Re: mechanics of surprise

On Mon, 5 Mar 2007, John Morrow wrote:

> And I'm sorry if you don't like the implications of the comparison, but 
> would you really accept your own argument about what it means to apply 
> the same rules to two groups if we were talking about two ethnic groups 
> instead of PCs and NPCs and laws instead of rules?  Somehow, I doubt it.

Okay, I'll bite. What's that real world comparison got to do with the pros

and cons of game design? How is comparing Neel's argument to that used by 
sup****ters of apartheid a meaningful point?

For example, I'm comfortable with participating in non-democratic gaming 
groups that unilaterally bestows executive power in perpetuity to one 
individual (the DM), but I'm not comfortable with living under a 
non-democratic government that does the same thing. How does comparing the

first position to the second position meaningfully contribute to a 
discussion about distributing executive power in a gaming group?

It seems to me that such comparisons do little more than imply that the 
person who sup****ts the first position is either the sort of person who 
would sup****t the second position or the sort of person who holds 
irrational, inconsistent beliefs. Either suggestion doesn't reflect well 
on the person who sup****ts the first position - which is perhaps why Neel 
was offended by the comparison.

Cheers,

Gary Johnson
-- 
Home Page: http://www.uq.net.au/~zzjohnsg
X-Men Campaign Resources: http://members.optusnet.com.au/xmen_campaign
Fantasy Campaign Setting: http://www.uq.net.au/~zzjohnsg/selentia.htm
Perrenland Webmaster: http://perrenland.rpga-apac.com