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How much does the lack of consistency in rules affect your gameplay experience?

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Jayde Moon

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« Reply #45 on: <11-02-18/1558:22> »
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The thing you call me out for, is in principle something many of your forum-buddies do to a way more hostile degree.

This is another example.  Your choice to use the term 'forum-buddies' conveys an undertone that there is favoritism going on; in choosing to ask you to mind your tone, we are allowing others to act with impunity.

It's a subtle attack, it's unnecessary, and it's incorrect.

So stop that nonsense.
That's just like... your opinion, man.

PingGuy

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« Reply #46 on: <11-02-18/1617:27> »
Strictness? I didnt have any problem with people mentioning the Marvel stuff in context, but the last like 4-5 posts were simply insiders-talk about marvel, obviously off-topic. I much more think that you lack a basic understanding of how forum threads are supposed to work. (I hope you understand this as the criticism it is, and not as an offense, thanks).

Ok, let's start here.  The misunderstanding is on your side.  You can post whatever you want, you can ask whatever you want, and you can hope for useful replies.  You can't tell others what they can post, or how they must respond to you.  You don't get to decide that.  Unless you are being trolled or your thread is being hijacked in such a way as to ruin it, then you have to accept that other's posts are their own.  You can respond or ignore them as you wish.

Thanks for sharing the story of your life. You are not the only one with a certain degree of experience here, so please be understanding towards my position: I cared ever since about good rules, and the more I think about it, the more certain I am, that I should care about rules.

Why would I be understanding towards your position when you just dismissed mine?  You can care about the rules, you can care about how much you care about the rules.  It's still your opinion, just like anybody else's.  Caring about the rules is subjective, period.

And please stop making the argument, that mediocre rules support a story or character play. It's a fallacy as I pointed out multiple times. Feel free to attack my reasoning, if you can come up with something else than subjective anecdotal evidence. (Again, no offense, but reading and examining the context, what you do seems to be appealing to anecdotal evidence.)

Again, you misunderstand.  I am not saying that mediocre rules support the story or character play.  I am saying that some people care more about things other than the rules, and as such the holes don't bother them.  People like that probably are more concerned with the story or the interplay between characters.

Thats not even half true. People actually ASKED about those glaring holes. I thought everyone was already aware of many of those.

Many of the holes are well known about, many have no clarifications to this day.  Some will be new, and yours may well be.  That wasn't the point.  The point was that new or old, some people will care more about the holes and some will not.  You seem to be operating on the idea that caring about the rules clarity should be a universal quality for enjoyment of the game, and I'm saying it doesn't have to be.

Yea, that's why I started this thread: I wanted to find out, how DIFFERENT people care about the holes in the rules. Yet you and your buddys try to shut the discussion down with arguments like "rules dont care anyways". You totally neglect, that there are indeed people, who commented, that the lack of rules are actually a problem for them. So all your "Happy World-EverythingIsTotally-Nice"-Attitude is just a fake, because you simply ignore people who explicitly tell, that it isnt.

Of course there will be people who feel both ways.  I think in this thread my side is more heavily represented than yours, but that doesn't really matter.  You seem incapable of accepting "it doesn't" as an answer to your question, so people pushed back on your responses.  You've been less than personable in some of your responses, and that doesn't breed grace or cooperation among those who tried to help you.  I'm speaking both about this thread and the others you've created.  When people have said "there is no clear answer, but this is how it's often handled" you chastised them for adding the latter part.  That's not acceptable.  You created the thread, but you aren't in charge of the other participants.  If they are following the forum rules then you have to accept you will get responses you don't like or care for.

Yea, but for those it wouldnt be too much of a problem, to change to a universal system, if they would care about rules as well. Just saying.

Yes, people do this, and it's not discouraged, but it's also not required.  I like the SR5 system in general, enough so that I wouldn't switch to an alternate rules system just because it has some flaws.  If you chose to do so, nobody would tell you that you shouldn't.  There have been threads about it here before, and they were met with advice, not rebuttals.

Like Chess, you mean? Fallacy!

Sigh...  Chess is not a complicated system, though it does allow for complex strategies.  Shadowrun, is a complex system, compared to the other systems out there (D&D, Pathfinder, etc.).  Each piece in chess has limited options, and AFAIK you can't install cyberware on a rook while still trying to maintain some essence to cast spells.  Chess might as well be checkers when compared to any RPG system, let alone Shadowrun.

