Resource Management, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying About Rations and Love Mana

[haakon1]

This is the TTRPG forum, not the DnD one.

I missed that. My bad.

Secondly, this thread is mostly about trying to understand  why amateurs love to think about tactics instead of logistics.

My bad. I focused on the “I think ration counting sucks” theme, rather than the WHY do you think that question.

Play culture has just as much of a hand in making logistics less important than rules designers have, moreso I think. So it's not just a rules issue

Agree.

However, I would like to know your view on us 'proud amateurs' since it might give some insights I haven't considered.

I think what you said in the original post was close to answering your own question.

Namely, it can be tedious and accounting-like. Most folks would rather get on with other aspects of the story. Spectacle and splashy stuff, not simulationist grubbing over details.

My favorite D&D is low level, when you’re poor, poorly equipped, and are in editions without unlimited cantrips.

My favorite war novel: The Things They Carried - Wikipedia

Guessing you would prefer other kinds of stories.

 

[zakael19]

I actually do like some of the systems that make “consumable management” a somewhat abstracted thing, like Load in FITD or similar in Stonetop. Mainly because in those cases it’s something which feeds back into space for interesting moment to moment consequences and play. Or they’re usable as fictional positioning - you went out in summer with a Heavy Load and Hot armor? Cool, what do you do when the sun is beating down on you and beasts are howling in the distance and your sweat is bleeding through your padding.

Like, that’s an interesting situation. I’m totally down to track stuff when it can add drama and moment to moment intensity; not when it’s just “oops we need more arrows.”