Lens - game mechanics vs realtiy

[Hilary]

People are misusing the lens through which RPGs view reality.

RPG combat uses turns. But in reality, everyone acts simultaneously. In RPG combat, you can have one small creature, say a kobold, standing still, and 12 people on horses can each take their turns, riding up to the kobold, punching him in the face, and move out of the way so the next person can strike.

This is how the mechanics work. But this is not remotely what is possible in reality. In reality, you cannot get 12 people on horses around a single kobold so that each can punch it in the face. Worse, these mechanics are applied to other situations and the results grow even more ridiculous.


Whether it's an object, or creature, or whatever, from it's perspective, having 12 people interacting with it abuses the flow of time itself.


I don't have a specific solution in mind, but there has to be one.

[ff7hero]

I don't have a problem visualizing a team of practiced horsemen riding toward a kobold in formation such that over 6 seconds most of all of them have ridden past it and they all have "punched it in the face." Assuming there's sufficient room for movement.

[MoiMagnus]

My personal vision is "the game is not canon".

As such, what happen during the "mini boardgame session" the DM organised to simulate the fight is not what canonically happen in the story. It's close enough to not totally break immersion, but if I had to write "what actually happened", I would take the liberties to arrange everything in a more linear and consistent way, taking the "6s round" more as a suggestion than a reality.

Bonus point, it also allows to avoid a lot of problems related to what the HP represent. They have different meaning every time, depending not only on how they are dealt, but on how they will be later healed.

In the end, we're playing a game where players have significant control on what happen. The result will only be as realistic as the players want it to, and the players are not forced to abuse the turn-based mechanics if they really care about immersion. Same for video-games: You don't want to have an absurd pink armour during cutscene? Just put the armour your character would reasonably have according to the lore rather than the pink one. Sure, it might not be optimal, but nothing complies you to be optimal.

[RSP]

People are misusing the lens through which RPGs view reality.

RPG combat uses turns. But in reality, everyone acts simultaneously. In RPG combat, you can have one small creature, say a kobold, standing still, and 12 people on horses can each take their turns, riding up to the kobold, punching him in the face, and move out of the way so the next person can strike.

This is how the mechanics work. But this is not remotely what is possible in reality. In reality, you cannot get 12 people on horses around a single kobold so that each can punch it in the face. Worse, these mechanics are applied to other situations and the results grow even more ridiculous.


Whether it's an object, or creature, or whatever, from it's perspective, having 12 people interacting with it abuses the flow of time itself.


I don't have a specific solution in mind, but there has to be one.

This is better shown with how many characters can climb the same 15’ ladder in ~6 seconds.

Side note: the example of mounted horsemen actually doesn’t work because a mount’s turn either happens before or after the mounted character’s. So if the mount approaches, it would need to end its turn at the kobold in order for the horseman to Attack, and it couldn't then move after the attack.

[Amechra]

Side note: the example of mounted horsemen actually doesn’t work because a mount’s turn either happens before or after the mounted character’s. So if the mount approaches, it would need to end its turn at the kobold in order for the horseman to Attack, and it couldn't then move after the attack.

The horseman would ready an attack and then have their mount move.

[MaxWilson]

This is better shown with how many characters can climb the same 15’ ladder in ~6 seconds.

Side note: the example of mounted horsemen actually doesn’t work because a mount’s turn either happens before or after the mounted character’s. So if the mount approaches, it would need to end its turn at the kobold in order for the horseman to Attack, and it couldn't then move after the attack.

"A controlled mount can move and act even on the turn that you mount it."

Not "after" your turn, on it. Specific beats general.

[DarknessEternal]

People are misusing the lens through which RPGs view reality.


Please enlighten us with your proof.

[Willie the Duck]

People are misusing the lens through which RPGs view reality.

Who are these poor souls who are doing this unacceptable thing? Can you point any of them out?


I don't have a specific solution in mind, but there has to be one.
There are plenty, including game systems (Runequest comes to mind) that actively seek to mitigate the 'everyone takes a turn and then freezes in place while the next character acts' issue which you raise.

[RSP]

"A controlled mount can move and act even on the turn that you mount it."

Not "after" your turn, on it. Specific beats general.

RAW, you could make that argument, but only if we assume this all happened on the turn the horses were mounted, otherwise it would be separate turns - as this instance of Specific is only for the turn in which it is mounted.

Obviously, this just goes towards the OPs point: now all those attacking horsemen each mount their horses within that same ~6 seconds. For good measure, let’s assume they each moved half their speed to get to their horse, prior to mounting. And that they each left the same stable, using the same 10’ entrance.