tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post7012022235131606112..comments2024-03-27T23:28:19.341-07:00Comments on Telecanter's Receding Rules: Thoughts on RealismTelecanterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-33620182324544537982012-10-10T08:26:21.017-07:002012-10-10T08:26:21.017-07:00@ckutalik: Yeah, I think, if DMing is an artform, ...@ckutalik: Yeah, I think, if DMing is an artform, part of the challenge is to find things that really fascinate us, like particular eras in history, and somehow communicate that to the players who are probably clueless as to, say, the differences between Northern Europe in the 11th, 12th, or 13th century.<br /><br />@Peter: I'm hesitant to use fun as a term here (some people might have fun tossing the rulebook back and forth with each other :), maybe a better way to gauge it is adding as many player choices as we can while adding as little complexity and overhead as possible. <br /><br />I don't trust the idea that to get a good game you need to find the right group either. I think one challenge we always face as DMs and designers is that players often want things without realizing the costs or consequences involved. Everyone would probably like more choices as characters, but that means generation takes longer and character death has more and more of a sting. Everyone likes having capabilities, but too much power gained too quickly and the game will get boring.<br /><br />So, yeah, maybe a DM needs to find a group that is cool with quick and dirty character generation to have a exciting death-is-a-possibility game and maybe the players need to try a game style that's new to them.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-51438067927160616662012-10-09T14:15:12.924-07:002012-10-09T14:15:12.924-07:00One problem is when specifics get in the way of ac...<i>One problem is when specifics get in the way of actual gameplay.<br />[SNIP]<br />All this detail adds steps to combat resolution and thus time. </i><br /><br />Sure, but I think you load the question. To me, it's all a balance between "time cost" and "fun added." A rule may add a little time, but a lot of fun to the game. As long as the fun:time ration is high, it's worth considering adding.<br /><br />For example, staying with D&D: Weapon Speed factors, weapon vs. AC, and weapon length tend to add a lot of time but don't add all that much fun (YMMV, of course). But differentiating damage between weapons (longswords do 1d8/1d12, broadswords 2d4/1d6+1) doesn't cost a lot of time and it's pretty fun. Gaming is about enjoyment, so that fun:time ratio needs to be high. I'm not sure how fun piercing vs. slashing vs. whatever was, since I stopped at 1e. But I know that in my system of choice, GURPS, different damage types add a lot of fun choices and "realistic" results for a minimal time cost. Dropping them doesn't seem to help speed things up much and makes it less fun. It's where the rule falls on the divide.<br /><br />But generally I agree. And all of this is group dependent. I've helped write rules for weapon length and weapon speed for GURPS, and I know people who use them - they feel it adds to thei fun, where for me it's unnecessary detail.<br /><br />It's like, if your group gripes endlessly about the economics of hireling pay rates, maybe it's worth fixing them. If you're spending hours fixing them so down to the copper piece and then your players say "We hand the hirelings, I dunno, 100 gp each. Can we go fight orcs now?" it probably wasn't worth the time spent . . . Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-71345612875577036462012-10-09T09:05:59.718-07:002012-10-09T09:05:59.718-07:00"Everything I do is trying to add the flavor ..."Everything I do is trying to add the flavor of the real-- whether with trade, toxins and drugs, traveling the wilderness-- without bogging down the fun of the game."<br />This has usually been my balancing act too. I've been tilting a little more to the realism side with my recent medieval rpg, but the central question has always been "how can I make this or that thing I am finding playable in a tabletop setting?"Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.com