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<blockquote data-quote="sinecure" data-source="post: 4562825" data-attributes="member: 37668">That Paranoia rule isn't a rule.&nbsp; It's basically, &quot;If you don't like our game, just do whatever you want&quot;.&nbsp; That isn't a rule.&nbsp; That is advice.&nbsp; Telling players not to follow the game rules can never be a game rule.&nbsp; But D&amp;D is a competition game.&nbsp; You can make it less of a competition game by rewarding all XP collectively, but even then the items and rewards gained in the gameworld are still singular in almost all cases.&nbsp; Going out of your way to have exact parity between all players is a fool's game.&nbsp; Exact same XP totals, exact same equipment/magic item &quot;utility&quot;, exact same Powers rating, exact same reputation, exact same attitudes from NPCs.&nbsp; Why even bother doing anything when the rest of the group will do it for me?&nbsp; D&amp;D is actually a perfect example of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma" target="_blank">prisoner's dilemma</a> from Game Theory in a real game.&nbsp; At any time you could kill another PC.&nbsp; If you &quot;befriend&quot; the PC, it turns out to be pretty easy.&nbsp; Take a sword and coup de gras the character, while you are on watch.&nbsp; Instant XP.&nbsp; Kill the whole party.&nbsp; That way you don't have to worry about questions later.&nbsp; This is not something wrong to do in a D&amp;D game.&nbsp; There are no rules against it.&nbsp; But what happens is players learn they cannot gain nearly as much XP and gold adventuring solo as they can with in a group.&nbsp; So they look for other people to help them out.&nbsp; If you have a solo game, one PC, you probably will hire help or try and make friends (henchman) who will assist you in your endeavors.&nbsp; Cooperative play amongst characters (no matter how many players there are) works because it means more treasure can be attained by each individual overall.&nbsp; It is a sound strategy by each individual involved... as long as it benefits them.&nbsp; If it does not benefit them, then characters should leave the group.&nbsp; Cooperative play isn't a metagame agreement.&nbsp; At least it doesn't have to be.&nbsp; It's just smart play.EDIT But referees as you call them are not players.&nbsp; If they were, this wouldn't be a game.If that is what Jim is saying, then I agree with you.&nbsp; A game where players can not possibly succeed is not a game in my mind.&nbsp; You should be able to change the system to alter game difficulty like in most computers.&nbsp; But I don't think increasing or decreasing monsters is really how that is done.&nbsp; It has to do with the strategies they use.&nbsp; Old Guard Kobolds and all that.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="sinecure, post: 4562825, member: 37668"] That Paranoia rule isn't a rule. It's basically, "If you don't like our game, just do whatever you want". That isn't a rule. That is advice. Telling players not to follow the game rules can never be a game rule. But D&D is a competition game. You can make it less of a competition game by rewarding all XP collectively, but even then the items and rewards gained in the gameworld are still singular in almost all cases. Going out of your way to have exact parity between all players is a fool's game. Exact same XP totals, exact same equipment/magic item "utility", exact same Powers rating, exact same reputation, exact same attitudes from NPCs. Why even bother doing anything when the rest of the group will do it for me? D&D is actually a perfect example of the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma"]prisoner's dilemma[/URL] from Game Theory in a real game. At any time you could kill another PC. If you "befriend" the PC, it turns out to be pretty easy. Take a sword and coup de gras the character, while you are on watch. Instant XP. Kill the whole party. That way you don't have to worry about questions later. This is not something wrong to do in a D&D game. There are no rules against it. But what happens is players learn they cannot gain nearly as much XP and gold adventuring solo as they can with in a group. So they look for other people to help them out. If you have a solo game, one PC, you probably will hire help or try and make friends (henchman) who will assist you in your endeavors. Cooperative play amongst characters (no matter how many players there are) works because it means more treasure can be attained by each individual overall. It is a sound strategy by each individual involved... as long as it benefits them. If it does not benefit them, then characters should leave the group. Cooperative play isn't a metagame agreement. At least it doesn't have to be. It's just smart play. EDIT But referees as you call them are not players. If they were, this wouldn't be a game. If that is what Jim is saying, then I agree with you. A game where players can not possibly succeed is not a game in my mind. You should be able to change the system to alter game difficulty like in most computers. But I don't think increasing or decreasing monsters is really how that is done. It has to do with the strategies they use. Old Guard Kobolds and all that. [/QUOTE]

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