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Message: <blockquote data-quote="thefutilist" data-source="post: 9655135" data-attributes="member: 7044566">The last time I had to make something up where positioning details mattered in a way that was system relevant was a month or two ago. It was post-apocalyptic sorcerer and there was a church of fanatics who were keeping a demon in a vault. I remember my thought process was something like:I want there to be moving parts where the environment matters. The big vault was easy because it just stood to reason they were keeping it in a vault. Well stood to reason really means I extrapolated from the facts. They wanted it guarded and out the way. It struck me that this they kept it near the very top of the building because it was an oracle and it made sense that oracles are high up to 'see all'. I put in a huge stained glass window because it seemed like that provided a dangerous exit.I could have extrapolated almost the opposite to everything I just said. A windowless room underground. The demon had to be kept out the way but maybe elite guards in front of a plain looking door. Or a secret door.One more:It was in Apocalypse world and the NPC Hardholder had sent some men to grab the skinner from the bar. I reasoned 6 gang members would go because that's about what the Hardholder thought they would need. I reasoned that there was a back door but 2 of the gang members would be going to the back because they knew the bar would have a backdoor.The skinner makes a read the sitch roll and hits. What's the best way out? I think a moment and my reasoning is: Well the back door maybe despite it still being guarded but it occurred to me that the bar owner is suspicious and so he has a trap door in the back. Does the skinner know about it? The relationship between the bar owner and the skinner was a bit underdetermined so I asked 'There's a trap door in the back. would your character know about it?'So that's a mix of:1) Character values, what resources the npc's would have2) stuff that adds moving parts and danger3) Just extrapolating based on 'what's there'My suspicion is that the ultra sim people wouldn't much like heuristic 2 but despite it being contrived it's pretty much necessary for me. It's just that I make the danger as agnostic as I can based on heuristic 1 and 3. They bind heuristic 2.When people say 'realistic' I imagine they're talking about a similar process, although maybe I'm wrong.</blockquote>

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