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Respect Mah Authoritah: Thoughts on DM and Player Authority in 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8433372" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>You did not!</p><p></p><p>Sure. I'm not saying there is no issue of difference, resemblance by degrees, etc. These don't mean there is a spectrum.</p><p></p><p>Some bread is cake-y. Some muffins are cup-cake-y. But there is no cake-bread-muffin spectrum.</p><p></p><p>I haven't looked up a dictionary or wikipedia, but it seems to me that a spectrum requires not just that some things resemble others, but that there be a single dimension of comparison (colour, in the literal case) which permits any exemplar of that dimension (eg any coloured thing) to be placed in a linear relationship, such that - in respect of the relevant dimension - it more closely resembles those on either side of it than any others on the spectrum.</p><p></p><p>Even if we focus on degree of authority over situation in RPGing I'm not persuaded there's a spectrum, because there are not exemplars, like colours, that can be "lined up" - to use more technical language there is the determinable (degree of authority) but no individual determinates (ie particular shades). Another example like this is loudness - of course noises vary in how loud they are, and we can even measure it, but that doesn't mean there is a spectrum of loudness, because different volumes don't themselves manifeset particular properties/qualities (unlike colours). In this respect loudness is more like brightness, not shade.</p><p></p><p>The reason I think this is of more than just pedantic interest is because reference to the so-called sandbox/railroad spectrum is a very frequent occurrence on these boards which paints a completely false picture of the range of possible approaches to RPGs, and in my view even to D&D.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Not all differences are <em>spectrums. </em>I mean, when I look at my couch I can see that it's soft and comfortable to sit on. When I look at the bluestone rocks that edge my garden bed outside, I can see that they are hard and even sharp in places, and so not very comfortable to sit on. Thus have I discovered the couch-bluestone spectrum!</p><p></p><p>If we actually look at the process of play, what does <em>turn the players loose </em>mean? It doesn't mean they get to read through the GM's notes and write their own fiction that builds on those. It means that a particular approach is adopted to action resolution and scene framing, in which GM-authored backstory plays a role.</p><p></p><p>In the "absolute "railroad, GM-authored backstory is also there, but a different approach is adopted to scene framing and to (some) action resolution.</p><p></p><p>We can talk about that without needing to use metaphors and without having to posit meaningless "spectrums".</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8433372, member: 42582"] You did not! Sure. I'm not saying there is no issue of difference, resemblance by degrees, etc. These don't mean there is a spectrum. Some bread is cake-y. Some muffins are cup-cake-y. But there is no cake-bread-muffin spectrum. I haven't looked up a dictionary or wikipedia, but it seems to me that a spectrum requires not just that some things resemble others, but that there be a single dimension of comparison (colour, in the literal case) which permits any exemplar of that dimension (eg any coloured thing) to be placed in a linear relationship, such that - in respect of the relevant dimension - it more closely resembles those on either side of it than any others on the spectrum. Even if we focus on degree of authority over situation in RPGing I'm not persuaded there's a spectrum, because there are not exemplars, like colours, that can be "lined up" - to use more technical language there is the determinable (degree of authority) but no individual determinates (ie particular shades). Another example like this is loudness - of course noises vary in how loud they are, and we can even measure it, but that doesn't mean there is a spectrum of loudness, because different volumes don't themselves manifeset particular properties/qualities (unlike colours). In this respect loudness is more like brightness, not shade. The reason I think this is of more than just pedantic interest is because reference to the so-called sandbox/railroad spectrum is a very frequent occurrence on these boards which paints a completely false picture of the range of possible approaches to RPGs, and in my view even to D&D. Not all differences are [I]spectrums. [/I]I mean, when I look at my couch I can see that it's soft and comfortable to sit on. When I look at the bluestone rocks that edge my garden bed outside, I can see that they are hard and even sharp in places, and so not very comfortable to sit on. Thus have I discovered the couch-bluestone spectrum! If we actually look at the process of play, what does [I]turn the players loose [/I]mean? It doesn't mean they get to read through the GM's notes and write their own fiction that builds on those. It means that a particular approach is adopted to action resolution and scene framing, in which GM-authored backstory plays a role. In the "absolute "railroad, GM-authored backstory is also there, but a different approach is adopted to scene framing and to (some) action resolution. We can talk about that without needing to use metaphors and without having to posit meaningless "spectrums". [/QUOTE]
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