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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6049129" data-attributes="member: 42582">You may have misread me. I didn't say that it didn't matter. I said that stuff can matter even though the mechanics don't give voice to it.To me, the most distinctive thing about a cleric is that s/he prays, and works miracles as a result of those prayers. But there is no mechanic for praying. (Other fantasy RPGs do have such mechanics - again, I mention Burning Wheel.)It doesn't follow from the absence of such mechanics that, when I play AD&D, it doesn't matter that my cleric is praying. The most banal example is that NPCs may react to my cleric in a way that reflects that s/he is a priest. Similarly, depending on the narration around Come and Get It in a 4e game, NPCs may react in various ways to a fighter PC. (Less banal examples are also possible.)In this sense, a 4e fighter proves that s/he is at the centre of the action. S/he is constantly surrounded by foes, who try to escape the vortex but cannot, and are cut down either by the fighter him-/herself or by his/her ninja and sorcerer friends.The degree of tautology is no greater for the fighter than the MU.The supporting evidence is overwhelming, for the reasons I've given above, plus [MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION]'s more elaborate description.It's true that the game leaves it an open question what technique the fighter is using - weapon play, taunting, all of the above, something else again. But likewise the game leaves it an open question what technique the mage is using - contrast, in this respect, Runequest, which answers in some detail these questions of technique (eg it has rules for subduing spirits so that they can be used to power spells).With respect, make it up! You have to make up the source of your MU's power, and the techniques s/he uses. You have to make up the content of your cleric's prayers, and the rites s/he performs. Similarly, I encourage you to make up what it your fighter is doing to control the battlefield.Conversely, if you've played for all these years not caring about the techniques and practices of your spellcasters, why is it so important to work out what they are for your fighter?</blockquote>

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