tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post1258009035163774769..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The Long GameAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6828434828580473992016-08-31T19:52:44.383-06:002016-08-31T19:52:44.383-06:00Samuel,
You can read the rules for that on my wik...Samuel,<br /><br />You can read the rules for that on my wiki, here:<br /><br /><a href="http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Melee" rel="nofollow">http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Melee</a><br /><br />Start with melee and then follow the link to action points, combat and particularly movement in combat:<br /><br /><a href="http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Movement+in+Combat" rel="nofollow">http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Movement+in+Combat</a><br /><br />Plenty of grit there.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-80743337032028892742016-08-31T19:07:21.575-06:002016-08-31T19:07:21.575-06:00Bit of a tangent: how do you handle a situation wh...Bit of a tangent: how do you handle a situation where either the players or their opponents wish to disengage from a battle? Is it a matter of running until you put enough distance between yourself and the opponent? I don't think I have ever scene rules or guidelines for this scenario in a rulebook.Samuel Kernanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745996634604734121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-45782536611445694662016-08-31T13:03:44.075-06:002016-08-31T13:03:44.075-06:00James,
I have not found that you have been the le...James,<br /><br />I have not found that you have been the least bit antagonistic.<br /><br />The strategy I speak of in this instance is the plan made by the DM to take actions in the creation and running of the world that promote a better experience for both DM and player - to take the perspective that there are day-to-day things that a DM can do with an eye to having the future game play out better than the present game does. Whereas most are easily able to name goals, things they want from their games someday, most are not able to identify what they should do NOW to make those goals possible.<br /><br />Point in fact, the amount of information does not define something as being a game or not. I would strongly argue that consistency is more important than quantity. Campaigns where the DM rules by fiat without responsibility to previous rulings makes a "game" impossible. However little information a game like Warlight might offer, you're still in a position where you're free to make decisions in a non-specific, multiple-ways-to-win format.<br /><br />Take a recent game like <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/474750/" rel="nofollow">Reigns</a>, where you're given practically NO information when playing the game. I grant that having more information makes it easier to make a decision, but more information isn't necessary.<br /><br />The bonus with a role-playing game is that virtually every decision that is make can BE TAKEN BACK. This is highly overlooked. "I go to the tavern. Looking inside, I change my mind and decide to take a walk instead. I think we'll change our mind, close the red door and take the green door." And so on. Collection of information in RPGs, unlike in virtually every other game, can be managed well by players who don't rush into every situation as if they MUST stay with it even when things go bad: for example, players who won't run away from a battle, ever, who would rather stay and die every time.<br /><br />Games on the whole tend to limit the player's ability to accumulate information for themselves - and therefore it is the game that defines what the player can know before making the decision. RPGs, on the other hand, technically provide all the possible information that real life can - so that the players are not, should not, be limited in what they can KNOW, but in how diligent they wish to be in building up to their decision.<br /><br />Some things, true, ARE hard to know in advance: what is behind the green door. But such things are because the DM has deliberately created the world so that the only decisions the players can make are those where the DM refuses to give information; not because the game denies it but because of temperament and prejudice. A good DM will set the situation up so that the players have clues and a reasonable amount of information that will enable them to make a reasonable guess as to what is behind the green door; and upon achieving higher level, the abilities and spells to detect what is there, thus rewarding them for success.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-20551566157872505532016-08-31T12:48:15.176-06:002016-08-31T12:48:15.176-06:00That sounds like a great book.
I was intrigued to...That sounds like a great book.<br /><br />I was intrigued to hear Atkinson say (just after 8:20) that early on, building too much infrastructure for the future takes time from focusing on your current product, and having the flexibility to change it as needed.<br /><br />Something that has kept me from playing at times is feeling like I need to get everything just so before I can bring players into the world. Figuring out what long-term work is essential right now, and what can be done as you go, is a challenge that I can always use more advice on.Samuel Kernanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745996634604734121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-20450930882306687232016-08-31T11:14:32.305-06:002016-08-31T11:14:32.305-06:00I'm curious what you mean by "strategy&qu...I'm curious what you mean by "strategy" in this situation. Should it inform your world building, DMing, or both? Would "present situations, not problems" be a strategy? <br /><br />Or is a strategy more detailed, such as "I will attempt to adjudicate player decisions and agency as much as I am able, and if I am unable I will take the time to get it right rather than rushing my decision and possibly making an unfair or inconsistent decision."<br /><br />I don't say this to be antagonistic, sorry if it may come across that way.<br /><br />On an unrelated note, I have been thinking about your puzzle versus game post, and specifically how D&D isn't generally run as a game, but as a puzzle. Specifically, I was hoping to get your thoughts on something related to that: the role information plays. <br /><br />Chess is a game of perfect information; one can always see all moves. RISK is a game of imperfect information; you are unaware if your opponent is capable of trading in territory cards on their turn. However, even in RISK, the imperfect information is only limited to one aspect of the game, because if too much is hidden, it ceases to feel like a game.<br /><br />This came up because I was playing Warlight (a RISK-like computer game) that uses Fog of War to hide any territories you are not adjacent to. And I hated it, because it provided so little information as to make me unable to make meaningful decisions.<br /><br />Bringing it back to D&D, I wondered if the reason it is hard to make D&D feel like a game is that the players rarely have enough information to make meaningful decisions. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02846071799831004752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-55607117931643035392016-08-31T09:30:49.204-06:002016-08-31T09:30:49.204-06:00James,
Then you must build a game design strategy...James,<br /><br />Then you must build a game design strategy that does not depend on what the players do.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-71736368404978921282016-08-31T03:59:48.043-06:002016-08-31T03:59:48.043-06:00I look at it as "no battle plan survives firs...I look at it as "no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy" kind of deal. Having a strategy and tactics for what to do when your plans fail makes a lot of sense, though wouldn't following some of your prior advice regarding decision-making versus problem-solving aid significantly?<br /><br />To use your prior example, if the problem is "water has turned to blood," your plans are quickly shot down if the players are uninterested, or if they get stuck in their investigation. Conversely, if you merely present the situation, and let the players choose their own course of action, your plans are less likely to fall apart because the players are already invested.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02846071799831004752noreply@blogger.com