The Dresden Files > DFRPG

An Idea: Tagging for Continuous Damage

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LCDarkwood:
Sure, sure. I agree, there are some interpretive voids in the text. Some of that comes from my value judgment and from the spirit of the books - how often do people just set each other on fire and wait for them to die? Like, it just isn't a case that comes up, even when you have a wizard who liberally uses fire magic. And it's a pretty anticlimactic ending for a fight - fitting for a group of henchies/thugs, maybe, but certainly not for named characters. For all that Jim sometimes uses verisimilitude to make his hero look smart, the Dresden Files still has a bunch of conceits from adventure fiction in it.

(Here's the funny part - we could bring this full circle and say that if you're going to set the "On Fire!" aspect on someone, the purpose of it should be to compel it to end the fight without doing any more rolls, or to compel someone to take action to put out the fire before attending to any smart combat stuff.)


-L

void:
A further note I'd like to present is that this RPG isn't meant to simulate combat in particular. That's just one type of conflict that can be managed by the narrative flow toolkit FATE 3 provides.

Trying to get fiddly about certain balance concerns, certain types of specific damage management, and trying to fret about EXACTLY how much more powerful one thing is than another, and whether something is COMPLETELY modelled by the ruleset is... kind of misapplying the amazing toolset we've been given.

Some specificity is lost, because it often isn't narratively interesting. We're building a story. The rules that we have are about splitting the influence -- more particularly, the types and timing of that influence -- on how that story unfolds.

iago:
Yeah. I mean, I think Lenny's made the best point, that these sorts of things should really be about tagging for effect and compels and whatnot.  Someone lays down ON FIRE on a dude, as the GM I'm going to be compelling the crap out of that in order to make him deal with this whole FIRE BAD thing, and *that's* the effect the fire has. Damage? Meh. It made this guy run around like a headless chicken on LSD. THAT is the effect.

void:
Headless chicken on LSD.

I can't stop giggling.

iago:
You liked that? I liked that. I was pretty damn proud of it. If I was GMing I'd be running all around the room shrieking as I'm talking about this guy too. Antics: they're what's for dinner.

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