Not entirely a game design consideration. I, as a player, usually know
the systems being run well enough that I can make a decision based on how
the system will handle a situation better than I can in real life. ;) I can
definitely do it faster than the GM, in most cases.
Comes from being a GM for so many systems, and being good at maths, I
suppose.
Deliberate imprecision is good for several reasons, but there can, and
usually will, be a distinction between the narrator's precision of
knowledge, the players', and the heroes'.
For example, back to distances. The narrator can work out how far and how
fast for a trip to try and beat something/someone to the destination in as
much detail as they like or can. Then he feeds info to the players, who
have their heroes act on it. The heroes will probably have a better idea of
distance, travel speed, conditions, &c than the players, and will probably
know the info with more precision. This difference may or may not be useful
to the heroes. Then, the heroes attempt to beat the something/someone to
the destination, the players rolling versus a difficulty derived from the
narrator's calculations; if the figuring was close, the difficulty will be
average. If it was significantly different, the difficulty may be a lot
harder or easier. If it is too easy, the narrator might add a problem or
two to be overcome on the way.
--
| Paul May | paul.robert.may_at_...
| Kax Hoplodyne, Ltd | kax_at_...
| MIB 1138; RD Australia | the_kax_at_...
| PGP key on www.pgp.net | spell_at_...
I'm an omnitheist. You can't have too many messiahs.
----------
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.799 / Virus Database: 543 - Release Date: 19/11/04
Powered by hypermail