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<blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 5504018" data-attributes="member: 66434">Spoonfed answers lead to blind acceptance of them as truth barring experience or knowledge to the contrary.&nbsp;I think the expectation of what an rpg should provide has changed drastically over the years. The role of published material has likewise undergone a shift in perceived utility even as the actual content remains largely the same. &nbsp;Some time ago, the rulebooks were rather clear that ALL information in them was of a guideline variety. Having to point out specific content as guideline vs hard rules is a shift in presentation all by itself. &nbsp;Part of the issue here is that rpgs have been expected to perform &quot;out of the box&quot; much like other types of games. Players pressed for time want everything laid out by the numbers. This makes a game simpler to master but not really easier to learn. &nbsp;The gaining of experience at playing rpgs is part of the fun, not a barrier to entry. Unless of course you find yourself in an environment that features &quot;performance standards&quot; and requires system mastery to fully enjoy playing. Honestly, its crap like that that provides more of a barrier to entry than anything else. &nbsp;In our earliest days of play we didn't use the rules &quot;correctly&quot; and there were so few of them that large parts of the game were just made up as we went along- as intended. &nbsp;The experience of having so little rules structure wasn't a barrier at all. In fact, the lack of structure strengthened us as players and DMs. &nbsp;Do more comprehensive rules really provide more guidance? If the answer is yes my next question is guidance on what? Following the very rules that seek to provide......something?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ExploderWizard, post: 5504018, member: 66434"] Spoonfed answers lead to blind acceptance of them as truth barring experience or knowledge to the contrary. I think the expectation of what an rpg should provide has changed drastically over the years. The role of published material has likewise undergone a shift in perceived utility even as the actual content remains largely the same. Some time ago, the rulebooks were rather clear that ALL information in them was of a guideline variety. Having to point out specific content as guideline vs hard rules is a shift in presentation all by itself. Part of the issue here is that rpgs have been expected to perform "out of the box" much like other types of games. Players pressed for time want everything laid out by the numbers. This makes a game simpler to master but not really easier to learn. The gaining of experience at playing rpgs is part of the fun, not a barrier to entry. Unless of course you find yourself in an environment that features "performance standards" and requires system mastery to fully enjoy playing. Honestly, its crap like that that provides more of a barrier to entry than anything else. In our earliest days of play we didn't use the rules "correctly" and there were so few of them that large parts of the game were just made up as we went along- as intended. The experience of having so little rules structure wasn't a barrier at all. In fact, the lack of structure strengthened us as players and DMs. Do more comprehensive rules really provide more guidance? If the answer is yes my next question is guidance on what? Following the very rules that seek to provide......something? [/QUOTE]

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