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General Tabletop Discussion
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Observations and opinions after 8 levels and a dragon fight
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6478480" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Minor changes in plot are very routine eg "I forgot to say that I buy rope, when we were resting in town between sessions - can I mark off the money for it now?"</p><p></p><p>Not every group would let that pass, but many would.</p><p></p><p>The poster to whom I was replying, [MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION], said that a movie or book is completely pre-determined. My point is that it isn't, it is authored - as you seem to agree - and D&D likewise is authored.</p><p></p><p>D&D sessions involve some randomness sometimes, but not everything is resolved randomly. For instance, in D&D a wizard does not need to make a check to see if s/he casts his/her spells properly. (This is not the case in all FRPGs.) In AD&D the player of a thief-acrobat doesn't need to make a check to have his/her PC make a jump, whereas in 3E a check is required.</p><p></p><p>As well as these edition-variations, there are table variations in randomness. At some tables the players have to make checks to have their PCs successfully find the dungeon; at others (especially eg those influenced by Moldvay Basic), the PCs automatically find the dungeon with no encounters, and the session starts with them at the dungeon entrance.</p><p></p><p>Sacrosanct said that comparing D&D play to movies or books is fundamentally flawed. I disagree. If you want your D&D session to have the sort of drama that characterises a movie or book, it's not all that hard to achieve without railroading - mostly via judicious GM choices between "saying yes" and relying on randomness.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6478480, member: 42582"] Minor changes in plot are very routine eg "I forgot to say that I buy rope, when we were resting in town between sessions - can I mark off the money for it now?" Not every group would let that pass, but many would. The poster to whom I was replying, [MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION], said that a movie or book is completely pre-determined. My point is that it isn't, it is authored - as you seem to agree - and D&D likewise is authored. D&D sessions involve some randomness sometimes, but not everything is resolved randomly. For instance, in D&D a wizard does not need to make a check to see if s/he casts his/her spells properly. (This is not the case in all FRPGs.) In AD&D the player of a thief-acrobat doesn't need to make a check to have his/her PC make a jump, whereas in 3E a check is required. As well as these edition-variations, there are table variations in randomness. At some tables the players have to make checks to have their PCs successfully find the dungeon; at others (especially eg those influenced by Moldvay Basic), the PCs automatically find the dungeon with no encounters, and the session starts with them at the dungeon entrance. Sacrosanct said that comparing D&D play to movies or books is fundamentally flawed. I disagree. If you want your D&D session to have the sort of drama that characterises a movie or book, it's not all that hard to achieve without railroading - mostly via judicious GM choices between "saying yes" and relying on randomness. [/QUOTE]
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