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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5096730" data-attributes="member: 42582">There is a modern approach to RPG design that tries to straddle the divide between rules and "Mother may I", by giving the PCs broadly defined, open-ended capabilities and by giving the GM sound rules advice on how to set difficulties for conflict resolution that will (i) fit well with the PCs' capabilties and (ii) produce an outcome that is reasonably satisfying for the players at the table, both in gameplay and narrative terms.Probably the poster-child for this sort of design is HeroQuest. But D&D 4e also has a go at it, via the rules on p 42 of the DMG and the (not ideally implemented, but nevertheless there) Skill Challenge mechanics.I have two players in a group of 5 - one playing a Wizard, the other a CHA Paladin - who use p 42 on average probably once each per session. They have done things like cleansed altars of dark gods, dispelled zones of darkness created by enemies, and prayed for boons from their gods (both in combat and out of combat). I normally resolve these things by staking some damage on a skill check failure against some benefit (clearing the zone, getting combat advantage) on a skill check success. In yesterday's session the Wizard's player initiated an impromptue Skill Challenge that invovled modifying a Delay Affliction ritual so that it would lift the binding placed on the soul of a just-defeated vampire, ensuring that the soul went straight to the Shadowfell rather than lingering to cause more suffering in the mortal world.By the standards of mainstream fantasy RPGs, I think 4e gives reasonable support for this sort of thing  - certainly better than B/X D&D, for example, which has only a brief discussion of assigning a percentage chance for a PC to jump up and grab a lever; or AD&D, which I don't recall having an account of how to resolve ad hoc actions at all. (Remember that better here means not just mechanically more robust, but also contributing in a fun way to the gameplay and to the story. This is part of the strength of the Skill Challenge mechanic.)I think 4e goes some way towards this, as explained above.I think that 4e supports "wouldn't it be cool", as explained above.</blockquote>

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