What Level of Detail Do You Like in Your Games?

[Herremann the Wise]

Hello Everyone,

I'm just wondering what level of detail you guys like in the games you play and DM. By this, I mean the minutae from tracking encumberance, wealth and other statistics to the little accounting things that need to be done behind the screen. Are you the type of player who can't stand the thought of bothering with superfluous little details, such things getting in the way of the story or rolling dice and smashing face? Or are you the type of player who loves sweating on the little stuff and can't stand it when the DM starts hand-waiving things?

For myself, I love the small details. The finer points of the game - such as tracking the current hit points of my character's weaponry and so on - are all part of enriching the gaming experience for me. I love experiencing the struggle, and making the small victories sweet. I suppose I'm like the guy who'll order his dinner and then order extra bread to clean up every dreg on the plate. In essence, I love my gaming. At the same time though, I can imagine those who would look upon such accounting as the complete antithesis of gaming for them.

So, which side of the fence do you stand on?

As an aside, I think 4E has trended away from this style of gaming - although there are still enough accounting bones in it for those like me who enjoy such things. I was just wondering whether other players had found this too.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[Fallen Seraph]

It is semi-complicated with me, it comes down to mood and atmosphere. Generally, it isn't important to keep track of minutiae details unless it adds to the feel of the game at that time.

So, say... The game is the PCs are on the run and have to scrape for anything they can get. As such wealth will be quite important, and it is liable the players will stick to sleeping in barns, etc. To keep what little cash they have.

Or, say... They end up in a cavern slowly being filled with water, I will keep track of time very precisely. Or, they are in a situation where surviving is important and is a big plot-pressure point then things like finding water, food, etc. is important.

But overall if a minutiae details doesn't add to the current plot, atmosphere, etc. then it gets left at the waist-side. Though generally the minutiae details I use are less rule-centric, so they aren't following strict dice rolls, or checks, etc. It is just something they are playing close attention too, and if some rules here and there enhance that then it is put into play. Though usually that rule is a on-the-fly thing (in 4e most likely a Skill Challenge for instance) that I put in then.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I like to think big rather than small. I used to have a DM who would strictly enforce that you were not carrying anything that wasn't listed on your character sheet. I always hated worrying about the details when making up a character and would forget things like clothes and spell components on my list all the time. It just wasn't important to me at all. I needed a weapon, armor, backpack and rope and that's it. So, I'd often find myself naked in a public area when my DM checked my character sheet.

What is important to is was the plot of the game and my cool powers. I've almost never kept track of encumbrance, even when I was supposed to be. I just assumed everything was light enough that it didn't give me penalties. It seemed like a hassle to keep track of the weight of that rock I just picked up or that bottle of ink when I should be worrying about whether monsters were going to ambush us at the crossroads or what the next move of the evil Archduke would be.

Storyline has always been what draws me in. That and combat. I love killing things. *grin*

 

[Hussar]

Yeah, I'm pretty much on the opposite side of the fence on this one. Tracking every last cp on the character sheet is not something that draws me to the game.

 

[La Bete]

A long time ago (prob 10+ years), I used to want all the bookeeping detail, tracking all the cp, arrows, pretty much everything (this is as a player as well as DM).

As time went on, I (and most of my group) emphasised that side of things a lot less - to the point where my D&D game treasure got rounded down and put into a "slush fund" to cover inns, etc.

I think this is because of:

(a) Been there, done that - the 'thrill' (such as there is) of knowing exactly what you had was worn down.
(b) Exposure to other games that managed that side of things better (Shadowrun with Lifestyle, D20 Modern Wealth, etc, etc.)
(c) Less time to do said bookeeping. A lot less time.

 

[roguerouge]

As a player, I once rolled up stats for every single one of my 100+ followers, just so that I could pick out potentials to bring on adventures with me and level them. That would allow me to realistically set up who would take leadership positions when I ruled the world. These low level, well-statted NPCs came in handy in my guys final fight inside a huge anti-magic zone, actually.

As a DM, I've posted here on the prices for renting an apartment and buying a house in game. I go find a system for import/export. I ask about how the economics in the system work.

And yet, I don't use encumbrance. Although I give out bags of holding as soon as possible so that I don't have to think about not using encumbrance.

 

[joethelawyer]

I don't care too much for detail like encumbrance, etc. But i do like detail as it relates to my character's place in the world. So my character's dwelling, the people in the village where he lives, the village's place in the country it is in, that country's place in world politics, power groups and factions, etc. are all important to me. I look for a lot of detail in that stuff. As to the amount of bat guano in my pocket, who cares.

 

[Aeolius]

I'm on the other side of the fence, in that I love to detail my campaign world, just not with stats. I know that the main protagonist NPC has many children, enjoys pomegranate ale and pumpkin seeds, and harbors many regrets from her past. I do not, however, know how many hit points she has.

I will detail a becalmed grotto within a richly populated coral reef. I may describe several types of corals and numerous types of fish, providing pictures for the players to peruse. I mention the time of day, the weather, and the condition of the seas. I will not, however, have stats available for how much damage it would take to break a branch of coral away from the reef, nor what modifiers are needed to swim against the prevailing currents.

I will introduce dozens of NPCS without so much as rolling a since die. I will, however, know their names, what they are wearing, where the allegiances lie, and where they came from.

I enjoy the story infinitely more than the mechanics beneath it all. However I do respect the framework provided by using a common ruleset, spell lists, deities, and campaign world.

 

[Greg K]

I'm for tracking encumberance (and associated penalties), money, and arrows/bolts.

 

[Cadfan]

I loathe tracking any detail that isn't relevant to gameplay. So I would enjoy tracking water if I were in a game where the party was stranded in a desert, and finding water was a difficult and important task. In contrast, I would hate tracking water if I were in a game where finding water was an easy matter requiring no decision making or difficulty. In that case, tracking water becomes a rote exercise. Tracking water in such a game seems about as unwise a DMing decision as requiring the players to publically declare when their character goes to the bathroom.

The tougher items are things that cost money, but where the money becomes negligible as your character advances. Its kind of cool tracking nonmagical arrows at level 1 in 3e, because you have about 20, most enemies die with one arrow hit, and every decision whether to fire requires you to decide whether its worth it. Its stupid to track nonmagical arrows at level 15 in 3e, because your character can dig through the lint in his pocket and find enough gold to purchase a bag of holding and stuff it full of 10,000 nonmagical arrows, and you fire five or so a round.

Often, when I play, I try to make deals with the DM: "If I just spend 1000 gp right now, can we assume that I top off my arrow supply every time we go into town for the rest of the campaign? 1000 gp buys me more arrows than I could fire in three lifetimes." Same for food or shelter if he tracks those costs.

I'm all for plot-relevant detail, but I think that simulation purely for the sake of simulation is one of the biggest flaws in RPG writing possible. Figure out what's fun about your game, and make sure that time spent at the table focuses on it as much as possible. Don't let trivial tasks turn into rote exercises. And if you want your game to use things like tracking food as a meaningful part of gameplay, make sure to make it an actual meaningful part of gameplay, rather than a piece of clerical busywork.