Na, it already matters in the preparation of your character, but you probably wouldn't understand, as someone who does not play to the rules in the same way, as other people do.

I do understand why it matters to you, it used to matter to me.  If the GM and the player are willing to discuss something and come to an agreement, a gap in the rules isn't an actual problem.  If you need the rules to be strict so you never have to discuss or negotiate with the GM then of course it matters.  I'm the GM in my group and I'm always willing to work with a player to let them do what they want as long as it's not game-breaking.

In my opinion, this is wrong. First of all, I would ask, how you can judge "good" and "bad" groups so easily. What makes the good ones good and the bad ones bad? Is competing intrinsically bad? Is obeying to the GM intrinsically good?
There is this japanese rule system, which forces the GM to interpret all ambiguities in the rules in favor of the Players. I think this is way more a cooperative approach, than "listen to the GM's judgement, because the GM has superior taste".

And in my opinion it is right, we can disagree without forcing each other to accept our viewpoint.  A good group is one who wants to play a game and have fun.  A bad group is one where they are willing to disrupt the game or fight the GM to get their way, even if the GM shows why their way would hurt the game.  Mind you, I'm not saying that disagreeing with the GM is wrong, disagreements will happen.  But a player who cares more about getting their way than having an enjoyable game is a problem.

Dont get me wrong, I do not deny, that you can have fun playing SR the way you describe it. But I feel like you want to tell other people who dont have the same kind of preferences, that they play it "wrong". I dont think you intend to make this sound cocky, but to me it totally does.

And i feel like you are doing the same thing to those who don't care as much about having perfect rules.  I don't deny that you can have fun while caring about the rules, but rules lawyering can lead to contention and disruption and those are counter-productive to fun. 

It answers the question, how you deal with it, yea. Thanks. Yet, you tried to answer the question "in general", and from my point of view, you fail to do so, and that is to be expected, in a question, that is trying to elaborate on the point of view of different people.

Honestly I don't really know what you are trying to say here.  Some people care about strict and perfect rules, some don't.  Their experiences with SR5 will differ because of that.  That's all I'm saying.

For me and many players I met, consistent rules have a certain kind of quality all by themselves: It makes me feel to be in a more dynamic and stable world, as opposed the situation when I know about holes in rules.

That's fine, but that's not required for everybody.  If you trust your GM to be fair and provide a fun session then rules perfection doesn't matter as much.  There is no reason you can't care about this, but this system doesn't have perfect rules, so you have to find a way to live with that, or use a different rules system in place of it.

Depends on playstyle and attitude. Add a "for me" and I can say: Yea, I can see how this works for you. But I can see, that for others it doesnt.

And if you add a "for me" to your statement it works the same way.  I'm glad to see that you accept that it works differently for others.

I could go at it again and again. Here's a really basic attempt: Can you imagine, that someone would have fun playing according to a stable set of rules? Can you imagine people having fun solving logics puzzles? Studying math? Programming simulations?
Yes, all of those are different from roleplaying. But all of them give you that vibe of "things falling wonderfully into place, yet giving birth to an enigmatic beauty by sheer emergence". This is how great roleplay sometimes feels for me. I would love to get more of that kind of stuff.

Yes, I can imagine that.  I enjoy many of those things.  But for me, it's more important that a GM integrates my backstory into the campaign than that we have the same understanding of how every rule works.  If we have a misunderstanding we will address it together and move on.  I understand that is an issue for you, and that's fine, but you started this thread looking for information from others, and we are giving you our opinions on it.

This again, seems to be an educated guess at best. I could as well claim, that many do not, and drop the system in favor of something more consistent. How would you make your point more valid than mind?

I would base it on the time I've spent reading these forums and the Shadowrun Reddit.  I've read threads going back many years since 5th came out.  There is some discussion of alternate rule systems and discussion of gaps or contradictions of the rules, but the result often ends with suggested methods for a GM to handle it, which you haven't been interested to hear in any of your threads.  It's nearly overwhelming, when a rule can't be clarified, people work together to try and come up with a solution a GM can use.  Only rarely does somebody suggest using an alternate rules system.

