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<blockquote data-quote="Dragonblade" data-source="post: 4233312" data-attributes="member: 2804">Because D&amp;D's damage system is not purely narrative. In fact, no game system is purely narrative.One of the flaws in point based special effect based games such as HERO and M&amp;M is caused by the disconnect between a fully narrative point based character creation and a game world that is still run in a somewhat simulationist manner by most GMs.Let's say you have two characters, one is a martial artist and all his damage is unarmed. One carries a big huge claymore and all his damage comes from his sword. In a special effects based system, both of these weapons do the same damage. However, the Unarmed character has several advantages. The Unarmed PC can go anywhere and is always armed and can never be disarmed. The Sword PC can be disarmed and cannot go freely about the game world carrying his big huge sword. Point based systems try to compensate for these drawbacks by giving you a point discount for the claymore. But whether this discount is a good deal or a bad deal is entirely dependent on the DM and how they run their world, and thus is not consistent from game to game.Also other issues related to point based systems arise. How much damage is done if the weapon is picked up by another who didn't pay the original cost? I find the answers to these questions somewhat unsatisfactory in point based systems. I much prefer the item to be a completely self-contained entity that is not purchased by the PC via points, and thus its advantages (more damage) and drawbacks (big size and weight) are fully conveyed to whoever wields it.There is a also a suspension of disbelief issue. We who live in the real world, expect that size and mass equals damage. When we see games where this doesn't hold true, even in games that strive for a purely cinematic feel, there is still a bit of a disconnect.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dragonblade, post: 4233312, member: 2804"] Because D&D's damage system is not purely narrative. In fact, no game system is purely narrative. One of the flaws in point based special effect based games such as HERO and M&M is caused by the disconnect between a fully narrative point based character creation and a game world that is still run in a somewhat simulationist manner by most GMs. Let's say you have two characters, one is a martial artist and all his damage is unarmed. One carries a big huge claymore and all his damage comes from his sword. In a special effects based system, both of these weapons do the same damage. However, the Unarmed character has several advantages. The Unarmed PC can go anywhere and is always armed and can never be disarmed. The Sword PC can be disarmed and cannot go freely about the game world carrying his big huge sword. Point based systems try to compensate for these drawbacks by giving you a point discount for the claymore. But whether this discount is a good deal or a bad deal is entirely dependent on the DM and how they run their world, and thus is not consistent from game to game. Also other issues related to point based systems arise. How much damage is done if the weapon is picked up by another who didn't pay the original cost? I find the answers to these questions somewhat unsatisfactory in point based systems. I much prefer the item to be a completely self-contained entity that is not purchased by the PC via points, and thus its advantages (more damage) and drawbacks (big size and weight) are fully conveyed to whoever wields it. There is a also a suspension of disbelief issue. We who live in the real world, expect that size and mass equals damage. When we see games where this doesn't hold true, even in games that strive for a purely cinematic feel, there is still a bit of a disconnect. [/QUOTE]

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