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Why do RPGs have rules?
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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 9016542" data-attributes="member: 6787650"><p>I agree, although I want more than that: not only do I want the game to be consistent, I want it to feel plausible, especially w/rt probability curves and modifiers. It's easy to give a game complete-but-implausible Stealth rules: "when you try to do something stealthily, roll a DC 15 Stealth check, and on a success nobody notices you."</p><p></p><p>That's a complete rule (the outcome is always clear, at least in the context of 5E where 'DC 15 Stealth check' has a meaning). But it's also garbage. Waiting until the dead of night doesn't make stealth any easier than doing it in broad daylight. Camouflage and ninja slippers don't help. Arranging a diversion doesn't help. Smelling like raw sewage doesn't hurt. Trying to sneak at top speed while on fire doesn't hurt. The rule is very clear about whether I achieve my goal, but it's ignoring my means and approach, which means it's ignoring <em>all the things that matter to me</em> in the name of a mechanically simple resolution procedure.</p><p></p><p>TTRPGs that I consider well-designed do a lot of the homework up front for you, specifying probability curves for common situations, while also making it easy to model other situations plausibly. E.g. fighting on bad footing should be more difficult than fighting on level ground, but good equipment should help (or even make it a net advantage, if you have good equipment and your foe does not), and fighting while sitting down should be even worse, even if "fighting while sitting" is not in the rulebook.</p><p></p><p>$0.02.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 9016542, member: 6787650"] I agree, although I want more than that: not only do I want the game to be consistent, I want it to feel plausible, especially w/rt probability curves and modifiers. It's easy to give a game complete-but-implausible Stealth rules: "when you try to do something stealthily, roll a DC 15 Stealth check, and on a success nobody notices you." That's a complete rule (the outcome is always clear, at least in the context of 5E where 'DC 15 Stealth check' has a meaning). But it's also garbage. Waiting until the dead of night doesn't make stealth any easier than doing it in broad daylight. Camouflage and ninja slippers don't help. Arranging a diversion doesn't help. Smelling like raw sewage doesn't hurt. Trying to sneak at top speed while on fire doesn't hurt. The rule is very clear about whether I achieve my goal, but it's ignoring my means and approach, which means it's ignoring [I]all the things that matter to me[/I] in the name of a mechanically simple resolution procedure. TTRPGs that I consider well-designed do a lot of the homework up front for you, specifying probability curves for common situations, while also making it easy to model other situations plausibly. E.g. fighting on bad footing should be more difficult than fighting on level ground, but good equipment should help (or even make it a net advantage, if you have good equipment and your foe does not), and fighting while sitting down should be even worse, even if "fighting while sitting" is not in the rulebook. $0.02. [/QUOTE]
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