Jayde Moon

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« Reply #47 on: <11-02-18/1642:58> »
An evidence-based example that players are generally content with open-ended, GM-empowering (and player-empowering) rules interpretation, and in fact prefer it, is this push for very open-ended rulesets that eschew heavily codified play in favor of compact mechanics and heavy narrative.
Many of these are heavily crowd-sourced and most are critically praised for their simplicity and player empowerment.

The two biggest examples off the top of my head are the Fate Core system and Monte Cookxs Cypher system.  Hell, Shadowrun even has one, Shadowrun Anarchy.

I can't think of a single notable (heavily resourced or funded) effort to create a 'no stone unturned' RPG system.

Those choices are market based, heavily researched and analyzed for risk, so they weigh pretty heavily in my mind, as a very broad response to this topic.

It still doesn't mean that wanting more codified rulesets is in any way less valid, Imyself don't care for any of the above named systems,  but it does serve to show that the market is less concerned about exacting mechanics and more about the story aspects.
That's just like... your opinion, man.

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« Reply #48 on: <11-02-18/1730:55> »
Quote from: Notion
Mediocre rules support a story or character play.
Since when did rules dictate story?

Quote from: Notion
Yea alright, I agree. Many people only care about the story and freeform anyways. For those rule holes are irrelevant. Yet even among those, there is no harm in consistent rules. So I understand, that people who dont care about rules got no problem with lack of rules. But on the other hand, they are not harmed in any way by good rules either, right?
You originally asked how rules inconsistency affected others experience. Yeah sure, cleaning up rules won't hurt a story, it's also just not necessary. I'm all for clear rules, but I won't let broken and nonfunctional rules inhibit my story.
« Last Edit: <11-02-18/1736:07> by 忍 »

Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #49 on: <11-02-18/1746:23> »
Those choices are market based, heavily researched and analyzed for risk, so they weigh pretty heavily in my mind, as a very broad response to this topic.

It still doesn't mean that wanting more codified rulesets is in any way less valid, Imyself don't care for any of the above named systems,  but it does serve to show that the market is less concerned about exacting mechanics and more about the story aspects.

I see what you mean, and sure, market preferences are evidence. Yet:

1. Not everything the market prefers is necessarily good. Even though many people buy Daimler-Benz Cars, Daimler-Benz still did scam them hardcore all over the globe. As an extreme example. Like if Daimler-Benz was a bit more "open source", they might have had a discussion about "should we really scam our customers"? And this discussion would have been a useful one.

2. You are statistically wrong:

https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/38060/top-5-roleplaying-games-spring-2017

http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?4800-Fantasy-Grounds-Game-Stats-for-2017-D-D-5E-Up-By-6-Pathfinder-Holds-Steady!

With DnD5, Pathfinder and Edge of the Empire having the largest part of market share, those are indeed 3 systems which focus a whole lot on rule accuracy.

Notion, are you at least willing to concede that there are people who have different tastes in RPGs than you?  It seems you've well established your opinion that a lack of ambiguity in the rules is not just a desirable thing, but the MOST desirable thing in a RPG.  Not everyone agrees with that opinion.  Just as (for example) you might insist the most important thing about evaluating a house for purchase is the kitchen, maybe others care more about the yard/acreage.  Or the neighborhood. or the # of bathrooms.  Insisting that the kitchen is the most important thing is fine, but you really have to expect that others may not share your opinion when discussing sale of a house.

Particularly so when you consider the self-selection factor.  You've pointed out, and we've generally all agreed, that Shadowrun has pretty ambiguous rules.  But we're all still here, fans of the game despite that.  Some might prefer to say the rules are "flexible" instead, but I think we can agree ambiguous is a not incorrect way to describe many rules quirks.  We've (generally) all been in agreement on that.  The trouble you seem to have been having, from my point of view, is that not everyone has been agreeing that the agreed-upon ambiguity is a bad thing.

