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<blockquote data-quote="wrecan" data-source="post: 5626613" data-attributes="member: 64825">It doesn't need to, because the scope of the game is limited in duration.&nbsp; There are 300 encounters in a D&amp;D campaign.&nbsp; Most quirks of mechanics are not going to repeat itself to the player more than a handful of times.Let's look at your polymorph example.&nbsp; A wizard turns a paladin into a frog and six seconds later, he turns back.&nbsp; You are treating these mechanics as if the paladin could set up an experiment where he and the wizard agree that the wizard will polymorph him and other &quot;control&quot; subjects repeatedly to determine the parameters of the mechanics.But that's not how the game is set up to operate.&nbsp; The mechanics you are examining are combat mechanics and they apply only when there's bona fide combat.&nbsp; Everything else is narrative.&nbsp; The paladin is not going to arrange for the paladin to cast this on him repeatedly, because D&amp;D isn't a game for investigating the ins and outs of transmutation magic.&nbsp; It's a game of heroic fantasy.Even if he did, out of combat, the wizard's ability to polymorph operates however the DM thinks it appropriate to operate in his campaign world.&nbsp; Maybe he'll adopt the paladin's justification.&nbsp; Maybe he won't.&nbsp; Maybe the wizard acknowledges that his spell only works for less than a minute.&nbsp; Maybe the wizard has a personal polymorph ritual, which is a stronger version of his polymorph power when he has the time and components needed to enhance that power.&nbsp; Who cares?&nbsp; If a person's disbelief is affected by some requirement that the game mechanics apply as physical laws both in and out of combat, that is a different and much larger problem than disassociated mechanics.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="wrecan, post: 5626613, member: 64825"] It doesn't need to, because the scope of the game is limited in duration. There are 300 encounters in a D&D campaign. Most quirks of mechanics are not going to repeat itself to the player more than a handful of times. Let's look at your polymorph example. A wizard turns a paladin into a frog and six seconds later, he turns back. You are treating these mechanics as if the paladin could set up an experiment where he and the wizard agree that the wizard will polymorph him and other "control" subjects repeatedly to determine the parameters of the mechanics. But that's not how the game is set up to operate. The mechanics you are examining are combat mechanics and they apply only when there's bona fide combat. Everything else is narrative. The paladin is not going to arrange for the paladin to cast this on him repeatedly, because D&D isn't a game for investigating the ins and outs of transmutation magic. It's a game of heroic fantasy. Even if he did, out of combat, the wizard's ability to polymorph operates however the DM thinks it appropriate to operate in his campaign world. Maybe he'll adopt the paladin's justification. Maybe he won't. Maybe the wizard acknowledges that his spell only works for less than a minute. Maybe the wizard has a personal polymorph ritual, which is a stronger version of his polymorph power when he has the time and components needed to enhance that power. Who cares? If a person's disbelief is affected by some requirement that the game mechanics apply as physical laws both in and out of combat, that is a different and much larger problem than disassociated mechanics. [/QUOTE]

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