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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 5538972" data-attributes="member: 2067">By and large, I don't. It's an ever-shifting target. It depends on what you're talking about. I think my ideal "balance" between characters for a PnPRPG would be that each player's character could contribute to overcoming the conflicts of the game in a unique mechanical and narrative way.Rule 1 is that anything that's not a conflict happens through descriptive narrative. A player can make their character do anything they can imagine their character doing. A DM must determine the result of the action, forbid impossible actions, and judge when there's a conflict that might need mechanics to resolve.The rest of the rules are basically those conflict resolution mechanics. Well, if it was my game, I'm pretty firmly a fan of a cinematic, narrative style, so I would say the resolution should vary based on the intended dramatic tension of the conflict. If there's no conflict, there's no tension, and so the action either happens (if it could logically happen), or it doesn't. If there's a very minor conflict, a single die roll might dictate the resolution. If it's a big, dramatic conflict, something more detailed (like a combat system), with building tension and a big, final resolution. If someone were going for a more simulation style, I'd imagine they'd have a single resolution system perhaps more based in how "easy" it is. An easy task requires only a simple resolution, but a hard task requires a more detailed resolution. Easy and hard can be determined by level, training, class, etc.For me, the ideal way is the same way actions resolve in reality: cause -> effect. This provides a thrill of discovery when the effect happens, keeps the time flowing in one direction, and helps ground players in their characters by making them decide an action based on current abilities, not expected results.  It's easier to improvise, easier to narrate, and more fun to play through.They control the game, though not the characters. They determine if an event is possible, if it is a conflict, what kind of conflict it is, what the effects of the resolution of the conflict can be, etc. They facilitate the game by either constructing a narrative (in my preferred cinematic style) or by constructing a world (in a more sandbox style), and keep the game flowing by controlling pacing (including level pacing). When deciding about their world or story, they make decisions according to their own desires, taking into account the desires of the rest of the group.When adjudicating an action, they make decisions based on a quick cycle:Is it possible? If no, then no, it can't happen. If yes, then is it a conflict? If no, then it happens.If yes, then which resolution mechanics will you use?After you have a resolution, what happens?Then, what does the character do in response?Is it possible? ....etc....Hope that helps! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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