Look again at those sources you yourself cited.  The second one says that on a specific online platform, Shadowrun is reported being played just over 1000 times out of 600,000+ recorded games across all sorts of rules engines.  Yet the first one lists Shadowrun being the #5 best-selling game system.  Why the discrepancy?  Well, the hypothesis that leaps right out at me is games that have less ambiguity/flexibility/weak GMs (Pathfinder, etc) are better suited to online play, such as a venue providing the stats in your second link.  Online play allows the computer to adjudicate some of the rules mechanics, and of course the less ambiguous/flexible-in-application the rules are, the easier they are to port to a computer-assisted venue.  The more ambiguous/more flexible/stronger GM systems inherently require a human referee and computer assistance is less useful.... ergo less advantage is gained in playing such rules systems online.  If they're played less online doesn't mean they're played less overall (assuming you can infer greater sales meaning greater play).

Anyway, having participated in the thread early on and watched its development since: Notion I don't know what more you'd like out of this thread. One productive avenue that could be explored is the relative merits of more amgiuity/more flexibility vs less ambiguity/less flexibility (wording it that way since Strong/Weak GMs seems unpopular).  In order to have that conversation though you'd have to recognize that more flexibility in how the rules work/are applied may be something other people want/like, even at the price of more ambiguity.
« Last Edit: <11-02-18/1750:50> by Stainless Steel Devil Rat »
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

PingGuy

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« Reply #50 on: <11-02-18/1748:05> »
Why would Ping even refer to his age and experience in the way he did? Do you not think, that I might be offended in how he implicitly calls me a little girl who is too stupid to care about the "right" things?

I'm going to respond to this even though you directed it to Jayde Moon.  I didn't implicitly call you anything.  You seem to be reading something into what others are saying and reacting due to that instead of what they actually said.  When I was young I saw RPG's differently than I do now.  When I was young I might have agreed with you more.  The way I see them now, I don't agree with you as much.  That is what I'm saying and what I mean, period.

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You can write whatever you want, but if you hijack my threads I will report you for doing so, this is actually one of the reasons for moderation. And it's common sense in each and every forum I ever discussed in. This time I just asked you to go back to topic in order to not have a discussion with moderation once more. But if you dont understand the point of a thread being supposed to be on topic, I will go back to reporting, no problem.

This isn't prison, it's an internet forum.  While threads shouldn't get hijacked or trolled, a little off-topic banter will happen and it's not a big deal.  This is part of why I said you have a love for strictness.  If a few off-topic posts, that started on topic, bothers you so much then I don't know what to tell you.  If the mods want to move those posts into a new thread to clean this one up i have no problem with that.  We're a community, we can get chatty, it happens.

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I am understanding for your position towards how you have fun. I just think you are not able to make a claim about how people in general (should) have fun with roleplaying games. This difference is elemental for this thread.

I'm not making any claim of how people should have fun.  I'm saying I have my opinions and you have your opinions.  When people posted opinions you didn't like you got upset.  You can't make a thread and expect only opinions that agree with yours.

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Yea alright, I agree. Many people only care about the story and freeform anyways. For those rule holes are irrelevant. Yet even among those, there is no harm in consistent rules. So I understand, that people who dont care about rules got no problem with lack of rules. But on the other hand, they are not harmed in any way by good rules either, right?

That is correct.  If SR5 had perfect rules it wouldn't bother me, it would be a good thing.  But it doesn't, and that doesn't bother me either.

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No, that's not what I say. Actually, I agree with you: You can write a system with really bad rules, and there will still be people who are able to enjoy it. And their joy is as legit as anyones' else. Yet there is a certain set of people (and I wanted to find out how many those are, and how they deal with the issues at hand), which do consider rules a quality at least for their own joy.

That's fine, and you got some responses like that.  Not all of the responses were like that though, and you seemed to have a problem with that.

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Oh please, this is a strawman. I dont ever said, that people are not allowed to say "I dont mind broken rules". I accept it as an individual answer. And I did this from the very beginning of this thread. Anything you say that contradicts this position is simply made up to badmouth me.

What I do NOT accept though, is the "Because I do not mind, nobody minds" implication, which some peoply try to make. We had more than one person, who said that it is a severe issue, therefore "nobody cares" is invalidated by example. The implication does not hold true.

This feels like a reading comprehension issue.  I said there were more responses that agree with me, and then I said that didn't matter.  I'm not telling you how to enjoy the game.  Let me say that again, I'm not telling you how to enjoy the game.

