tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post556028003215165748..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: FosteringAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-68825071758390553722014-12-20T18:44:11.220-07:002014-12-20T18:44:11.220-07:00I don't think you're negative based on any...I don't think you're negative based on anything I've ever read here. You have a position and advance it, as opposed to simply trying to negate other people's propositions. That's pretty much the definitional opposite of "negative." Attacking other propositions to advance one's own isn't negativity, it's rhetoric.<br /><br />Anyone calling you negative based on your blogging is conflating "negative" with "abrasive" or "dickishness." There's nothing inherently negative about being abrasive or dickish. You're definitely positive.<br /><br />(I've always thought your abrasiveness is mostly a device, but you may also just be constitutionally abrasive. You don't seem like an actual dick. Either way, irrelevant to the issue of negativity.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027050864450321406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-74467828507507936582014-12-19T12:57:31.168-07:002014-12-19T12:57:31.168-07:00An Historian Goes to the Movies, https://aelarsen....An Historian Goes to the Movies, https://aelarsen.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/the-13th-warrior-it-aint-what-ya-do-its-why-ya-do-it/<br /><br />Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657793356913767894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-92060767618067328442014-12-19T10:53:31.549-07:002014-12-19T10:53:31.549-07:00Doug,
One of my favorite tropes is that Reality i...Doug,<br /><br />One of my favorite tropes is that <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealityIsUnrealistic" rel="nofollow">Reality is Unrealistic</a>.<br /><br />Wish you would link that blog post.<br /><br />Your point is the reason why I continue to argue, loudly, that I'm not a simulationist. I'm not trying to recreate medieval battle - I'm trying to produce a game context in which the players are able to make game decisions - where the 'battle' bears some similarity to real life without being utterly bound by it. Playability is more important than reality!Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-85973529898737669832014-12-19T10:36:51.462-07:002014-12-19T10:36:51.462-07:00I read a blog post yesterday about why it's pr...I read a blog post yesterday about why it's pretty much impossible to create an "historically accurate" movie. One of the biggest reasons is that if the armored characters don't look substantially different, the audience has a hard time keeping track of who is whom. <br /><br />The author ended with "keep this in mind when you critically look at a movie. There may be reasons why the set director made the choices he did."<br /><br />When I understand that (and can compare that to what would be historically correct), I can understand better why the lead viking got a steel breastplate and the oldest viking got a gladiator's helmet. I would imagine such insights would be beneficial to your audience as well.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657793356913767894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-40658486548271302562014-12-19T10:32:24.601-07:002014-12-19T10:32:24.601-07:00Doug,
The cooking analogy is excellent; having be...Doug,<br /><br />The cooking analogy is excellent; having been a chef, garlic is crushed and minced with a knife, bread is made by hand with a pan and so on, with less work and more adroitly than can be done with a tool or a machine. I could show you in three seconds a simpler and superior way to smash and prepare garlic than with a press - the only reason you would not do it that way is because it never occurred to you.<br /><br />Of course you could be a chef! It only takes time, commitment and comprehension, like anything else that is done.<br /><br />Perhaps the thing to do would be to write an adventure first, THEN deconstruct it. Seems like cheating, though.<br /><br />I might write a post about that, too.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-67362521400726705142014-12-19T10:24:44.033-07:002014-12-19T10:24:44.033-07:00Verona,
My deconstruction wouldn't have as it...Verona,<br /><br />My deconstruction wouldn't have as it's point, "why this is crap," but rather, "why did the artist choose this as opposed to that."<br /><br />Remember that ALL construction begins with deconstruction. Invention begins by taking apart something that someone else has made, piece by piece, thus determining why those pieces were included, how they were modified or changed to solve a certain problem - and then used to make the whole.<br /><br />I may write more of a post on that.