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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6579271" data-attributes="member: 6775031"><p>PCs are rarely confronted with mathematical or scientific problems. PCs are routinely tasked with solving problems like "save the princess" or "stop the opposing army". Being clever, in this sort of situation, generally involves finding a solution that is less than obvious. Instead of navigating through the spooky woods and sneaking past the army to confront the Big Bad, the clever player might go in the opposite direction to seek the aid of a powerful water spirit, to flood the plains and drown the army. Or convert the stone under 70% of the general's tower to mud, such that it collapses under its own weight.</p><p></p><p>The DM is a neutral arbiter. Convincing the DM that something is entertaining or cool would be a pointless endeavor, unless you're playing some sort of the game where the DM isn't trying to be neutral (in which case, good luck with that, and I have nothing further to say on the topic). The player need only convince the DM that the solution <em>should work</em>, based on the established actions and natural laws, and the knowledge of known and unknown variables. If it doesn't work, then the player (or PC) has committed an error, or one of the known unknowns (or unknown unknowns) is something other than what the player thinks it is; this is a <em>failure</em> to be sufficiently clever. There might be some element of gambling here, but the risk should generally be much lower than what would be faced with the straightforward solution.</p><p></p><p>I didn't say that conflict was unavoidable. I said that it <em>should</em> be avoided.</p><p></p><p>An idealized game of Dungeons & Dragons might involve four individuals-of-disparate-skill-set wandering into an abandoned ruin, where they analyze the clues at hand, prevent traps from going off, and run away before monsters spot them. Alternatively, they might leave their own traps for the monsters to encounter, or set up an ambush where they can kill the monsters without fear of repercussion.</p><p></p><p>Where conflict exists, it should be minimized.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 6579271, member: 6775031"] PCs are rarely confronted with mathematical or scientific problems. PCs are routinely tasked with solving problems like "save the princess" or "stop the opposing army". Being clever, in this sort of situation, generally involves finding a solution that is less than obvious. Instead of navigating through the spooky woods and sneaking past the army to confront the Big Bad, the clever player might go in the opposite direction to seek the aid of a powerful water spirit, to flood the plains and drown the army. Or convert the stone under 70% of the general's tower to mud, such that it collapses under its own weight. The DM is a neutral arbiter. Convincing the DM that something is entertaining or cool would be a pointless endeavor, unless you're playing some sort of the game where the DM isn't trying to be neutral (in which case, good luck with that, and I have nothing further to say on the topic). The player need only convince the DM that the solution [I]should work[/I], based on the established actions and natural laws, and the knowledge of known and unknown variables. If it doesn't work, then the player (or PC) has committed an error, or one of the known unknowns (or unknown unknowns) is something other than what the player thinks it is; this is a [I]failure[/I] to be sufficiently clever. There might be some element of gambling here, but the risk should generally be much lower than what would be faced with the straightforward solution. I didn't say that conflict was unavoidable. I said that it [I]should[/I] be avoided. An idealized game of Dungeons & Dragons might involve four individuals-of-disparate-skill-set wandering into an abandoned ruin, where they analyze the clues at hand, prevent traps from going off, and run away before monsters spot them. Alternatively, they might leave their own traps for the monsters to encounter, or set up an ambush where they can kill the monsters without fear of repercussion. Where conflict exists, it should be minimized. [/QUOTE]
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