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Usually, 'complicated' and 'complex' are not used interchangible. The one refers to the difficulty of accessing a certain system (which indeed is somewhat low for chess), while complexity is a measurement for the dynamics and interacting parts of a system. When it comes to the latter I assume that Chess is far more complex, than most Shadowrun Scenes, regarding mere gameplay elements. I do not doubt, that roleplaying games need to be a bit more complicated than chess, but there are indeed rpg systems which avoid rule holes by simplicity while still creating a high degree of complexity.

We're not talking about Shadowrun scenes, but we can if you would like.  You started this thread about the consistency of the rules, and we've been discussing the rules all along.  Chess does not have complicated/complex/intricate rules, Shadowrun does.  That is my point.

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That kind of depends, doesn't it? I prefer to tell my players "You are allowed to do whatever the rules offer", so they can have fun figuring out some synergies and dynamics by themselves. I think this is more fun than "Alright, tell me what you want to play and we will make rules so it works." The first one might be a bit more restrictive, but at the same time it values the creativity of players in a different way. That's not the only reason though, but I think it might be boring to elaborate on that point too long. Let me know if you want me to though.

You are saying things that make it sound like Shadowrun has holes in the rules everywhere you look.  Maybe you don't mean that, but it comes off that way.  Shadowrun has some holes, they are mostly introduced in supplemental books that don't jive with other supplemental books.  Your players can look at the rules and in most cases there will be a clear answer if they do enough research.  When that doesn't happen, the GM steps in and makes a rule.  This is normal for Shadowrun.  If that bothers you then you have complete control to use another rule system to solve the problem or whatever solution makes you happy.

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A good group is one who wants to play a game and have fun.  A bad group is one where they are willing to disrupt the game or fight the GM to get their way, even if the GM shows why their way would hurt the game.  Mind you, I'm not saying that disagreeing with the GM is wrong, disagreements will happen.  But a player who cares more about getting their way than having an enjoyable game is a problem.

This is one possible hierarchy imo. For sure, I had GMs which did lead the party in a reasonable way, and trusting them wasnt a bad choice. But to be honest, I dislike the atmosphere those GMs create on the table. I think each player has at least as much a stake in playing their character to their hearts content, as the GM has, to engage in play and story development. That might be just me playing quite some player empowered systems or sandboxing campaigns with player flags. But I enjoy it way more, when the GM does not have any exclusive right, but has just as much to abide to the meta-rules, as the players do.

I left both of our quotes in this one for context.  I think we may be misunderstanding each other here.  You should be able to trust the GM to run a fun and fair game.  I don't see how that would prevent a player from having a stake in playing their character the way they want to.  There will be GM's who use their own fiat to control the game in the way they prefer, but that is not advisable.  The trust goes both ways, the GM shouldn't try to mess with the players and the players shouldn't try to mess with the GM.

Strict rules would certainly protect a player from something like this, and Shadowrun's rules are pretty well detailed to do so.  It's when there's a hole you have to worry about it, and that should be the GM's call.  But the GM has a duty to make a fair call, and if I couldn't trust a GM to do that, I wouldn't play in their game.  I hope that clears things up a bit.

adzling

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« Reply #51 on: <11-02-18/1839:34> »
Hey Notion,

as someone who agrees with you on the state of the rules and as someone who often gives 2 shits about what people think about my comments (i.e. I can also be abrasive at times) I have to say that some of your posts do come across as angry and insulting.

Take what you will from that.

mbisber

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« Reply #52 on: <11-02-18/2000:30> »
With DnD5, Pathfinder and Edge of the Empire having the largest part of market share, those are indeed 3 systems which focus a whole lot on rule accuracy.
So, in my opinion: Edge of Empire sucks; Pathfinder is great until you get to higher levels when it gets silly; I'm going to play my first D&D5 in a week or two.

I've played all of the D&Ds up to 3.5, beginning in 1976. They all were fine. Savage Worlds is too limited.

Sit down with the GM and work out your issues. Are Ally Spirits, Channeling, et.al. so integral to your Role Playing?

Shadowrun 5E offers a lot of versatile possibilities for creative players (along with 7th Sea 1.0). Why are you quibbling over confusing rules!? Play the game or don't. No one is forcing you to play. Move on.


