Once per day non-magical effects destroy suspension of disbelief

[Wyrmshadows]

Allow me to vent this and then share your opinion if you wish.

I detest, I hate with the fiery fury of 1000 suns, 1/day non-magical powers because there is NO rationale whatsoever than can explain how a warrior, ranger or rogue wouldn't be able to use a certain ability more than one per day. I can see perhaps allowing for telling a player that a certain opening needed by his fighter would likely only happen once per encounter...and that is a bit of a stretch IMO depending upon the length of the encounter. But once per day is insane. So non-magical abilities have a recharge time. At least with magic I am able to create a reason why that makes sense within the mytaphysics of the setting or game system.

But once per day no matter how many encounters take place? My players (D&D players for 20+yrs each) thought that the very idea was ridiculous and destructive to the suspension of disbelief. None of us are hard core simulationists, but for god's sake we like to immerse ourselves in the setting and the events of the campaign so a bit of versimilitude is helpful.

As a DM, this is way, way too gamist for me. I'm sorry, but the idea of daily non-magical exploits or whatnot is bordering on CRPG territory or boardgame territory where there isn't even an attempt at maintaining the illusion of the "reality" of events in the game.



Wyrmshadows

 

[GnomeWorks]

*points to your sig*

 

[Brute]

</thread>

 

[Skywalker]

*points to your sig*

Beautiful. I haven't laughed so hard in days. Thanks

 

[shilsen]

*points to your sig*

You win the thread

 

[Wormwood]

Epic.

 

[cangrejoide]

Lol

 

[Rechan]

Beautiful. I haven't laughed so hard in days. Thanks

What he said.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I laughed, almost felt bad about laughing, and then laughed harder.

 

[Christian]

I can see perhaps allowing for telling a player that a certain opening needed by his fighter would likely only happen once per encounter...and that is a bit of a stretch IMO depending upon the length of the encounter. But once per day is insane.

OK, I'll refrain from sig-pointing to ask ... why? Why is it less ridiculous to say a particular unusual situation is likely to arise only about once every five minutes of combat than to say another unusual situation is likely to arise only about once every thirty minutes? That's all the once/encounter and once/day rules are 'simulating', after all. OK, a given adventuring day may actually have fewer than four-six encounters, of course. But a day with only one or two encounters is a day in which the fighter/ranger/rogue/warlord is more likely to accidentally 'save' his daily past the end of the last encounter, since the players don't know when the next one will be. The daily limitation on the dailies is effectively, on average, a 'roughly once per twenty-thirty minutes of combat' limitation; and I don't see what's so unreasonable about that.