Timeline for The gremlin in our answers: "Fate is narrative" answers to mechanical Fate questions
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 2015 at 16:48 | comment | added | Please stop being evil | @BESW could somebody post a link to this transcript? | |
| Aug 21, 2013 at 7:41 | comment | added | BESW | @SevenSidedDie Looking forward to it. | |
| Aug 21, 2013 at 6:52 | comment | added | SevenSidedDie | @BESW Back from vacation. I'm not likely to shift on this though, but I'm curious what you see as the simple misunderstanding. | |
| Aug 21, 2013 at 6:49 | comment | added | BESW | @SevenSidedDie Please, let's take this to chat when you're back from vacation. There's a very simple misunderstanding that I think will can be easily cleared up in a more dynamic conversation. | |
| Aug 21, 2013 at 6:43 | comment | added | SevenSidedDie | @BESW I see it as a variety of XY problem. They're asking for what mechanics are supposed to fill in this hole they've found in the system, but that is invalidly presuming that what the system fills that hole with is a mechanic to start with. Just because they ask for mechanics doesn't mean their problem is actually solved by providing made-up mechanics that don't exist. The answer to an XY problem is to identify the actual problem they are experiencing behind their assumption of what the solution is, and solve that problem. Ask where the D&D 4e Craft skill is, and you have the same error. | |
| Aug 21, 2013 at 6:41 | comment | added | SevenSidedDie | @doppelgreener The answer to what to do with five spare shifts is to stop staring at the shifts. They are not important. That's taking a mechanic (roll the dice) and looking for a fallout mechanic (what do I do with these shifts) that doesn't exist, because that's not how the game works. Shifts are thrown away. The roll has a narrative effect, and that has a mechanical effect. The shifts are not mechanically important in this mechanical event. You can invent a mechanical effect, but then you're drifting the system. That's fine, but asking about houserules and wanting official rules is silly. | |
| Aug 18, 2013 at 0:53 | comment | added | BESW | Assuming that asking about mechanical scope or choice obviates an understanding of the need to attach mechanics to narrative context in the game is assuming that the askers are inexpert until they prove themselves to you. If you actually think that it's a poor question, shouldn't that elicit a comment, an edit, and/or a vote-to-close? Answering poor questions instead of improving them is not good for the site, so I'm not sure how this is a useful justification. | |
| Aug 18, 2013 at 0:14 | comment | added | doppelgreener | I was not making this mistake. I understand that everything ultimately comes from and returns to the narrative (and that the narrative enters the mechanics when useful). I was, however, dealing mainly with mechanics in my question you answered: what can I do mechanically with an entire five spare shifts on an attack? "Fate is about the narrative, so ignore the rules" does not help and is condescending. "There isn't really anything there: take a boost if you like, but the rest should just be an impact on the scene" on the other hand is helpful and not condescending. | |
| Aug 17, 2013 at 22:26 | comment | added | SevenSidedDie | @waxeagle Yes. But it's no different than telling a new 4e player that their desire to have the combat actions have fixed, canonical, sensible narrative effects that they're barking up the wrong tree. We have several questions with answers to that effect. They can try, but 4e will fight them tooth and nail the whole way. A Fate GM can try to find a mechanics-to-mechanics rules handling flow they can use, but the system will sit there unhelpfully not doing what they wish it would. | |
| Aug 17, 2013 at 22:20 | comment | added | wax eagle | Do you at least see a little bit of why that could seem quite condescending to someone who understands this concept? Could you see how this is not treating someone like an expert? This kind of explanation is (or at least should be) unnecessary for this site. We're not here to change how people play games, we're here to help them get answers to their questions. | |
| Aug 17, 2013 at 16:43 | history | edited | SevenSidedDie | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Aug 17, 2013 at 16:31 | history | answered | SevenSidedDie | CC BY-SA 3.0 |