tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post8697214337198910035..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: 10th Class: HeroismAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-62050632609590128202018-10-04T20:08:50.142-06:002018-10-04T20:08:50.142-06:00Carl,
While passionate and well-meaning, I must p...Carl,<br /><br />While passionate and well-meaning, I must point out that the argument you make suffers equally from subjectivity. Other readers here cannot feel the passion of your experience. They can only feel their own subjective viewpoints.<br /><br />It might be that your experience makes is impossible to find what they experience to be heroic; but for them, it carries the same hormonal responses: dopamine, oxytocin, seratonin, etc., to be heroic at a game table.<br /><br />If they went off and committed some far more dangerously heroic act themselves, they might then be jaded and find it impossible to return to the heroism effect they receive presently. But that would still be them comparing one personal subjective experience to another within their own singular framework.<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-2073001804891813582018-10-04T10:47:31.664-06:002018-10-04T10:47:31.664-06:00For what it's worth, consider an example:
As ...For what it's worth, consider an example:<br /><br />As a Soldier, I've had the privilege of supporting my nation during natural disasters. I've been on the ground during floods and the like, and I've witnessed acts of heroism firsthand. I can say with absolutely certainty that there's a tangible reward for the hero ~ the sense of well-being, honor and glory that accompanies the knowledge that you've helped another human being in a time of trouble.<br /><br />Now, let's be clear about this: I do not intend, in any way, to deride or devalue the work done by these service members and heroes. My intent is only to acknowledge that there is something very real about performing a heroic act and asking for nothing in return.<br /><br />This does not happen during role-play. It <i>cannot</i> happen because the player characters are fictional; the game world is fictional; their trials and tribulations are fictional; everything about the game exists in the players' minds. And while it is true that this fiction can be ~ and often is ~ very important to the player ~ again, I don't mean to devalue that importance, to imply that it isn't significant. I'm saying that it's not quite the same. Putting your character's life on the line to save a bunch of villagers from a horde of rampaging orcs <i>is not the same</i> as putting your actual life on the line to rescue people from a burning building.Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.com