Day 15,106
Sometimes I find myself reading a thread on RPG.net or Paizo.com and wonder to myself why it's so important to dissect and shaved down the wording of rules. There'll be threads that go on and on, debating the precise meaning of some rule phrase, and they go on until some recognized authority (only rarely the game publisher) makes some statement. But in half the cases, even after some official ruling is made, most of the participates immediately say they'll just house-rule it to their particular interpretation anyway.
I mean, I've been known to argue a rule interpretation or two myself (Hunter gets it from me, I suspect), but even so, this just all seems like so much chest beating and display behaviour. Which brings me back to my theory that the reason many of us were drawn to, and play, RPGs, is to display mastery of something esoteric. In the same way that people like to brag about kill scores in First Person Shooters, or their level 80 Death Knight who can solo some raid mob, or even how someone will show off their muscle car... for RPG players, we reveal our mastery by discussing the miniutia of the rules.
I'm not sure, but I might have broken Graham's will in Hube's Pocket. He's convinced I'm going to win initiative and that he's got no chance to win. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the situation and thinking that I've completely bollixed up the defense and can't fix it. We're going to find out who's right tomorrow, I expect.
I mean, I've been known to argue a rule interpretation or two myself (Hunter gets it from me, I suspect), but even so, this just all seems like so much chest beating and display behaviour. Which brings me back to my theory that the reason many of us were drawn to, and play, RPGs, is to display mastery of something esoteric. In the same way that people like to brag about kill scores in First Person Shooters, or their level 80 Death Knight who can solo some raid mob, or even how someone will show off their muscle car... for RPG players, we reveal our mastery by discussing the miniutia of the rules.
I'm not sure, but I might have broken Graham's will in Hube's Pocket. He's convinced I'm going to win initiative and that he's got no chance to win. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the situation and thinking that I've completely bollixed up the defense and can't fix it. We're going to find out who's right tomorrow, I expect.