What Does "Simulation" Mean To You? [+]

[Reynard]

Level doesn't have to be a purely-metagame element in the slightest, and can very well exist in the setting. All it needs is that some sort of in-setting training is required in order to level (which IMO should be the case anyway).

There's real-world examples* of "levels" all over the place, mostly to do with having to complete or fulfill one step in a training and-or experience+ process, and prove you have done so, before moving on to the next.

* - Grades 1 to 12 in school. Belt colours in martial arts. Apprentice-journeyman-master in trades. Loads of others.
+ - which experience points model beautifully!

At first glance, sure. but any actual consideration and the whole idea falls apart. Why does getting your brown belt make you better at resisiting poison? Can an PhD candidate really safely fall from twice the height as a Freshman? Why am I so much better at punching people after I get my CDL?

 

[Aldarc]

Level doesn't have to be a purely-metagame element in the slightest, and can very well exist in the setting. All it needs is that some sort of in-setting training is required in order to level (which IMO should be the case anyway).

This is less simulationism and more post-hoc rationalization of game mechanics that likely gets "grandfather claused" in simply as a result of D&D having it for such a long time.

 

[A_Carrington]

I think calling Hit Points simulationist is a stretch for nearly any definition of the term. Hit points don't represent a thing in the fiction, they a metagame element ties to other metagame elements like level.

What do you mean? They represent how much damage you can take.

A dragon is clearly one of those supernatural exceptions, so claiming that realism only matters if all supernatural elements are stripped away is IMO disingenuous.

Right, a dragon is an element instantiated by the rules. The rules tell us what it can do : how fast it can fly, how much damage it can take, and the like.

Similarly, a 20th level barbarian is an element instantiated by the rules. The rules tell us what it can do : how fast it can run, how much damage it can take, and the like.

 

[Reynard]

What do you mean? They represent how much damage you can take.

No. They ARE how much damage your can take before being taken out of play. They don't represent anything in the fiction, though. The are purely a gamist construct. If they were simulationist, your weight and size would have a biig impact, and your skill level with picking locks certainly wouldn't.

 

[A_Carrington]

No. They ARE how much damage your can take before being taken out of play. They don't represent anything in the fiction, though. The are purely a gamist construct. If they were simulationist, your weight and size would have a biig impact, and your skill level with picking locks certainly wouldn't.

The thing they represent in the fiction is damage.

How they work in the simulation depends entirely on how we choose to construct our simulation. If we assign size as a modifier to hit points, then size affects hit points in the simulation. If we don't, it doesn't. There's no correct way to simulate any concept, and simulation doesn't mean refers to real life. It can't, since spells and dragons are simulated.