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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 7644721" data-attributes="member: 6785785">A couple things on this.I don’t think that developing backstory and setting and having very structured worldbuilding done ahead of writing is a negative thing. For Tolkien and Lewis and many other writers, it works for them to work a lot of this stuff out ahead of tine. Although due to revision and multiple drafts, it’s hard to say how much was actually SET ahead of time and not adjusted as needed. I expect there was a lot more in flux with all the Middle Earth backstory than we tend to think. Having said that, even if these writers had established their world perfectly and unchangingly before they wrote their actual novels, I don’t think that’s the same as having mechanics dictate story. Backstory isn’t a game mechanic, as you go on to establish yourself.  I don’t think anyone is being offensive in advocating for their preferred playstyle. I don’t disagree with any of this. But I don’t think it contradicts the point I was making. Or at least the point I was trying to make. Game stats, however they may be established as part of the game, reflect a fictional aspect of the game world. My point is that stats are truly only needed when the game world interacts with the PCs. The stats need not be some fundamental expression of all of the physics of the fictional world. I think that defining things at such a scope just breaks down. So it’s best (in my opinion) to rely on stats only when needed. The PCs fight a dragon? Yes, roll everything out because that’s the game. That’s why everyone’s there. The PCs witness another party fight a dragon? No stats needed, just call it based on what the fiction has established and what it demands.</blockquote>

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