D&D 5E Simulation vs Game - Where should D&D 5e aim?

[Manbearcat]

On hunting, here are what strike me as the relevant passages from the 3E Survival skill (on d20srd.org):

<snip>

Great post and this is central to what is being debated. Elements in the game world are a fluid thing, living in a state of superposition until they actually manifest on screen. How exactly they manifest is up to the GM to determine, taking heed of the specific needs of the conflict at hand.

In the same way that the Survival (Nature in 4e) check amalgamates all manner of micro-processes (and attendant contests and checks) into one abstraction (while simultaneously bypassing the HP system), Gather Information (Streetwise in 4e) does the same thing for low stakes social conflict (bypassing several stages of process simulation; Listen, Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Bluff, Sleight of Hand, et al) in which palm-greasing, tavern-skulking, double-talking, lip-reading skulduggery serves as mundane divination.

 

[Abraxas]

The word "hunt" refers primarily to the search for the animal and only secondarily to actually killing it.

I'm probably going to regret this but where are you getting this definition?

 

[Ahnehnois]

I'm probably going to regret this but where are you getting this definition?

Well, dictionary.com gave me this:

hunt [huhnt] Show IPA
verb (used with object)
1. to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
2. to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often followed by down ): They hunted him down and hanged him.
3. to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up or out ): to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.
4. to search (a place) thoroughly.
5. to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.

I think the word pretty clearly pertains to killing things, but describes the search for something to kill rather than the actual act of killing things. When have you ever heard someone say they hunted a deer to death? People kill animals while they are hunting. The concepts are separable.

 

[Abraxas]

Well, dictionary.com gave me this:I think the word pretty clearly pertains to killing things, but describes the search for something to kill rather than the actual act of killing things. When have you ever heard someone say they hunted a deer to death? People kill animals while they are hunting. The concepts are separable.

Yeah, that's what I thought you were going to say - dictionary.com is one of the few sources that doesn't define the word as the act of pursuing and killing for food or sport. I may have never heard someone say that they hunted a deer to death, but I've also never heard anyone describe a successful hunt that didn't result in a dead animal - at least not in the context of survival. Anywho, I think you're reaching but this is enough of a thread-jack. Have fun.

 

[Lanefan]

And ffs, a human using Survival to stay alive isn't hunting specific prey. They are looking for whatever wanders into their path. The draconic equivalent would be raiding a farm and eating a few commoners and maybe a cow.

Er...who says the human isn't hunting a few commoners and maybe a cow?

Lan-"keep yourself alive"-efan

 

[Hussar]

Hrm, I think the next time my players start to forage, they come back with some juicy kobolds. Maybe a giant beetle.

 

[Bluenose]

The important idea is that everyone should follow the same rules.

In that context, and taking account of the Profession skill, please describe economics in D&D 3e world, and what sort of economic system the enforced egalitarianism of all professions and random monthly income leads to.

Well, dictionary.com gave me this.

Next time someone mentions armour making people harder to hit, I'm going to see what dictionary.com gives as the definition. Because obviously if it doesn't mention penetrating armour, then armour can't ever be treated as a factor in AC. Unless dictionary.com only provides valid definitions in some circumstances, of course.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

In that context, and taking account of the Profession skill, please describe economics in D&D 3e world, and what sort of economic system the enforced egalitarianism of all professions and random monthly income leads to.

Well, to judge from 3E's rules, it leads to cities of 30k people having 7.5 billion chickens available for sale. I guess the defining feature of the 3E world is towering, landscape-dominating battery farms.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Well, to judge from 3E's rules, it leads to cities of 30k people having 7.5 billion chickens available for sale. I guess the defining feature of the 3E world is towering, landscape-dominating battery farms.

"How Many Chickens In Greyhawk?" Do you have an archive of that? Google can't find it any more.

 

[Hussar]

As I said, pick and choose whichever parts of the rules support your argument and ignore the rest.