PiXeL01

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« Reply #53 on: <11-02-18/2323:29> »
I’m getting the feeling this thread will be locked soon because it’s basiclally just a troll thread.
Notion, you cannot change anyone’s opinion nor can they change ours, so it is probably best for everyone just to move on.
That’s usually what I do when a thread reaches a certain level, just go oh well and move on.
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Marcus

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« Reply #54 on: <11-03-18/0047:00> »
Ping, Reaver, 忍, pixel and I, are not Trolling you Notion, this board is famous for wandering down where ever a tangent to the topic takes us, go read some threads, I'm not making that up. It's not personal issue, or matter of disrespect to discuss something that randomly comes up, we always do that. Your issue seems to be you have a habit of going straight to personal insults and clearly staying very upset about the whole thing.

I've been waiting to so see if you are just trolling or if you have point. I can tell you for sure your knowledge of the system is incomplete. Yeah clearly you read the rules, but you looked and saw what you wanted to see, and you didn't go any deeper to understand the constraints or intention of the system. The mods here are very patient, you can say/yell/spray paint, bad things about the game until your blue in the face, but it's not helpful. Suggested rules changes is helpful, saying where you think something specific rule or system element went wrong can helpful. But just saying the rules are terrible and you all are bad, isn't going anywhere useful. My personal suggestion is stop posting angry. If you are mad take a walk, get some food, the forums aren't going anywhere (Well they might go down but they always come back, lol).

I also play or have played FFG Starwars, 5th Edition, and Pathfinder. To me Edge of Empire is a great game, a rules system that requires a great deal of imagination on the part of the players and GM to play as it is intended. It and its sister games are pretty typical of the FFG table top method. 5th Edition is clean and neat, it's 2nd edition crossed with 3.5 with a tiny bit of 4th.  It's easy to pick up, it's easy to convert old mods to, even on the fly. The writing for it is nice, and they are going very slowly when it come releases compared to say 4th. I wouldn't say ether are games of great rules accuracy, FFG Star wars is at heart a narrative system it just happens that it's profitable to have more rules and cool gear; so it has lots of rules and lots of cool gear. 5th is built around simple easy to play concepts, I have advantage, i have disadvantage, I have advantage again etc. So long as your trying at table with 5e, then you're doing it right.

Pathfinder I'll give you is all about rules accuracy. No question, 3.5 taken to Nth Limit. It's current issue being it's under so much book bloat it takes two SRD's, a box full core rule books, 4 years of reading the Piazo forums, the latest PFS errata PDF, and then a short thesis to actually make a valid rules argument with any confidence. I'm hopeful that Pathfinder 2.0 is going to a be a great system, and probably one that will also be all about rules accuracy.

I don't care if you like me, or hate my guts. It's a forum, arguing is about half the point, but it's the argument not the person who posted that you need to go after.
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Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #55 on: <11-03-18/0237:44> »
Notion, you really are having difficulty telling the difference between being trolled and someone simply disagreeing with you.  My posts upthread have all been questioning the validity of the premise your entire thread is predicated upon: SR rules are so out of whack it poses difficulties in playing the game.  My saying that some people have no difficulties at all to overcome isn't me trolling you, it's me saying simply that.  For some people, all it takes is a GM giving a moment of thought and saying "This is how we'll handle this." and the game moves on.

You know what's ironic?  I've had several rules arguments based on rules language/precision with some of the same people you're having issues with.  I think Marcus is still sore about some of them since he didn't bother clarifying that he was sure I wasn't trolling you too, along with the others he cited ;)  Check out threads on whether mundanes can perceive purely astral phenomenae, and whether a "controlled burst" may lay down suppressive fire.  I've argued rules precision and technicalities well beyond most people's ability to patiently appreciate.  But where you and I have been fundamentally different in our arguments about how the rules do/should work, in my view, is I've always be arguing about RAW and RAI from a position of purely academic point of view... better on the forum outside of any entanglements such as GM's prerogative... all while recognizing that GM's prerogative trumps both RAW and RAI.

If you want a game with minimal table variation, look at the SRM house rules.  99% of those house rules/rules judgements are there for the purpose of minimizing table variation.  It's Shadowrun, but with a lot more rules consistency between GMs than there would be between two conventional home campaigns.  If that's still not up to your standards, then honestly Shadowrun may not be the game for you.  Pathfinder style rules precision is not and has never been a priority.  Take that as you will.

