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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 7631798" data-attributes="member: 16814"><p>Mechanics for that risk, not that decide. There's nothing in D&D that calls into question a PC's concept except indirectly. The game isn't built to do this normally, with how it frames scenes, with how it resolves uncertainty, heck, with what it treats as uncertain. D&D is bad at this, and that's fine, because it's pretty good at what it does do.</p><p></p><p>But, some games have mechanics that allow players to risk their concepts and some that allow the GM to attack character concepts to begin with. These games focus on characterization, and so have mechanics that enable the risking of character. You're presenting some false idea that you just roll dice and poof, your character changes. But that's not it at all. Instead, the it's the player risking the character to begin with, using mechanics that clearly lay out how that will happen. There's no room in D&D mechanics for a maiden that can melt your heart with a wink because there's no room in D&D for risking that aspect of your characterization. Anything done here is ad hoc. But, in a different game, one that does provide for mechanics to risk this kind of characterization, then the risk is operationalized in a way that everyone at the table can understand.</p><p></p><p>Mechanics don't determine what is at risk, but they do work well to understand how things can be risked. If you insist on treating situations involving character as if it's the usual D&D "I swing, I miss; I swing again, I hit" of combat, then, yes, you will be disappointed. Just as I'd be disappointed by that D&D combat. If you imagine bad play, you'll get bad play, but that's on you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 7631798, member: 16814"] Mechanics for that risk, not that decide. There's nothing in D&D that calls into question a PC's concept except indirectly. The game isn't built to do this normally, with how it frames scenes, with how it resolves uncertainty, heck, with what it treats as uncertain. D&D is bad at this, and that's fine, because it's pretty good at what it does do. But, some games have mechanics that allow players to risk their concepts and some that allow the GM to attack character concepts to begin with. These games focus on characterization, and so have mechanics that enable the risking of character. You're presenting some false idea that you just roll dice and poof, your character changes. But that's not it at all. Instead, the it's the player risking the character to begin with, using mechanics that clearly lay out how that will happen. There's no room in D&D mechanics for a maiden that can melt your heart with a wink because there's no room in D&D for risking that aspect of your characterization. Anything done here is ad hoc. But, in a different game, one that does provide for mechanics to risk this kind of characterization, then the risk is operationalized in a way that everyone at the table can understand. Mechanics don't determine what is at risk, but they do work well to understand how things can be risked. If you insist on treating situations involving character as if it's the usual D&D "I swing, I miss; I swing again, I hit" of combat, then, yes, you will be disappointed. Just as I'd be disappointed by that D&D combat. If you imagine bad play, you'll get bad play, but that's on you. [/QUOTE]
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