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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9331639" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>This is the way.</p><p></p><p>[USER=6684958]@bloodtide[/USER]</p><p>The preoccupation with "realism" and "grittiness" and "hard encounters" etc., etc. teaches players three things:</p><p></p><p>1. If it doesn't work precisely the way the DM thinks the real world works, it will either always fail, or be nearly guaranteed to fail.</p><p>2. Failure is <em>extremely bad</em> and will almost always result in severe, often fatal, consequences.</p><p>3. Magic, because it <em>can't</em> be compared to real life, is MUCH easier to use, and much safer.</p><p></p><p>Between those three, it teaches all but the most aggressively risk-seeking players to never, ever try. Trying is for people who want to die. Meekly avoiding is <em>the</em> successful survival strategy. It will never be particularly enjoyable or engaging. It will lead to empty, boring play experiences. But it is what these games reward doing (because survival is such a rare and precious prize in these games), and thus most players will follow the rewards.</p><p></p><p>If you want players who embrace creativity and consider the things on their sheets, you have to:</p><p></p><p>1. Show them that failure doesn't have to be horrible. That failure can even be <em>fun,</em> in the right contexts, leading to more game and better game, not less game and worse game.</p><p>2. Prove to them that creativity actually works. That it's worth the risk, and not "suicide with more steps." This means making the rewards good, <em>and</em> making the punishments tolerable.</p><p>3. Give actual examples to follow. <em>Tell</em> them that they have tools they can use, and <em>show</em> them what they can achieve. With time, they'll learn to use that thinking themselves.</p><p>4. If possible, work with an experienced player, who can act as a model for the others. Support that player's efforts to <em>show</em> what a clever character can achieve even without magic.</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, though, you reap what you sow. If you sow a world where everything is deadly, you will reap players will choose to do the things that keep their characters alive, or rather, the boring inaction that keeps their characters alive. If you sow a world where creativity often fails or pays paltry benefit, you will reap players who think creativity is pointless. If you sow a world where mundane methods have a high bar to clear just to <em>attempt</em> them, let alone to <em>succeed</em> at them, you will reap players who look at mundane tools and think, "None of this has any use here."</p><p></p><p>Give good, desirable rewards for the deeds you want to see from your players. Avoid making desirable actions unlikely to succeed, unless you have an <em>extremely</em> good reason, which should be rare. Let players fail without having their characters pay horrible (perhaps ultimate) prices for such failure.</p><p></p><p>You will find that players respond. If you have already taught them that failure is very very bad and death lurks behind every dice roll etc. etc., then it will take time (possibly a very long time) for their behavior to change. But it <em>can</em> change, <em>if and only if</em> you show that it's worthwhile to take the risk.</p><p></p><p>Until then? Your players won't trust you not to screw over their characters when they try something creative.</p><p></p><p>Edit: Unless, of course, your goal is to <em>make</em> players who are eager risk-seekers. I'll save you a lot of time if that's your goal. It won't work. You will not make the risk-averse into risk-seekers. All you will do is frustrate both yourself and your players. There is nothing you can do, within the context of your "Hard Fun," that will make every player eager to take often-lethal in-character risks. You will merely have to settle for getting only a small percentage (perhaps a quarter) of all prospective players, because those are the people who were already, inherently risk-tolerant or even risk-seeking.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 9331639, member: 6790260"] This is the way. [USER=6684958]@bloodtide[/USER] The preoccupation with "realism" and "grittiness" and "hard encounters" etc., etc. teaches players three things: 1. If it doesn't work precisely the way the DM thinks the real world works, it will either always fail, or be nearly guaranteed to fail. 2. Failure is [I]extremely bad[/I] and will almost always result in severe, often fatal, consequences. 3. Magic, because it [I]can't[/I] be compared to real life, is MUCH easier to use, and much safer. Between those three, it teaches all but the most aggressively risk-seeking players to never, ever try. Trying is for people who want to die. Meekly avoiding is [I]the[/I] successful survival strategy. It will never be particularly enjoyable or engaging. It will lead to empty, boring play experiences. But it is what these games reward doing (because survival is such a rare and precious prize in these games), and thus most players will follow the rewards. If you want players who embrace creativity and consider the things on their sheets, you have to: 1. Show them that failure doesn't have to be horrible. That failure can even be [I]fun,[/I] in the right contexts, leading to more game and better game, not less game and worse game. 2. Prove to them that creativity actually works. That it's worth the risk, and not "suicide with more steps." This means making the rewards good, [I]and[/I] making the punishments tolerable. 3. Give actual examples to follow. [I]Tell[/I] them that they have tools they can use, and [I]show[/I] them what they can achieve. With time, they'll learn to use that thinking themselves. 4. If possible, work with an experienced player, who can act as a model for the others. Support that player's efforts to [I]show[/I] what a clever character can achieve even without magic. Ultimately, though, you reap what you sow. If you sow a world where everything is deadly, you will reap players will choose to do the things that keep their characters alive, or rather, the boring inaction that keeps their characters alive. If you sow a world where creativity often fails or pays paltry benefit, you will reap players who think creativity is pointless. If you sow a world where mundane methods have a high bar to clear just to [I]attempt[/I] them, let alone to [I]succeed[/I] at them, you will reap players who look at mundane tools and think, "None of this has any use here." Give good, desirable rewards for the deeds you want to see from your players. Avoid making desirable actions unlikely to succeed, unless you have an [I]extremely[/I] good reason, which should be rare. Let players fail without having their characters pay horrible (perhaps ultimate) prices for such failure. You will find that players respond. If you have already taught them that failure is very very bad and death lurks behind every dice roll etc. etc., then it will take time (possibly a very long time) for their behavior to change. But it [I]can[/I] change, [I]if and only if[/I] you show that it's worthwhile to take the risk. Until then? Your players won't trust you not to screw over their characters when they try something creative. Edit: Unless, of course, your goal is to [I]make[/I] players who are eager risk-seekers. I'll save you a lot of time if that's your goal. It won't work. You will not make the risk-averse into risk-seekers. All you will do is frustrate both yourself and your players. There is nothing you can do, within the context of your "Hard Fun," that will make every player eager to take often-lethal in-character risks. You will merely have to settle for getting only a small percentage (perhaps a quarter) of all prospective players, because those are the people who were already, inherently risk-tolerant or even risk-seeking. [/QUOTE]
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