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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zweischneid" data-source="post: 3883081" data-attributes="member: 11843">Well, the main drawback is that MMOG tend to create rather artificial situations in which the limitations of a computer-aggro routine can apply. This however, is also their biggest drawback since they are thereby limited in what they can do.Imagine the following: The PCs are escorting the horse carriage of a fair lady through some dark forest where, unknown to them, a band of Hobgoblins and Goblins under the command of a ruthless Ogre-mage have laid a trap. With them is also a sneaky halfling who betrayed the route to the Ogre-mage to settle a score with the Players. Already there, there's a million ways to go into the battle. Do the players scout ahead? Detect part or all of the ambush? Ride on their own, or in/on the carriage? Conceal their numbers or make a big show of their arms and armor?Once the battle commences, there's different reactions to the groups. Hobgoblins fight well coordinated, disciplined and to the death unless ordered an equally coordinated retreat. Goblins are rather skittish, trying to score shiny things and avoid fights unless pressed. The Ogre-mage wants to kidnap fair lady and the sneaky halfling will try to get to the PCs (possibly a specific one), but avoid getting into a prolonged open fight with the heavy hitters of the party. Now add to that battle the fair lady who might panik and head into the woods, the coachman who might or might not get involved in the fight, horses, animal companions, summoned creatures, etc... . PCs or NPCs might climb trees, fly, hide, turn invisible, offer the Ogre-mage a truce or negotiate, start high-speed chases on the outside of a Coach who's horses got spooked, try capture the halfling, intentionally scare or distract Goblins to confuse the fight, etc...There is no way in hell that any "aggro-system" short 10.000 pages could account for all the eventualities in that one fight alone, and as you see from the description it is only a "low-level" scenario.Pen&Paper RPGs like D&D should play to their strenghts in relation to MMOGs, not trying to copy MMOG-mechanics in an inferior way.</blockquote>

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