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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5812779" data-attributes="member: 42582">However, different systems can give better or worse advice to the GM on how to set those difficulty targets, relative to a particular desired play experience. So while systems can't protect from bad GMing, I think they can help produce better GMing.The worst sort of system I'm familiar with is something like AD&D 2nd ed, which promises a play experience of heroic fantasy, but provides action resolution mechanics and advice that were designed for Gygaxian "skilled play", and then encourages the GM to fiat/override those mechanics in the interests of "story". So far from protecting from bad GMing, or producing good GMing, this is a recipe for encouraging crap GMing. I also suspect that it is bad experiences with precisely these sorts of systems that makes some RPGers prefer what they perceive as the "safe harbour" of social resolution mechanics.If one may comment from the sidelines . . .In the spinoff "what is roleplaying" thread, a poster gave an example of a recent gaming experience in which (among other things) perception was resolved not by dice rolls, but by the player describing where his/her PC looks, and how intently.As I said in that thread, this strikes me as obviously being a resolution system, with three steps: (1) the player describes where his/her PC is looking (prefereably in 1st person), and (2) describe how intently his/her PC is looking, then (3) the GM, based on his/her conception of the relevant fictional situation, tells the player what his/her PC sees.Step (3) means that the GM has a lot of power in this resolution mechanic. The GM is not all-powerful, but clearly the GM has more power than a mechanic whereby (for example) a player is able to make a die roll, or play a Fate token, or whatever, and thereby be entitled to be told by the GM what hidden things become visible. Both systems presuppose the GM's authority over backstory, but the "player describes, GM decides" approach also gives the GM significant authority over plot.If there are power issues at the table, I don't think that system is a particularly good way to resolve them - I'm from the "social contract trumps system" school - but it is possible for a group which does not have trouble with power issues to nevertheless prefer a resolution system which reduces the GM's authority over plot.</blockquote>

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