Originally Posted by Telephasic
Originally Posted by Nyanko

But there are some rolls you fail which are really dramatic. For instance, in my previous example, if you fail the roll with shadowheart, you end up killing her. Really bad on a story arc stand point. It's not like with Lae'zel where you just decide if you side with her or against her.


Not sure what you're saying here. But in general, remember that good drama does not equal good gameplay. Like, a game can totally railroad you into a very dramatic plot moment which makes your agency as a player seem totally futile. Dragon Age II comes to mind.

Of course, allowing for that sort of critical mission failure is - as I said - more real to life. But is it how PNP is really played? How many DMs would make you roll to save the life of a child, and offer no alternate means of solving a quest if you failed the roll? I think most players (if good aligned) would argue with the DM until some other option presented itself. And if the DM kept doing shit like that, they'd be less liable to play with them.


I perfectly agree with this. Very dramatic moments shouldn't be decided through dice rolls. And it's clear they made it right with the Lae'zel example and wrong with Shadowheart's.

Player agency should weight on key moments in the campaign and more minor decisions could be left behind a die roll. Or at least, there should be a back door for key moments if you found the right clues. Which maybe is the case but players haven't gone through all the dialogues options yet and didn't unlock everything. I don't know.

Note that I don't put the child death into a very dramatic moment. Because it doesn't have a real impact on your character story arc in the long run. But whether a companion dies by your hand or not should always be avoidable by taking the right decision.

Last edited by Nyanko; 28/10/20 01:32 PM.