Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 5574960" data-attributes="member: 807">Expectation of plot transparencyThink of Lord of the Rings. Frodo has the one ring and is told by Gandolph that every time the ring is used, it alerts the ring wraiths and the dark lord himself.&nbsp; Thus, Frodo at least is aware of the consequences every time he used it (even though used in haste).Take this concept and apply it to gaming.If the DM is going to take an ability/spell/item/power and tie it to the plot such that every use of the ability/spell/item/power is going to have an effect (for better or worse!) on a later encounter ... ....does he need to tell the player (meta knowledge) so that the player can make informed decisions on whether or not to use it since it might have consequences?... does he need to tell the character (in game) under the idea that the character can sense the unintended consequences after the first use?... or is the DM not breaking a social expectation if he decides to keep it a secret to be revealed at a later time?Does the answer change if it's a &quot;regular&quot; ability that is so mundane and trite that the gamer (meta) expectation is to use it like second nature (rather than using some super special item that could be considered an artifact)?Maybe every time the PC casts fireball, it is alerting a fire elemental in the area and it starts preparing to confront the mortal who dares shape the essence of fire being like a tool... okay, that's a corny example, but it's as best as I can give at the moment.Basically, how much plot transparency is expected when the plot is tied to an item/ability when that specific item/ability is in the PC's control?thoughts?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="fba827, post: 5574960, member: 807"] Expectation of plot transparency Think of Lord of the Rings. Frodo has the one ring and is told by Gandolph that every time the ring is used, it alerts the ring wraiths and the dark lord himself. Thus, Frodo at least is aware of the consequences every time he used it (even though used in haste). Take this concept and apply it to gaming. If the DM is going to take an ability/spell/item/power and tie it to the plot such that every use of the ability/spell/item/power is going to have an effect (for better or worse!) on a later encounter ... ....does he need to tell the [u]player[/u] (meta knowledge) so that the player can make informed decisions on whether or not to use it since it might have consequences? ... does he need to tell the [u]character[/u] (in game) under the idea that the character can sense the unintended consequences after the first use? ... or is the DM [U]not[/U] breaking a social expectation if he decides to keep it a secret to be revealed at a later time? Does the answer change if it's a "regular" ability that is so mundane and trite that the gamer (meta) expectation is to use it like second nature (rather than using some super special item that could be considered an artifact)? Maybe every time the PC casts fireball, it is alerting a fire elemental in the area and it starts preparing to confront the mortal who dares shape the essence of fire being like a tool... okay, that's a corny example, but it's as best as I can give at the moment. Basically, how much plot transparency is expected when the plot is tied to an item/ability when that specific item/ability is in the PC's control? thoughts? [/QUOTE]

Verification