If none of the above helps you or is of interest to you, then here's an anecdotal example of how I overcame a case of the rules being inconsistent to the point I found it bothersome:  Defense Tests and Area Indirect Spells.  E.G. do you or don't you get to dodge a fireball?  In different places in the book, the rules say you do get to dodge.  In other rules, they say you don't.  You can't both get, and not get, a dodge test, so you have to pick which rules to ignore.  In a home game, the GM just picks.  Probably a wise GM solicits and strongly considers the players' preferences.  Of course it's pretty much a given that if you ask X RPG gamers their opinion on anything, you won't get a universally agreed upon answer, so it still ultimately goes back to the GM making the final decision.  Now in my case, I mainly play SRM.  "The GM just decides" isn't supposed to be 'a thing' in SRM, afterall.  The CDT agent that runs for my area plays that you do get dodge tests.  I made the mistake of making arguments pretty similar to yours.  "It's not technically correct, so you're wrong!" was pretty much my approach, and guess what.  New guy telling CDT and his regulars what's what didn't go over well.  As Gomer Pyle would say: "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"  Fortunately for me I realized I need to shut the hell up and can it before I was disinvited to participate.  Still, much like I suspect you feel Notion, the technically correct way to apply the rules is the best way to apply the rules.  SRM is explicitly not supposed to have house rules (other than those the SRM developer says it should have, of course) so sure, "doing it wrong" kinda rubbed me the wrong way.. in ways it wouldn't have in a home game where the same guy GMing could have said "Frag it, this is how we're answering 'can you dodge fireballs' for my campaign".

So what did I do?  I researched the hell out of it, particularly here on this forum.  Long story short, there's pretty much a valid argument to answer the question either way, but the general (and completely unofficially stated) point of view of the Powers That Be is that the answer 'should' be: "No, you can't dodge a fireball".  But again, some rules in the rulebook clearly say or support the idea that you can.  So for all my stress, it circled back to "the GM just decides."  While I'm not a CDT myself, I've begun running some SRM games in the same group so the CDT guy gets to play sometimes.  I've noticed that some players conveniently never sign up when I run, and I chalk that up to my being an ass when I first joined them.  But for those who do show, I allow them to dodge fireballs too.  I disagree that's the most technically correct way to interpret the conflicting rules, but I recognize you need to pick your battles.  Is it THAT important to be technically correct that I don't even have ANY players wanting to play?  Hell no it isn't.  Player preference trumps my opinion of what's most technically correct, and this is for SRM where I'm not even allowed to make house rules/willfully apply the rules 'wrong'.
« Last Edit: <11-03-18/0246:44> by Stainless Steel Devil Rat »
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Michael Chandra

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« Reply #56 on: <11-03-18/0658:15> »
To be fair, we were told from like day two that the '-2 penalty on dodging aoe' was an error by developers, while later on they introduced an actual interrupt action to evade aoe. But yeah, it took a while to get errata'd out, which was a pain (try having a rule debate where you need to find the 3yo posts two developers made on the matter to back you up). ((Incidentally, due to the lethality of the absence, Demo Team Agents already ended up houseruling a similar Interrupt action in for SRM games, back when we only had Core.)

Whenever I look up 'can I do X with DnD 5e ability Y', half the time someone ends up pointing at the twitter account of a primary developer who was asked and answered. And when it comes to 'judgement calls', we had one in DnD yesterday where the GM went 'let's go with Z' simply because we couldn't recall the EXACT details of the Prone rule, and continued. I looked it up out of turn and informed people, but we didn't pause the game for it. With Shadowrun I too sometimes go with a judgement call and go into a ruledive later. I know I've dug deep into Astral Hazing in 4e to clarify it was less useful than the player who wanted it thought (it doesn't help against combat spells cast from outside). I've had rule debates where there's enough to hint either way for RAI so it sucks balls. I have one mindset, others have another, we agree about probably 95% but the 5% fringe cases can lead to endless debates. The best you can do on those controversial rules is having a clear conversation as GM with your players on it, and be willing to change things (as well as be willing to accept not getting your way as player).

