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RPGnet Columns
05-23-2005, 02:22 AM
Post originally by Dan Hemmens at 2005-05-23 01:22:03
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Having read your article, I'm not entirely sure what you're objecting to, or what exactly you're proposing.

When you say "advantages" and "disadvantages" what on earth are you talking about? Do you mean merit/flaw systems?

You seem to say that advantages are bad, because you can have an advantage (in game) without a "the corresponding disadvantage". This is obvious nonsense. In any game with a points buy system, buying any "advantage" forces you to compromise elsewhere. Of course, from your article you seem to imply that any given advantage should have a *specific* corresponding disadvantage. This is also nonsensical. If you're smart, you have to be unstable, and can't be strong? Is that *really* what you observe in the "real world"?

You seem to be making one point so obvious it is hardly worth making (interesting characters should have flaws), one point that is actually relatively interesting (an advantage/disadvantage system is not necessarily the best way to provide flaws in the dramatic sense of the word), and a number of other points that are largely unintelligable (I don't quite understand why you think advantages are a "myth", or what all this has to do with a lack of complex resolution mechanics for seduction).

RPGnet Columns
05-23-2005, 04:32 AM
Post originally by Callan at 2005-05-23 03:32:37
Converted from Phorums BB System

It's basically a backlash against optimised characters where the player has 'smoothed out' the penalty. So they have a smart character, but no notable penalty to go with it, because they have spread out the penalty wisely enough to avoid that.

It's a basic game play style clash, where one sytle of play is to design the best character you can (so he gives optimal performace) and the other is...to design the best character you can (in this case, the best way is so he has flaws which aggitate the story in interesting ways). And as usual, one preference is touted as the best, while the other is scorned as the writer recalls his bad memories of clashing with that play style.