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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Akrasia" data-source="post: 2397992" data-attributes="member: 23012">What is a "squidgy ruling"?The GM *creates* the world and the scenarios in quesion.  He/she is *not* 'modelling' an independent reality, with respect to which his/her description might be more or less accurate (and thus one that could be "challenged" by players).  So how could players *possibly* object that the GM's description of the world/situation is 'squidgy'?  That makes no sense.Players might not like it if the GM keeps posing challenges that are too difficult for the PCs (or too easy) -- and perhaps 'rules heavy' systems provide additional *advice* to the GM on how to come up with appropriate challenges.  (Of course, there is nothing preventing similar advice being available in a 'rules light' game -- see the Angel RPG for an excellent example of this.) But the notion that players can "challenge" the DM's interpretation of a world/situation that he/she *created* as "squidgy" is patently absurd IMO.  Rubbish -- or at least, a gross generalization based on a premise that I reject.  The element of "accountability" is not absent in rules light games -- at least not in well run rules light games.  You appear to be in the grip of the "relative power" paradigm of understanding RPGs.  Such a paradigm is bound to make players dislike rules light games, since they are *not* designed within that paradigm.  Rather, they are meant to be *cooperative* activities -- *not* activities in which the players "use the rules against the GM", and the "GM uses the rules against the players" (i.e. 'power strugges' in which the rules are used by competing participants).Finally, even in terms of *rules*, there are a few 'rules light' games that gives players *rule mechanisms* for countering the GM's decisions -- e.g. "drama points" in Cinematic Unisystem, "bennies" in Savage Worlds, etc.  Some rules light games even let players *narrate* the situations in which their character act.I would think that it would be easier to understand a simpler "resolution system" than a complex one, or one with a huge number of potential modifiers.Also, some rules light systems let players propose modifiers based on their understanding of the situation in question -- that's part of the 'cooperative' nature of such games. I somewhat agree with this point ... and don't see how it has anything to do with the relative merits of rules heavy and rules light systems.</blockquote>

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