Honestly, that's very important. I houseruled Movement, which under RAW (which copies 3e language) requires to be in the Spirit Domain to use on others. 1 problem: There is literally nothing describing domain, asides from a Free Spirit ability involving their own background count. So I said 'okay, if channeling, we'll allow it on yourself, but with nerfs'. Initially it required Speed Reading, which I kinda forgot about later on. I also ended up going 'okay, we're going to nerf it more with the following rules' and even then it was too powerful. If I start a new campaign, I'll probably block more stuff about channeling/movement. I also will change how to run with my interpretation that Possession ignores Augmented Maximum (because Possessions literally do not mention AM, while all other stuff go 'we respect AM', so only under SRM do I make it obey it), nerfing its interaction with other boosts by halving the lower of the boosts. It's literally not in the books, but it's a decent houserule.

And that's crucial here for any rule unclarity: Judgement call it, research it later, make a final decision, and be willing to CHANGE that decision if required. Or houserule it if you don't like it, but again, be willing to work with your players and make amends if something isn't working.
How am I not part of the forum?? O_O I am both active and angry!

Marcus

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« Reply #57 on: <11-03-18/0738:13> »
Ping, Reaver, 忍, pixel and I, are not Trolling you Notion, this board is famous for wandering down where ever a tangent to the topic takes us, go read some threads, I'm not making that up. It's not personal issue, or matter of disrespect to discuss something that randomly comes up, we always do that.

In some countries people cut off womens genitals. They always do that. I went after the argument btw, you content now? :P

You prove my points for me Notion. It like you just want to be a Troll something. LOL

Quote
Your issue seems to be you have a habit of going straight to personal insults and clearly staying very upset about the whole thing.

I dont think that's true, if you read my posts again, I just tell people implicitly that their arguments are bad, when they are. People take that as an insult, that makes reasoning ridiculously hard.

Quote
I don't care if you like me, or hate my guts. It's a forum, arguing is about half the point, but it's the argument not the person who posted that you need to go after.

Mind quoting me at a single occasion, where my "insults" are not bound to the argument?

Marcus, I seriously think it is somewhat pitiful for someone with several thousand forum posts to neither know the rules, nor being able to read what I wrote. Far worse: You try to tell me how stupid I am, by assuming it would work, because you, the SR-Guru figured it all out and got it covered.

There ya go. Go look at the post I made, I never personally insulted you, or suggest you were anything other lacking understanding of the SR magic rules. Yet some how I'm pitiful, for some reason. It's really quite the trollish set posts Notion.

Regarding the actual topic (didnt expect so many people offering me therapy sessions :P), or well, lets say the Jayde-Semi-offtopic-branch of the thread, which is still somewhat related to all this: Yea, the Starwars system tends to be story-focused, but as you figured out: it's mainstream, mainstream likes rules, especially since mainstream people usually do not want to spend hundreds of hours to judge borderline-RAI-cases. But you actually made that argument for me there, right? So there is good reason for a high ratio of players which prefer stable rules.

Goodness continuing to be very reactionary there Nation. FFG writes books of rules to make money. Not b/c they love rules. I know i own everything under all 3 game types and it costs me way more to keep up with that then it does SR. As to stable, FFG is narrative and part of the fun of that system that inherently unstable, your always a triumph or despair away from a Major combat changing twist.
« Last Edit: <11-03-18/0740:50> by Marcus »
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Marcus

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« Reply #58 on: <11-03-18/0804:12> »
Honestly Notion, you're Troll, a well worded, did you homework kinda Troll. But still a Troll, it's comments like
In some countries people cut off womens genitals.
That just really prove it. It's unnecessary, crude, and it's so very 4chan.

So my suggestion, you find a nice Bridge, maybe in Florida, avoid that nasty Billy Goats (Don't worry, I'm sure too hot for Billy Goats in Florida) and settle down. I for one, am just gonna put you on ignore and move on to bigger and better thing.
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AJCarrington

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« Reply #59 on: <11-03-18/0814:04> »
Topic is locked as the discussion has clearly moved on from the OP.

Multiple reports...EVERYONE needs to take a step back and RELAX. One of the things I take great pride in is that this community encourages vigorous, strong debate...sometimes too strong. There can be a fine line...it is being crossed here.

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