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<blockquote data-quote="TildenThorne" data-source="post: 6762343" data-attributes="member: 6781228">Game Designers,As both GM and player, I find a certain thread common in games not developed through crowd sourcing and even those that have been. You will often encounter a game element that was possibly intended to be &quot;fluff&quot;, that is to say &quot;of no statistical use&quot; but the wording of the said bit of &quot;fluff&quot; clearly implies an advantage.Example: If a portion of character creation granted a character the ability to always know which direction is north and how far they have traveled relative to their last position, that player would naturally assume his character would be better at navigation.The above assumption would be commonly made by players and if no benefit was intended, those players who figured one is deserved would feel slighted. This is ESPECIALLY true when bringing new players to the game, who often feel that tabletop RPG rules are a bit &quot;wishy-washy&quot;. Many newer systems have gone to great lengths to become more &quot;transparent&quot; in their language, and I praise them deeply, many others not only choose not to, but can get indignant at the assumption that something may not be &quot;right&quot; with their work. In most cases, a single additional line to an offending rule or bit of fluff is all that would be needed to fix the situation...Example: From above &quot;The character knows which direction is north and how far they have travelled from their previous position. Characters skilled in navigation are taught this as part of the skill and no further benefit is gained.&quot;Problem no longer exists. Nobody will become confused... And my night running the game... Just got a whole lot easier. So game designers... Please keep this right in the front of your brain when doing what you do. Sometimes, I think this little facet can get overlooked a bit much. I consider it the estranged step child of the &quot;We never considered that combo&quot; game design issue.Sincerely,A vet GM and Player</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TildenThorne, post: 6762343, member: 6781228"] Game Designers, As both GM and player, I find a certain thread common in games not developed through crowd sourcing and even those that have been. You will often encounter a game element that was possibly intended to be "fluff", that is to say "of no statistical use" but the wording of the said bit of "fluff" clearly implies an advantage. [I]Example: If a portion of character creation granted a character the ability to always know which direction is north and how far they have traveled [/I][I]relative to their last position, that player would naturally assume his character would be better at navigation. [/I]The above assumption would be commonly made by players and if no benefit was intended, those players who figured one is deserved would feel slighted. This is ESPECIALLY true when bringing new players to the game, who often feel that tabletop RPG rules are a bit "wishy-washy". Many newer systems have gone to great lengths to become more "transparent" in their language, and I praise them deeply, many others not only choose not to, but can get indignant at the assumption that something may not be "right" with their work. In most cases, a single additional line to an offending rule or bit of fluff is all that would be needed to fix the situation... [I] Example: From above "The character knows which direction is north and how far they have travelled from their previous position. Characters skilled in navigation are taught this as part of the skill and no further benefit is gained." [/I] Problem no longer exists. Nobody will become confused... And my night running the game... Just got a whole lot easier. So game designers... Please keep this right in the front of your brain when doing what you do. Sometimes, I think this little facet can get overlooked a bit much. I consider it the estranged step child of the "We never considered that combo" game design issue. Sincerely, A vet GM and Player [/QUOTE]

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