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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5989960" data-attributes="member: 54877">That won't resolve it either. The huge, insurmountable problem there is that really good processes are very difficult to achieve, and when achieved are always either highly specialized or so general as to require a lot of fudging around edge cases. This is true in every field where process matters, not merely games. Consider d20+Mod versus DC for attack/skill resolution. That's a very good general process for a game (albeit not the only good one). It's easy to use, easy to understand, widely applicable, reasonably fast, etc. But no one who has really looked at it seriously thinks that it handles all situations in a game well, with no edge cases. Merely being linear brings its own set of problems, which is why we have special rules for rolling a 1, a 20, Take 10, etc. Then there is the issue of standardizing and remembering the DCs. So an implied look up table (or tables). But mainly, the process of "swing the sword" or "research in the library" or "fast talk the gate guard" bears only a slight resemblance to the task resolution process. As soon as you start talking specific playstyles, you'll often need to add a lot more to that general process. Suddenly, all those virtues are getting compromised. Moreover, there is probably an alterate mechanic that will work better for that particularly specialty, without needing all those extra bits. Roll under percentage or a dice pool or something else starts looking better.  I think it's too complex and off-topic a subject to really go into the full limitations of trying to make analogous process produce expected results. But for a flavor, consider how "email" is different from "snail" mail. Yes, they are both communication methods that most commonly involve a short to moderate message. Yes, we've retained the conventions of addresses and some from "letters". It's just enough alike to call both of them "mail". Yet, look at it closely, and you'll see it doesn't map. When was the last time you did anything explicit with an "envelope" for email? (Your email program did something analogous. You didn't.) Bottom line: If you must have a process that produces expected results, you must specialize. If you must have a general process, you must expect problems in the results in all sorts of edge cases. If you must have expected results with a general process, then you must have deviations and/or ways to bypass the process. History of processes proves it.</blockquote>

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