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<blockquote data-quote="payn" data-source="post: 9331857" data-attributes="member: 90374"><p>Yeah and I dont usually have a problem with it in most RPGs. Though, D&D is a little different than most. In Pathfinder, Paizo has taken to calling exploration a "mode". I think you can take that idea and apply it to combat in D&D. As the editions have changed, combat has become more of a mode. So, if combat is on, as a player one feels that they are supposed to engage the game part and fight their enemy. Dropping an anvil on their head seems out of bounds with the mode expectation. </p><p></p><p>For example, in Traveller I just take 2D6 + stat + skill and meet or beat a target of 8. Any mod above or below 8 gives me an effect score. So, missing by 4 is real bad, going 4 over is real good. If the intent is to cut the rope, its getting cut, but the outcome might not be in favor after all. D&D doesnt have a universal check. Combat is very nuanced so it gets confusing. There is no set up like Traveller has where I as a player have an idea of how my plan is going to play out. On the flip side, GMs have little idea how to break from combat mode and apply a fair and consistent check. Rulings over rules, but no confidence in application unless <em>you</em> establish one.</p><p> </p><p></p><p>Why does the guard forget you were there? Are they being bribed, or is the dropped coin more distracting than a verbal feint? Its this arbitrary notion of ruling that makes folks reluctant to try and be creative. It doesn't sound like the player needs to put in effort, it sounds like they need to find the right combination of GM approval like typing in a text command on an old Sierra adventure PC game.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="payn, post: 9331857, member: 90374"] Yeah and I dont usually have a problem with it in most RPGs. Though, D&D is a little different than most. In Pathfinder, Paizo has taken to calling exploration a "mode". I think you can take that idea and apply it to combat in D&D. As the editions have changed, combat has become more of a mode. So, if combat is on, as a player one feels that they are supposed to engage the game part and fight their enemy. Dropping an anvil on their head seems out of bounds with the mode expectation. For example, in Traveller I just take 2D6 + stat + skill and meet or beat a target of 8. Any mod above or below 8 gives me an effect score. So, missing by 4 is real bad, going 4 over is real good. If the intent is to cut the rope, its getting cut, but the outcome might not be in favor after all. D&D doesnt have a universal check. Combat is very nuanced so it gets confusing. There is no set up like Traveller has where I as a player have an idea of how my plan is going to play out. On the flip side, GMs have little idea how to break from combat mode and apply a fair and consistent check. Rulings over rules, but no confidence in application unless [I]you[/I] establish one. Why does the guard forget you were there? Are they being bribed, or is the dropped coin more distracting than a verbal feint? Its this arbitrary notion of ruling that makes folks reluctant to try and be creative. It doesn't sound like the player needs to put in effort, it sounds like they need to find the right combination of GM approval like typing in a text command on an old Sierra adventure PC game. [/QUOTE]
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