tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post8615778653190169088..comments2024-03-12T22:45:16.936+01:00Comments on The Disoriented Ranger: The Devolution of Combat in D&D (a prelude)Jens D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-29680937361400834392016-05-21T18:11:04.066+02:002016-05-21T18:11:04.066+02:00Good one :D Means the same, though, in this case.Good one :D Means the same, though, in this case.Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-26327509772400538032016-05-21T18:10:26.878+02:002016-05-21T18:10:26.878+02:00Thanks! Yeah, totally forgot about the (failed) at...Thanks! Yeah, totally forgot about the (failed) attempt to make AD&D a tournament game. Idiot proofing is a good one and you are absolutely right that it needs to stop. That and the bloat. 350 pages for a set of rules that would need 60 all in all? No, thanks. I think some of the popularity of the OSR and DIY movement is that people appreciate to be treated exactly like you describe.<br /><br />Yeah, should have done two posts, should have proof read it ... I have the delusion that I try to finish the things I write in one sitting. This is wrong and I work on it, but if I'm not done with something the day I started it, I'll most likely not finish it or postpone indefinitely. Stupid, I know. Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-69500160958551632232016-05-21T18:00:14.521+02:002016-05-21T18:00:14.521+02:00Did I write users? I meant players. I think all th...Did I write users? I meant players. I think all that talk of idiot-proofing switched me into website design mode :-)JD McDonnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733422185181944721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-74807507651517197292016-05-21T17:58:07.892+02:002016-05-21T17:58:07.892+02:00Good post. It probably could have been two separat...Good post. It probably could have been two separate ones but I have the time this morning. The phrase that comes to mind is "idiot proofing" and it's the idea that the user is the weakest link in the chain and will screw up whatever they can screw up, as well as somethings you never imagined anyone could screw up. This is why instruction manuals are so god-awful to read, it's all the idiot-proofing you need to read around to figure out what needs to be done.<br /><br />For me, that is one thing that needs to go. Not only does idiot-proofing make the games blah to read and a chore to run but they also cast a negative light on the people who play them. You can't idiot-proof something without imagining your users as a bunch of idiots. Personally, I think games should be written with the idea that the user is of above-average intelligence, enough to realize that the game can be broken but shouldn't be broken because then it will cease to be fun.<br /><br />AD&D as idiot-proof OD&D? Yes, there is definitely some of that in there, but I think AD&D was scarred by the popularity of competition games held at conventions. I think the underlying desire was to create a game where a player's performance could be measured and used to tell the convention who the greatest player of the all was - something that everybody wanted to be at the time. <br /><br />AD&D was great in that it cleaned up some of the clutter of OD&D and presented it in books people could be proud of, but there also appears to be a hidden agenda to turn it into a sport which did the system no favors.JD McDonnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733422185181944721noreply@blogger.com