• Square Singer@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    However, there is something nice about knowing a balanced way to do x or y across the board and at different tables.

    I don’t agree with this argument. Balancing is the job of the GM. Unless the GM acts as a glorified screenreader who only reads a pre-made adventure to the players with no influence what happens. But if the GM decides what monsters you run into, the GM has more influence over the balancing than the game framework. So why not lean into it fully and make the GM responsible for the whole balancing?

    I mean, pen&paper RPGs aren’t a players vs GM game, but instead the GM plays together with the players to create an interesting experience where everyone has fun. No need for the framework to do balancing, because a good GM will do that.

    • hukumka@lemmy.ml
      1·
      1 year ago

      While GM decides what monsters to throw into players, they still need to know what they could use without it being either underwhelming or overwhelming. You dismiss this simply by saying: “just be a good DM”.

      • New DM’s will want guidelines to start from.
      • If combat is important having written rules help to use consistent ruling on same situation in different instances.
      • Story focused DM might reduce amount of effort needed to plan combat, since there is no need to build it from scratch.

      Disadvantage of having to look up rules then you don’t remember them could be mitigated by just saying: Look guys, I don’t remember ruling now, so not to break the flow, I will rule it this way, and look it up later.

      So while for most players rule heavy systems are less accessible, they are actually more accessible for many DMs, and since mastering have much higher barrier of entry, such systems at least should not be dismissed outright.

    • Fushuan [he/him]@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      So why not lean into it fully and make the GM responsible for the whole balancing

      Because they should have fun too? Having to rule and improvise everything makes for a harder job for them, needing to keep track of everything to make it consistent, and it’s also bad for players too, since they don’t really know what to expect.

    • Horst_Voller@feddit.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      Balancing is the job of the GM.

      And some systems make that job easier for the GM than other systems. Winning all the time without challenge is boring. Getting TPKd every other session does not feel good. A good GM should hit somewhere in-between. So you either have a system that helps you do that or you really need to have a lot of experience.

    • PoTayToes@sh.itjust.works
      0·
      1 year ago

      So why not lean into it fully and make the GM responsible for the whole balancing?

      Because having things balanced properly in regard to the myriad options that are possible in people imaginations is hard, especially related to combat. Improper balacing leads to people having a bad time, while having an established, fair ruleset lets the DM and the players focus on other things.

      No need for the framework to do balancing, because a good GM will do that.

      But at this point why even have rules? A “good GM” can just entirely improvise a system.

      • TheGreatDarkness@ttrpg.networkOP
        0·
        1 year ago

        But at this point why even have rules? A “good GM” can just entirely improvise a system. On the other hand,. if you’re the slave to rules, are you even still the GM or just a refferee? It’s a sliding scale people fall on, honestly. 5e tried to have it cake and eat it too, insert itself in the middle. You could argue it succeeded, but that makes people naturally drift away from it in either direction. I just think we tend to forget the scale goes both ways and there are more options than Pathfinder with rules for everything.

        • iAmTheTot@kbin.social
          11·
          1 year ago

          You sound like you’re trying to say that GMs who run modules by the book aren’t real GMs, and that’s some gatekeepy bullshit.