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<blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5883390" data-attributes="member: 54877">I prefer the separation, as I'm naturally a very abstract thinker anyway.&nbsp; The first thing my mind starts doing with the embedded version is ... separating out the fluff from the mechanics in order to fix the thing in my mind, and then vary the fluff as fits what we are using it for.&nbsp; Everyone at my table is similar, though none quite to the degree that I am.&nbsp;There is another issue, here, though--which shows up in the embedded and separated versions, but more obviously in the latter:&nbsp; Sometimes the flavor text doesn't really match the mechanics.&nbsp; When this happens in the separated version you are encouraged to simply ignore the flavor text as &quot;bad flavor text.&quot;&nbsp; We've said that very thing about some of the powers in our 4E game.&nbsp; OTOH, when this happens in the embedded versions, you start thinking, &quot;They must have meant something by that. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/ponder.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":hmm:" title="Hmmm&nbsp; &nbsp; :hmm:" data-shortname=":hmm:" />&quot;&nbsp; Depending on the group, this leads to different intrepretations of the mechanics, rejection of the flavor text, or, more often, cognitive dissonance while trying to accept both the flavor text and the mechanics as somehow matching.&nbsp;Moreover, I think this latter part affects not only us, but the writers as well.&nbsp; 4E made it more difficult to skip over this discrepancy--which resulted, in general, in cleaner mechanics and more cheesy flavor text.&nbsp;Personally, what I would like to see is flavor text selectively and consciously embedded in some abilities, with a keyword calling this fact out, meaning &quot;DM Adjudication Required&quot; (as opposed to &quot;DM Adjudication Possible,&quot; which is true anytime.&nbsp; If the ability can't have good flavor text separate, then that is probably because the mechanics don't do what the writer is intended it to to.&nbsp; So write out this ability in English, and tell people to go with intent as best they can.&nbsp; But when the power is quite clear, and the flavor backs that up, keep it separate.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crazy Jerome, post: 5883390, member: 54877"] I prefer the separation, as I'm naturally a very abstract thinker anyway. The first thing my mind starts doing with the embedded version is ... separating out the fluff from the mechanics in order to fix the thing in my mind, and then vary the fluff as fits what we are using it for. Everyone at my table is similar, though none quite to the degree that I am. There is another issue, here, though--which shows up in the embedded and separated versions, but more obviously in the latter: Sometimes the flavor text doesn't really match the mechanics. When this happens in the separated version you are encouraged to simply ignore the flavor text as "bad flavor text." We've said that very thing about some of the powers in our 4E game. OTOH, when this happens in the embedded versions, you start thinking, "They must have meant something by that. :hmm:" Depending on the group, this leads to different intrepretations of the mechanics, rejection of the flavor text, or, more often, cognitive dissonance while trying to accept both the flavor text and the mechanics as somehow matching. Moreover, I think this latter part affects not only us, but the writers as well. 4E made it more difficult to skip over this discrepancy--which resulted, in general, in cleaner mechanics and more cheesy flavor text. Personally, what I would like to see is flavor text selectively and consciously embedded in some abilities, with a keyword calling this fact out, meaning "DM Adjudication Required" (as opposed to "DM Adjudication Possible," which is true anytime. If the ability can't have good flavor text separate, then that is probably because the mechanics don't do what the writer is intended it to to. So write out this ability in English, and tell people to go with intent as best they can. But when the power is quite clear, and the flavor backs that up, keep it separate. [/QUOTE]

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