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Message: <blockquote data-quote="zarionofarabel" data-source="post: 9755731" data-attributes="member: 7026405">Nope, didn't say meaning or consequences. I said tension specifically. Combat without tension is boring for me, and I feel no tension in a combat encounter unless my PC's life is actually in danger.Fiction also includes arcs that are either not completed, or come to an unsatisfying conclusion. I happen to be okay with that happening in a story as it is a feature of a lot of the fiction I enjoy. I don't really enjoy most action or superhero movies cause I know, no matter what happens, the hero is going to prevail. Give me something like Game Of Thrones, where I never know whether or not the hero is actually going to win. Then at least I can feel tension over what is going to possibly happen, instead of just watching yet another choreographed fight sequence or CGI special effects extravaganza. Both of which, are in essence, filler, as the outcome is a foregone conclusion.Not sure I understand, as generally speaking, my PC's demise would prevent me from completing any objective associated with said combat encounter. Unless you mean something about the fact that my PC ended the lives of some NPCs. In which case the "price" is still payed whether or not the combat is actually played out or simply narrated. Either way, the NPCs lives were still ended by my PCs actions. I just didn't have to waste an hour of my real life playing out a combat encounter where the outcome was decided before it began. As for merely surviving; that kind of baffles me as not surviving means I will have failed my objective. In a game where my PC genuinely faces the consequence of death during combat means my PC is not going to enter into combat unless that is the only option to complete my objective. My PC isn't going to get into a fight for "the fun of it" as risking life and limb isn't worth it unless there is a tangible objective worth such risks. Unless of course combat is forced upon my PC, in which case, surviving would be the objective.There are all kinds of meaningful worthwhile consequences that can be found in games that don't feature any combat at all. It's the act of playing out a combat encounter, where the PCs face no real risk, is where the problem lies for me. It's just filler in that case. I would rather spend my time in a session working towards fulfilling objectives with meaningful consequences. I do care what happens. That's why I don't want to waste time playing out combat encounters that are nothing but filler, when I could instead be using that time engaging in activities that involve something I actually care about.</blockquote>

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