Revisiting Combat as Sport vs Combat as War

[Quertus]

I think there is a false dichotomy in regards to the use of strategy/tactics and CaS vs CaW. Strategy/tactics can an should be applied in both situations.

However I do see the usefulness of using the CaS vs CaW distinction in regards to how combat is handled within the game.

If players assume CaS and the DM is running CaW, the dreaded TPK is much more likely to occur. Players who expect a "fair" encounter won't be inclined to retreat or use extra caution when engaging in combat.

On the other hand players who assume CaW, when it's CaS, may find they are disappointed with the "fairness" present in encounters.

IMHO, it really comes down to the kind of combat one wishes to experience. Personally I cannot stand CaS combat. If I wanted a "fair" fight I would play a minis combat game or some such. All of the fun of CaW combat comes from the fact that any encounter is a crapshoot and it keeps the tension high. If I know that every fight will be a "fair" fight it sucks all of the tension right out of the experience.

As I come from a wargaming background, I cannot help but be in agreement with your sentiment about fair fights. If the only component to the game is a series of "fair fights", I would rather use a better system for fair fights, of which there are numerous.

Then again, RPGs *do* have more things than tactical combat - like role-playing. However, I find having to metagame and curtail my role-playing so as not to break CaS irritating.

If, in addition to appreciating Challenge, you also have the Abnegation and Narrative features (which I don't), you could appreciate the story you're being told, interspersed with a series of "sporting fights". But, if you appreciate Exploration/Discovery - and, in particular, utilizing those tools in creative ways (as I do), you'll still struggle with breaking CaS.

So, I think that there are ways to engage CaS that aren't strictly inferior to war gaming - they just require different tastes than I possess.

I am, however, curious how you view strategy as a valid element in CaS. How can strategy not break the game under a CaS paradigm? (EDIT: *tactics* are available in both)