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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6576992" data-attributes="member: 6775031">I fundamentally disagree. A robust system is one which can handle a number of different situations without failing. At least, that's the engineering definition of "robust". So, a robust time management system must be able to handle all sorts of different tasks, and their countless variations, without failure. And the DM can do that. Easily. It's one of the great strengths of having a real-time natural-language user-friendly determination engine.You can't have a codified system for eating lunch, because there are many variables which would need to go into it (if it's going to be a robust system which can account for variations), and the DM can come up with an answer much more quickly than any reasonable table of modifiers could, and likely with greater accuracy. The same is true of visiting a friend, or giving a speech.The fact that the determination is made my an intelligent machine, rather than an abstract table, does not demote the passage of time to "mere colour". The determination is neutral as long as it does not incorporate bias on the part of the DM. The DM doesn't care whether the PCs make it there, or not. There is no incentive for the DM to contrive anything that is not in his or her honest interpretation of what should be there. The party probably won't get stuck in the market unless there's a festival going on. They may encounter thugs that were specifically sent to detain them, but otherwise, random bandit encounters usually are covered by existing tables (if the DM is uncertain). They probably won't bump into an old acquaintance in the next hour, given the relatively narrow window of opportunity for such an event, unless there's a good reason that there would be an increased likelihood that a particular acquaintance might actually be there.See my post immediately preceding this one, to [MENTION=82106]AbdulAlhazred[/MENTION].And I say that's going way too far in terms of system over-reach. There should be no limitations, based on the system, which are not a reflection of the fiction.My specific example was just in terms of combat actions, because I didn't play 4E long enough to have any positive experience with Skill Challenges, but the dreaded page 42 states that the outcome of an improvised action should depend on the level of the character performing it rather than the nature of the action - a really clever and devastating improvisation, using one-shot environmental effects, might do as much damage as a daily power. And that's just sad. It's massively dis-empowering to players, knowing that they can never have the kind of success they plan, because the outcome of any action is constrained by what the system thinks is "balanced". It just drags me right out of character, and reminds me in giant, flaming letters that this is a game and clever ideas will not be tolerated.</blockquote>

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