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<blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8266053" data-attributes="member: 6785785">So if you’re playing a wizard and you come across some arcane runes on a doorframe in a dungeon, how is the process of determining if you know what these runes say anything like real life?When I encounter something in real life, i either know it or I don’t, as you say. I don’t get to decide in that moment if I already know itNor do I turn to my friend and say “hey do I know this?” then watch him roll some dice, and tell me “Nope, you don’t.”Neither process maps to real life. We are determining things in play retroactively consistently. It’s baked in to play. The player never knows everything the character knows ahead of time. A player could come to the game with a 700 page backstory and there would still be plenty of things that he doesn’t know until after the fact. The issue would seem to be that many of the ways this happens in play have been around for so long, and are so prevalent that they are simply accepted. They’re a standard of play to the point that they aren’t obvious. But if you take a more overt example of this...whether as a spell or some other method like a Flashback....then it stands out. Now, having said that...it’s fine not to like those overt actions, or to only accept those that can be handwaved by magic or some other&nbsp; setting detail...that’s all fine, and I think everyone involved can understand why someone may have this preference. But there’s nothing more or less natural about how folks try to inhabit their character. There are just different methods of doing so, with pros and cons that will vary by person.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="hawkeyefan, post: 8266053, member: 6785785"] So if you’re playing a wizard and you come across some arcane runes on a doorframe in a dungeon, how is the process of determining if you know what these runes say anything like real life? When I encounter something in real life, i either know it or I don’t, as you say. I don’t get to decide in that moment if I already know it Nor do I turn to my friend and say “hey do I know this?” then watch him roll some dice, and tell me “Nope, you don’t.” Neither process maps to real life. We are determining things in play retroactively consistently. It’s baked in to play. The player never knows everything the character knows ahead of time. A player could come to the game with a 700 page backstory and there would still be plenty of things that he doesn’t know until after the fact. The issue would seem to be that many of the ways this happens in play have been around for so long, and are so prevalent that they are simply accepted. They’re a standard of play to the point that they aren’t obvious. But if you take a more overt example of this...whether as a spell or some other method like a Flashback....then it stands out. Now, having said that...it’s fine not to like those overt actions, or to only accept those that can be handwaved by magic or some other setting detail...that’s all fine, and I think everyone involved can understand why someone may have this preference. But there’s nothing more or less natural about how folks try to inhabit their character. There are just different methods of doing so, with pros and cons that will vary by person. [/QUOTE]

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