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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 6300588" data-attributes="member: 29398">Except that those (in any edition) are also somewhat variable.I see what you're getting at, but your theory quickly falls apart under examination:&nbsp;- by your standards of &quot;exactly one mechanical way to represent any distinct thing&quot;, all giants of any given type would be mechanically the same e.g. every hill giant has AC 20, 74 h.p., etc. - clearly this isn't the case&nbsp;- the same thing also bans any given giant from developing as time goes on; Gerry the Giant you met two years ago has become Gerry the Fighter Giant since...nothing wrong with this&nbsp;- and &quot;the same in-game thing&quot; can also be a character.&nbsp; When three platemail-clad fighters come marching down the street at you how can you tell which one is Falstaffe the Firstlevel as opposed to Fred the Fifthlevel or Frank the Fourteenthlevel?&nbsp; You probably can't, at a quick glance, and this doesn't break internal consistency in the slightest.That said, however...But if you're going to be the least bit internally consistent you have no choice but to have combat stats &quot;always on&quot; even when there is no combat nearby.&nbsp; I'm a 5th level fighter with 48 h.p. and AC 18 when I'm walking down the street in armour; I don't need somebody clubbing at me to tell me this.&nbsp; And that irrelevant NPC guy over there who happens to be walking past, he's a 7th-level Rogue with 32 h.p. and AC 23 long before anyone attacks him.The gameworld is sinply *not* internally consistent if there is a bubble around the PCs in whch game mechanics work differently.Lan-&quot;tinu bubbles, in the air&quot;-efan</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 6300588, member: 29398"] Except that those (in any edition) are also somewhat variable. I see what you're getting at, but your theory quickly falls apart under examination: - by your standards of "exactly one mechanical way to represent any distinct thing", all giants of any given type would be mechanically the same e.g. every hill giant has AC 20, 74 h.p., etc. - clearly this isn't the case - the same thing also bans any given giant from developing as time goes on; Gerry the Giant you met two years ago has become Gerry the Fighter Giant since...nothing wrong with this - and "the same in-game thing" can also be a character. When three platemail-clad fighters come marching down the street at you how can you tell which one is Falstaffe the Firstlevel as opposed to Fred the Fifthlevel or Frank the Fourteenthlevel? You probably can't, at a quick glance, and this doesn't break internal consistency in the slightest. That said, however... But if you're going to be the least bit internally consistent you have no choice but to have combat stats "always on" even when there is no combat nearby. I'm a 5th level fighter with 48 h.p. and AC 18 when I'm walking down the street in armour; I don't need somebody clubbing at me to tell me this. And that irrelevant NPC guy over there who happens to be walking past, he's a 7th-level Rogue with 32 h.p. and AC 23 long before anyone attacks him. The gameworld is sinply *not* internally consistent if there is a bubble around the PCs in whch game mechanics work differently. Lan-"tinu bubbles, in the air"-efan [/QUOTE]

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