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-79383762985382783012014-12-19T09:48:11.880-07:002014-12-19T09:48:11.880-07:00Well, of course I would read that because I am sur...Well, of course I would read that because I am sure it would be insightful and provide even more reasons as to why pre-made modules don't work as well as home made worlds, but. . . I am not going to learn to build a house well, for example, by learning why my neighbor's electrical system is cruddy. Or why the house across the street's foundation is cracking. I'd most like to see how to hammer a nail straight, and mortar a pile of bricks together properly, and wire a circuit so it doesn't catch fire first, no? Then it will become obvious to me where my neighbor's homes have shortcomings. Most importantly, I'll know how to build and upkeep my own house in the future. (This metaphor is getting hard to sustain. I'll stop now.)<br />I can tell you that for me, far and away the most helpful thing you've written this year (in terms of what I have drawn from the most in order to run games myself) was your "How To Create an Adventure Hook" series of posts. "How To Run" was inspirational in that it got me thinking about creation outside of just painting miniatures and building dungeon rooms (which is where my own strengths lie), but those "How To Write an Adventure Hook" articles gave all of us that read your blog an insight, I think, into how a good DM accomplishes the concepts and ideals which "How To Run" lays out. I firmly believe that DMing well is every bit as complicated as the differential equations I mentioned in my last comment, which is why I for one really appreciate it when you take the time to work things out for us <i>as if we are at your table playing the game.</i> We're seeing the professor work out something very complex in front of us in real time. It's also why my wishlist for the Tao of D&D includes things like "Alexis' YouTube videos of DMing a dungeon adventure."<br /><br />I will continue to learn and be inspired and driven to create by whatever it is you write here. I will continue to learn and be inspired most effectively by the concrete examples of your own experiences you choose to share.VeronaKidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15468008554680895487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-43376517213489143482014-12-19T09:34:19.417-07:002014-12-19T09:34:19.417-07:00My initial post was going to be in a similar vein ...My initial post was going to be in a similar vein as VeronaKid's. I was going to use an analogy of cooking.<br /><br />Many people "learn to cook" not by understanding the principles of the art, but by using the gadgets sold. Garlic press? Sure, you need one because garlic is awesome. Bread machine? Yes, because fresh bread is terrific. <br /><br />Given the increase in "food culture" it's easier for someone like me to bypass that stage and get lessons from the experts. I will never by a chef, but I have enough knowledge of how everything works together to create an appetizing meal.<br /><br />Having read How To Run, I can start applying the lessons. It won't happen overnight. I'll need to deconstruct the next several games to learn where to apply this knowledge. It is, as you've stated, work. Old habits will reassert themselves when I'm running my game because that's one of the side effects of stress. <br /><br />I would love to see you deconstruct an adventure. Perhaps let your readers know a few days in advance so we can look at it, draw our own conclusions, and then take a look at yours. <br /><br />By the way, Alexis, thanks for your work. It's harder to think through some of your points (as opposed to having things spoon-fed to me), but I'm usually happier with the result.<br />Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657793356913767894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-88460725643182982012014-12-19T07:00:41.525-07:002014-12-19T07:00:41.525-07:00Verona,
If you can find an online adventure that ...Verona,<br /><br />If you can find an online adventure that anyone can look at, then I'll deconstruct it. How would that be?<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-36924106012150712222014-12-19T06:03:20.671-07:002014-12-19T06:03:20.671-07:00I am certainly guilty of looking for (and asking f...I am certainly guilty of looking for (and asking for on a number of occasions) an Alexis "handout," so I would humbly offer the following:<br />I understand and completely agree with the notion that the only way a person can truly <i>master</i> anything well is to do it themselves, usually over and over and over. I would also say, however, that there are a LOT of us in the world that need to see that thing done well <i>before we can sort it out for ourselves.</i> I could read all of the books on differential equations I could find- I would argue that until I watch the professor stand in front of the class and actually solve one of the damned things, I might as well be reading recipes for making glazed carrots.<br />I guess what I am saying is that, for some of us helpless beggars at least, our hands are out not because we want you to give us the whole package all tied up with a bow. We might just need a little bit to help us go "Ah ha! Now I get it!"<br />Thanks as always.VeronaKidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15468008554680895487noreply@blogger.com