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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7856049" data-attributes="member: 20323">Flip the script. Replace &quot;monster&quot; with &quot;player character&quot;, and see how it reads...Whatever small bells and whistles a &quot;player character&quot; might have, it is, in the end, a bag of hit points.Whatever resistances it might have, whatever abilities it might possess, in the end all you need to do is just cause more damage.Ever &quot;player character&quot; is a nail, and DPR is the hammer....While it is technically true, it's not the entire truth. Playing that &quot;bag of hit points&quot; is still a fun, thought-provoking, emotionally engaging, and inherently interesting experience.What's the difference?Thrilling &quot;dread&quot; or &quot;fear&quot; – in the context of roleplaying games – has to do with perception of danger/threat. And the perception of danger/threat is always contextual, isn't it? Another way of saying that: To meaningfully discuss perceived danger/threat, you need to discuss context, right?Take the ogre – the epitome of a &quot;big sack of hit points.&quot; A lone 1st-level PC will rightfully be very cautious of the deadly ogre which can kill them in a single hit, while a lone 5th-level PC may see an ogre as a reasonable challenge but nothing too dangerous, and a party of 10th-level PCs defending a beloved village from ogres might view them as a significant threat...to the villagers. In each of those scenarios, facing the ogre(s) can still be fun, thought-provoking, emotionally engaging, and inherently interesting.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 7856049, member: 20323"] Flip the script. Replace "monster" with "player character", and see how it reads... Whatever small bells and whistles a "player character" might have, it is, in the end, a bag of hit points. Whatever resistances it might have, whatever abilities it might possess, in the end all you need to do is just cause more damage. Ever "player character" is a nail, and DPR is the hammer. ...While it is technically true, it's not the [I]entire [/I]truth. Playing that "bag of hit points" is still a fun, thought-provoking, emotionally engaging, and inherently interesting experience. What's the difference? Thrilling "dread" or "fear" – in the context of roleplaying games – has to do with perception of danger/threat. And the perception of danger/threat is always contextual, isn't it? Another way of saying that: To meaningfully discuss perceived danger/threat, you need to discuss context, right? Take the ogre – the epitome of a "big sack of hit points." A lone 1st-level PC will rightfully be very cautious of the deadly ogre which can kill them in a single hit, while a lone 5th-level PC may see an ogre as a reasonable challenge but nothing too dangerous, and a party of 10th-level PCs defending a beloved village from ogres might view them as a significant threat...to the villagers. In each of those scenarios, facing the ogre(s) can still be fun, thought-provoking, emotionally engaging, and inherently interesting. [/QUOTE]

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