Recent content by Reynard

Other way around: all scifi is fantasy, because it deals with things that don't exist. Not all speculative fiction is fantasy or sci-fi. For example, Handmaid's Tale is speculative fiction without either science fiction nor fantasy elements -- it simply speculates about what may happen under a...

I disagree. In the example we don't care about modeling stealth in a game that has no rules for it. We are getting to some potential result. The difference is in the latter we don't have to try and kludge together a set of rules about cover and lighting and perception, we just have to set a...

I think the point was that people want their characters to feel part of the world.

That's probably why I like it so much. I can't really get into actual Japanese anime because there are some storytelling tropes and narrative concepts that I never quite get, usually making the experience unsatisfying in some way or another. That said, anime as a broad term for that style of...

I don't understand this statement in the context of the discussion. We aren't talking about modeling anything. We are talking about setting stakes and consequences within a specific one off context.

Why? Nothing else in play does that.

But as I said, you start with the result you want to see. If you do that you can't end up with a ridiculous result.

I simply disagree. There is never a reasonable excuse to intentionally include a "crappy result" as an outcome. It's counterproductive to the whole process. What the hell are you doing if you think an unsatisfying, anticlimactic, boring result is a reasonable outcome?

I trust that players can come up with all sorts of goofy crap I did not see coming.

This is where understanding the core system and being a competent adjudicator come in. If this situation comes up, the first thing to do is figure out what you want out of the attempt and resolution, then leverage what you do have to achieve that for that moment in play. Your absolutely are NOT...

Oh, gawd, that poor AI.

I don't understand your reasoning that it is going to produce a "cruddy result." Can you elaborate on what you mean by "cruddy" and explain why you think it will be so?

Podcasts yes, but I find it easier and preferable to just switch to Turbo of Lithium when I need music.

That is not what I said. I said that the difficulty of the game is up to the GM, and if there is a problem with the difficulty (too easy or too hard) it is the GM's fault.

My condolences. I can't take DJs or commercials, so Serius XM is well worth the cost.