour, RPG design and RPG play involves trade-offs. A system that is designed to stongly support PC synergy (of which 4e D&D is an exemplar) is inevitably going to be poorer at PC vs PC, because one of the core features of the system is, ipso facto, not being invoked in such circumstances. Have you played both systems? BW does not provide the sort of synergy between PC abilities that 4e does. That's simply not its thing. A well-oiled 4e team during a combat feels like a fight scene from Claremont-ear X-Men: one PC sets things up for the next PC's move, with the system elements such as healing rules, positioning rules, condition infliction etc all feeding into this. BW plays more like RQ or another BRP system. It has a few more bells and whistles, including a solid [I]helping[/I] option, but not the sort of intricate synergies that 4e provides. This is mere stipulation, and for many RPGers is an arbitrary one. The notion of the DM [I]having no right[/I] simply makes no sense here. We're not in the realm of law or justice; we're in the realm of hobby gaming. And many RPGers don't fetishise setting - they see "setting" restrictions as simply gameplay devices. And there can be good reasons to adopt the gameplay device [I]all the PCs are friends[/I] as much as the device [I]none of the PCs is a gnome[/I], The system won't support it. (For instance, a cultist is already insane and so can't engage with the system's Insanity Die mechanics.) So the harm is that the game can't get off the ground. It's like playing DDG Zeus in a Keep on the Borderlands game (to use a rough metaphor which uses elements you may be familiar with). That game won't get off the ground either. This reinforces the point about fetisihing setting, and also [I]race [/I](which is not an [I]objective thing[/I] in RPGIng, but simply a feature of D&D PC building taken up in other systems that ape D&D). The actual constraint derives from gameplay, including the elements of PC build and the methods of action resolution as well as more "story" or "narrative" concerns. [/QUOTE]
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