2026-09-18 18:28 UTC
@murdoc@autistics.life
Deciding when to make decisions based on player priorities vs character motivations is one of the core tensions of TTRPGing. Maybe once I know that difficulty is sky high, I do back off because I don't see the probable failure as good for my fun in this moment. Or maybe I press on because it matters to the character to try despite the odds. I can't make that call if I'm just told, "roll the dice and tell me the result".
Replies (1)
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@kaliranya@vtuber.house 2026-09-18 18:35
@murdoc@autistics.life Press on / back off isn't the only decision that obfuscated difficulty fucks with, either. It's especially bad in games where I have resources to manage with skill checks. If I don't know what I'm up against, how am I e.g. to make the determination whether to spend a fate point? When there's a target number, but the GM opts to hide it, that yanks agency away from the player. (Even without getting into the probable "this way I can fudge" motivation...)