tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815976.post5596770176767122321..comments2023-12-08T02:31:37.539-08:00Comments on Socratic Design: What is the 20:4 Ratio?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815976.post-70653319506017294742013-10-13T12:14:05.455-07:002013-10-13T12:14:05.455-07:00An interesting article, however, I would tend to d...An interesting article, however, I would tend to disagree with your stance about not touching the dice or utilizing the mechanics. I imagine this stems from a difference in philosphy in regard of what the purpose of mechanics are.<br /><br />In my estimation, the mechanics of a game do not exist to dictate what type of things the bulk of the game should focus on, but rather to provide support to the players' narrative. The mechanics of a system are tools that 1) Set a standard for how certain situations should be adjudicated. And 2) Give the players a platform from which to decide certain courses of action, by allowing them to use the standards of the mechanics to tailor their characters actions in order to reach a desired narrative outcome.<br /><br />To me, it seems like you're advocating a "if you're not playing the game this way, you're doing it wrong" sort of outlook. I've played in sessions of games where we didn't end up touching the dice, and it was never because of a failure of the system, but rather a matter of the narrative of that particulary session not requiring any mechanical support.<br /><br />Case in point: One session my group played revolved around conducting interviews of various NPCs when we were looking to hire another person to join our party in clearing out an a an abandoned fort. The entire session was pure roleplaying, and required the use of no mechanics, but was still in service of the narrative, which as a whole was supported by a rules system we enjoyed using.<br /><br />Ill make a comparison to the actual rolling of a die. Just because you haven't rolled a 20 over the course of 40 different rolls doesn't mean that there is something wrong with the die. All it means are that sometimes the normal expectation of a series of events doesn't neccesarily match the actual outcome of those events. Rolling a 20 sided die a slew of times doesn't neccesitate the rolling of a 20, nor does using a particular system neccesitate leaning on the system at all times. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11721475739247402179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815976.post-1451010663880942632013-07-11T01:38:28.865-07:002013-07-11T01:38:28.865-07:00Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let y...Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative. I can’t wait to read lots of your posts. <a href="http://channelbola.org/" rel="nofollow">Casino Online</a> <a href="http://channelbola.org/sbobet-casino/" rel="nofollow">338A</a> <a href="http://channelbola.org/game-bola-tangkas-gratis/" rel="nofollow">Bola Tangkas</a>Informan16https://www.blogger.com/profile/12734865061255677387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815976.post-84843583488096960622012-03-02T04:26:37.442-08:002012-03-02T04:26:37.442-08:00Heya,
Yeah, I'm really not sure who coined th...Heya,<br /><br />Yeah, I'm really not sure who coined the phrase. I wasn't worried about who got attribution for it, but if Mearls and Dancey (both really smart guys) said it, then the idea definately goes back to the origins of the indie RPG movement back on Gaming Outpost. Those guys were really active on that website and in fact, Mearls was involved in the early establishment of The Forge prior to getting his gig at WotC.<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />-TroyTroy_Costisickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025106072717054363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815976.post-80511970309397854022012-03-01T14:10:46.596-08:002012-03-01T14:10:46.596-08:00" It goes back to the early days of independe..." It goes back to the early days of independent RPG publishing"<br /><br />Actually, it was a phrase from a WOTC designer that was picked up for accurately summarizing the problem. I can't remember if it was Mike Mearls, Ryan Dancey, or who, but it came out of their massive studies into their player base.honeyhunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02173224694597517940noreply@blogger.com