Things in RPGs that you used to like but don’t anymore

[Chauncymancer]

I like dice pool mechanics, but they too don't seem to really reflect the fact that an average result is far more likely in any given situation than the extremes. Having more dice may mean more chances of success, but it doesn't really mean more average success.

There is a normal distribution of results in a dice pool, but it's only a factor in games where the variable is number of successes as opposed to target number or number of dice.

Real world stuff? Mostly the normal distribution. That's why it's called "normal". Nice pretty bell curve too.

This is funny, but that's not what normal means.

I don't even remember what the formula for expected value on roll-and-keep is.

I'm pretty sure the EV of xKy on a die of N sides is Sum{n_i *x/N} where n_i=N, N-1, N-2... and n_n=y/(x/N)

"We recognize that we have no clue what 'realistic' looks like, therefore we no longer attempt to change games for the purpose of making them more realistic" is a consistent and highly self-aware stance.

"We recognize that we have no clue what 'realistic' looks like, therefore we now reject anyone's attempts to change games for the purpose of making them more realistic"? That's a bit trickier.

I guess it depends on what the post I was replying to was attempting to convey.

If the only benefit of a system I am asked to evaluate is that it increases in immeasurable metric, I must evaluate it's use as minimal.