Re: Difficulty Balance

On Thu, 11 Jan 2007, gleichman wrote:
> "Simon Smith" <simon_smith_news@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:c661b5a34e.zen44412@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> I have to agree with Mary here. And even if it's still possible to
>> roleplay
>> during a really difficult scenario, it's going to be easier still to
>> roleplay in a slightly easier scenario.

> This is nothing more than "Gamist == hack & Slash == roll-player not
> role-player" nonsense all dressed up in not so new clothes.

> I find it objectable in the extreme.

I'm not sure that's true, though I think it might point to why so many 
people make that assumption.

I think it has to do with how people approach role-playing.  There are 
people who decide what their characters will do and people who think in 
character.  I'm the latter sort.  So is Mary.  I find it incredibly 
difficult to juggle both thinking in character and thinking about combat 
in a tactically optimal and omniscient way.  Thus the more tactical 
thinking I do, the less in character role-playing I'm usually doing.

A key part of Gamism (r.g.f.a sense) is challenging the *player*.  When I 
role-play immersively, I don't want to be thinking as myself as the 
player.  I want to be thinking in character.  Some people have no trouble 
thinking about the game from their character's perspective and also from 
the player's perspective or toggling quickly between the two.  Some do. 
I do (I got into a rather lengthy debate with Vincent Baker and others 
about this on RPGnet).  Thus for me (and others), the goals of Gamism 
conflict with immersion and thus, by extension, "role-playing".  The 
problem is the assumption that everyone has the same problems and 
limitations that I do, and vice versa.

What I think might help here is if you explained what role-playing means 
to you and how it gets managed in practice in your games.  It would be 
interesting to know if your players are doing the same thing I'm doing but

deal with the situation better or if they are doing something different or

doing it a different way.

John Morrow