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<blockquote data-quote="TwoSix" data-source="post: 9585244" data-attributes="member: 205">Game type matters here a lot.In the classic paradigm, where the focus of play is &quot;make a character that can survive and beat this session's dungeon&quot;, generally in pawn stance, then playing a character that would provide a skill set that the party required was part and parcel of &quot;skilled play&quot;.&nbsp; And in that paradigm, skilled play was a featured virtue.&nbsp; This is generally also true in OSR, although branches of the OSR are also focused on experiencing and appreciating randomness and serendipity.In a trad paradigm, player agency is more important, although that agency will be secondary to making sure the PCs are following setting conventions.&nbsp; If the DM is doing trad-storypath play (running a published &quot;campaign&quot;) with a lot of challenging combat encounter &quot;gates&quot;, then providing necessary skillsets may also be relevant.In the more currently dominant OC/neotrad paradigm, where agency over character concept is paramount, I would agree that the DM has as a generalized principle of play the goal of framing challenges in ways suiting whatever party concept the players create.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TwoSix, post: 9585244, member: 205"] Game type matters here a lot. In the classic paradigm, where the focus of play is "make a character that can survive and beat this session's dungeon", generally in pawn stance, then playing a character that would provide a skill set that the party required was part and parcel of "skilled play". And in that paradigm, skilled play was a featured virtue. This is generally also true in OSR, although branches of the OSR are also focused on experiencing and appreciating randomness and serendipity. In a trad paradigm, player agency is more important, although that agency will be secondary to making sure the PCs are following setting conventions. If the DM is doing trad-storypath play (running a published "campaign") with a lot of challenging combat encounter "gates", then providing necessary skillsets may also be relevant. In the more currently dominant OC/neotrad paradigm, where agency over character concept is paramount, I would agree that the DM has as a generalized principle of play the goal of framing challenges in ways suiting whatever party concept the players create. [/QUOTE]

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