Why I'm not worried about Fighter "options"

[Vikingkingq]

(I edited the quote to add numbers to the questions.)

1. I think it would be difficult, but I think you could look at the choices the players make and how those choices affect the rest of the game. Some choices are going to carry a lot of weight in the system, others - not so much. A hyperbolic example: Should I cast Wall of Force or Teleport? vs. Should my PC have red hair or black? The former choice ripples through the system in terms of HP, resources expended, XP, and loot; the latter doesn't do to the rest of the game. (Though it might, that's why it'd be difficult.)

If the choice of combat manoeuvre is the only or major choice that affects the game in that way, then I think you could say that it's become "the entire game." I'd probably frame that statement differently, but eh.

Ok, "choice ripples through the system in terms of HP, resources expended, XP, and loot" is clearer. However, as your example suggests, combat maneuvers aren't the "only or major choice" that's influential throughout the system - magic is already universally significant, and arguably you could point to exploration skills and social skills as well.

At the same time, I'm a bit confused as to how combat maneuvers are much more significant than basic attacks.

2. Special manoeuvres tend to - but not necessarily - end up divorced from the fictional actions of the characters. To use the original example, when the orc attacks high, you take advantage of the opening to strike at his hip. A framework could say something like "When you can take advantage of your opponent's opening, you get a +2 bonus to the to-hit and damage rolls." Special manoeuvres tend to act differently: "By taking this special manoeuvre, you can use it to take advantage of your opponent's opening. When you use it, add a +2 bonus to the to-hit and damage rolls." (Obviously it'd have to be a valid choice, that is, balanced against other special manoeuvres.)

I'd argue that the link between special maneuvers and the character's actions are dependent on how well the maneuvers are designed and how well the DM and player work with the game system. Just to keep using the 7th Sea example, Tagging is something that flows naturally into the fictional action of the characters. I remember listening to an Actual Play session in which a player wanted to have his Tag be cutting off half of the mustache of a particular swordsman, and the GM turned that particular swordsman into a recurring villain who kept that half of his upper lip shaved until he defeated the man who had defiled his face.