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Combat as war, sport, or ??
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8827559" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>I both run it and play it as war; and if I'm running intelligent monsters I do my best to have them wage war on the PCs should it come to that. And if the PCs don't look to their own self-preservation then I hope their wills are up to date.</p><p></p><p>You're defining "sport" a bit differently than I.</p><p></p><p>Sport in this milieu has nothing to do with equality between opposing sides but instead has more to do with rules of engagement, playing fair (in-character) with the opposition, and from the PCs' side, rarely if ever getting seriously hurt or killed. Combat-as-sport also eschews many fog-of-war effects or limitations, instead (at the meta-level) allowing players to plan their tactics as they go along even if, say, they can't hear each other.</p><p></p><p>This is an interesting one. Often, the "puzzle" piece comes before the actual combat, during the info-gathering stage. Once the weapons come out, the combat itself breaks down to being either war or sport depending how it's run. See below.</p><p></p><p>Both of these are again possibly subsets within each of the larger sport and war circles.</p><p></p><p>Thing is, any of these can be either sport or war depending how they're run and, to some extent, in what edition or system.</p><p></p><p>If combat is seen as the least desirable option because Bad Things* can happen to characters at any time once engaged, and-or recovery of resources used is difficult, that's war. The opponents are out to kill you dead, and can, and have the means to do so No punches are pulled.</p><p></p><p>If combat is seen as the first (and-or only) option because the characters have little if any fear of Bad Things* happening, and-or recovery of resources used is easy, that's sport. The opponents really don't have the means of killing you dead unless you're egregiously stupid or horrendously unlucky, and even then the DM might pull his punches to keep PCs alive.</p><p></p><p>0e-1e lean toward the war model. 5e leans hard toward the sport model.</p><p></p><p>* - such as death, level loss, wealth loss, limb loss, capture, major aging, and other big-time detrimental effects.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8827559, member: 29398"] I both run it and play it as war; and if I'm running intelligent monsters I do my best to have them wage war on the PCs should it come to that. And if the PCs don't look to their own self-preservation then I hope their wills are up to date. You're defining "sport" a bit differently than I. Sport in this milieu has nothing to do with equality between opposing sides but instead has more to do with rules of engagement, playing fair (in-character) with the opposition, and from the PCs' side, rarely if ever getting seriously hurt or killed. Combat-as-sport also eschews many fog-of-war effects or limitations, instead (at the meta-level) allowing players to plan their tactics as they go along even if, say, they can't hear each other. This is an interesting one. Often, the "puzzle" piece comes before the actual combat, during the info-gathering stage. Once the weapons come out, the combat itself breaks down to being either war or sport depending how it's run. See below. Both of these are again possibly subsets within each of the larger sport and war circles. Thing is, any of these can be either sport or war depending how they're run and, to some extent, in what edition or system. If combat is seen as the least desirable option because Bad Things* can happen to characters at any time once engaged, and-or recovery of resources used is difficult, that's war. The opponents are out to kill you dead, and can, and have the means to do so No punches are pulled. If combat is seen as the first (and-or only) option because the characters have little if any fear of Bad Things* happening, and-or recovery of resources used is easy, that's sport. The opponents really don't have the means of killing you dead unless you're egregiously stupid or horrendously unlucky, and even then the DM might pull his punches to keep PCs alive. 0e-1e lean toward the war model. 5e leans hard toward the sport model. * - such as death, level loss, wealth loss, limb loss, capture, major aging, and other big-time detrimental effects. [/QUOTE]
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