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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 9007532" data-attributes="member: 82106">Exactly what I am saying when I talk about the mechanics letting the GM 'hide behind the dice'. I mean, that's a bit of a facile way of putting it, but its MUCH easier for a GM to say &quot;Oh, gosh, the orc hit you with a 17! Ouch, 7 damage, looks like you're dead Jill&quot; than to convince the players that a group of orcs with a similar level of combat prowess to themselves are bound to extract a casualty or two, and then pick Jill to fill that role! I would call this a &quot;negotiating fiction&quot; as well as a &quot;way to announce the unwelcome&quot;. Certainly unwelcome content is not neutral!I think Dungeon World MAY be less prone to these clashes, but the old &quot;hard move, the orc deals damage to you!&quot; thing can be pretty rough. It just needs to be preceded by at least one, probably a couple, of low rolls and the accompanying 'unwelcome news' moves by the GM that do the warming up. Still, B/X or 1e GENERALLY eases you in a bit, you get encounter distance, random monster check, surprise, and initiative, plus whatever the PCs precautions were. That could all amount to a big nuthin' but usually you at least had to roll bad once or twice before you die. As usual, DW's principles generally make it likely you did get 'warmed up' though.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 9007532, member: 82106"] Exactly what I am saying when I talk about the mechanics letting the GM 'hide behind the dice'. I mean, that's a bit of a facile way of putting it, but its MUCH easier for a GM to say "Oh, gosh, the orc hit you with a 17! Ouch, 7 damage, looks like you're dead Jill" than to convince the players that a group of orcs with a similar level of combat prowess to themselves are bound to extract a casualty or two, and then pick Jill to fill that role! I would call this a "negotiating fiction" as well as a "way to announce the unwelcome". Certainly unwelcome content is not neutral! I think Dungeon World MAY be less prone to these clashes, but the old "hard move, the orc deals damage to you!" thing can be pretty rough. It just needs to be preceded by at least one, probably a couple, of low rolls and the accompanying 'unwelcome news' moves by the GM that do the warming up. Still, B/X or 1e GENERALLY eases you in a bit, you get encounter distance, random monster check, surprise, and initiative, plus whatever the PCs precautions were. That could all amount to a big nuthin' but usually you at least had to roll bad once or twice before you die. As usual, DW's principles generally make it likely you did get 'warmed up' though. [/QUOTE]

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