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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5939919" data-attributes="member: 42582">I hadn't seen that essay before. I think Mearls is right about the similarity (in certain respects) between modern D&amp;D and indie-RPGs. I think 4e pushed further in this direction of similarity than 3E, stripping out those elements of 3E (eg duration-tracking outside the context of the encounter, and semi-free-form non-combat resolution) that maintained &quot;mother may I&quot; dynamics.I think that &quot;mother may I&quot; and &quot;rulings not rules&quot; don't have to be the same thing, but agree with [MENTION=83293]nnms[/MENTION] that they can converge.In 4e, choosing a damage range for an improvised action from the page 42 tables is a ruling and not a rule. But the game and the GM guidelines are expressly designed to avoid &quot;mother may I&quot; issues and uphold the players' power over the game.My worry about the playtest rules is that they don't even hint at a structure within which rulings will be made, and suggest GM-controlled more-or-less freeform resolution for non-combat encounters.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 5939919, member: 42582"] I hadn't seen that essay before. I think Mearls is right about the similarity (in certain respects) between modern D&D and indie-RPGs. I think 4e pushed further in this direction of similarity than 3E, stripping out those elements of 3E (eg duration-tracking outside the context of the encounter, and semi-free-form non-combat resolution) that maintained "mother may I" dynamics. I think that "mother may I" and "rulings not rules" don't have to be the same thing, but agree with [MENTION=83293]nnms[/MENTION] that they can converge. In 4e, choosing a damage range for an improvised action from the page 42 tables is a ruling and not a rule. But the game and the GM guidelines are expressly designed to avoid "mother may I" issues and uphold the players' power over the game. My worry about the playtest rules is that they don't even hint at a structure within which rulings will be made, and suggest GM-controlled more-or-less freeform resolution for non-combat encounters. [/QUOTE]

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