My Argument and Defence

My Argument and Defence

My Argument and Defence

for the keeping of the term Daring,

as compared to Risky,

in the Action Roll Mechanic, in further Editions,

stated in Three Parts

trumpets. If someone has already put forth argumentation on this, let me know

part 1 – the term Risky is a waste. All Actions, those that are Dominant or Desperate as well, involve Risk, as do a bunch of the features in downtime and so forth. Everything is Risky, so the middle tier’s name isn’t clear, doesn’t add. We already know there’s Risk involved, there’s Risk all over the system and the city and the world.

part 2 – you lose a mnemonic, which as part of the player’s main interface is both useful and enjoyable. The triple D – Dominant, Daring, Desperate – has a good roll. A new player is going to remember the 3D’s, even if they don’t remember the specifics, and anyone keen on the language will get a kick out of the consonance.

part 3 – the word itself – Daring – falls into the style of the characters in the game, not just the setting or mechanics. Daring scoundrels, daring swashbucklers, daring rogues, the word taps how the characters are, how they act, how they behave, not just a point of mechanical average-ness or worry.

You can see the Character in a Dominant position (hiding and watching from the shadows, over top a downed foe, smiling as their plan come into effect), you can see a Character Acting Desperately (sweating, scrambling, panicking, outnumbered, exhausted), can you see a Character being Risky? Not as clearly as you can see him or her being Daring – swinging from a chandelier, lying through their teeth, drawing a pistol and screaming bloody murder.

—

Man, im super impressed with this game, if it weren’t for the fact I have a three month old child in the picture, and the resulting full plate that brings, Id be playing the heck out of it. Something else, you did some fine work Mr Harper. Looking forward to hearing more about those hacks too, the Womb of the Night and Children of Neon, or whatever the proposed cyberpunk one was called.

smoke bomb, swirl of cloak, leaps to rooftop, escape

22 thoughts on “My Argument and Defence”

  2. Actually, I like “risky” a lot more.

    1) It’s easier to tell the three apart if they don’t start with the same letter.

    2) Alliteration implies (thanks to overuse by corporations) that the meaning of the words is not really important.

    3) “Daring” sounds too heroic; the characters are scoundrels, not heroes.

  4. I keep waffling on what to call them. I changed ‘risky’ for the reason Greg cites. Still not 100% decided! Thanks for continuing to discuss it and share your opinions, everyone.

  6. I like “risky” in the middle because that reinforces the default. The normal circumstance is when there is a significant risk, it could go either way. If it’s easier than that, or harder than that, you have a different word and part of the framework.

    The problem with 3 “d” words is that everyone at the table is trying to remember the positions and be familiar with them, using them reflexively or keeping them in mind (as well as everything else going on.) If they sound alike, then the mind has to slow down and parse out which one is which. It’s easier to mix them up. And it feels precious, to me anyway.

  7. different vowels, different consonants, different lengths, they don’t really sound alike.  I have to disagree with you there.  Like Dominant, Domineering and Dominated, those sound alike, that would be clumsy, but they aren’t that close, John’s earlier version is tighter.

    And it matches with the other two, rather than hanging loose.  They should match structures, and address the active elements, the dramatic character, rather than a mechanical default.  Facile, Risky and Nigh-Impossible match, they describe the actions, the difficulties.  Dominant, Daring, Desperate match, they describe the actors, the characters at their moment.

    The cardsharp is dominant, at that moment he’s in charge, the smuggler is desperate, he’s fretting, worried, the blackguard is risky?  Its not exact, but thats how you’d talk about it on the table, that’s how you’d finish the sentence outloud or in your head

  8. I’m thoroughly unconvinced that the alliteration is difficult to parse, but I’m open to any research data on that subject. Maybe I’m clueless on this point.

  9. There’s research to say it helps

    https://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2008/lea.cfm

    http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/08/29/alliteration-improves-memory-p/

    And I can’t find anything substantive to the opposite. Seems alliteration may not help long form prose, but given the three part simple form of the mechanic, it probably resembles poetry more than an essay. I’m certainly not suggesting you change or alliterate long passages. Sorry if those links didn’t catch, about to double check that

  13. For my hack, I focused on the character attempting the task, so I’ve got Relaxed, Tense, and Desperate. I feel that’s a useful touchstone, the GM and player alike can focus on how pressured the character feels.

  15. It could be argued that every roll is “daring” as well. Personally I like risky as it feels more separate from dominant and desperate. Risky also feels more appropriate when talking about a position. Saying an action is risky and therefore cannot be considered dominant feels better(at least to me) than saying your position is too daring for it to be dominant. But of course the argument of “call it what you want” is always valid as long as you stay within the intention of the rules.

  16. All cases of Daring will involve Risk, but not all acts or choices that are Risky will be Daring.

    Daring is player, choice, intentional. Risky is all sorts of things, taking a piss behind the tavern is probably quite risky in Duskwall, but I’m not convinced it’s daring

  17. “Daring” doesn’t fit well with many rolls made during downtime. How does one conduct Daring study as part of a long-term research project? Or Daringly tinker with your ally’s broken elbow? I can think of ways to be Daring while you consort with rogues or hunt marks or whatever during downtime; but I think many players would rather be Cautious.

  19. I don’t see where the text distinguishes action rolls made for downtime activities (acquire asset, gather info, long-term project, etc.) from any other kind of action roll.

    Maybe the middle “D” could stand for either “Daring” or “Deliberate,” depending on the circumstances around the roll. Or maybe just “Default?” :}

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