thread: 2011-05-18 : Ben Lehman: Rules and their Functions
On 2011-05-23, Simon C wrote:
My prediction is that immediate rules that don't use fortune more easily get used as continuous rules.
For example, initiative in D&D3E. We don't normally think much about who is going to go first in the encounter, until the moment we roll the dice. Sure, we game that system in terms of what feats we buy, etc, but it doesn't often affect how we describe the lead-up to combat.
In my draft game, Dungeonfuckers, the person with the longest weapon strikes first. As a rule, it's invoked in exactly the same way as D&D3E's intiative (i.e. as soon as one person attacks another), but it doesn't use fortune.
The effect in play is very different. If you've got a shorter reach than them, you describe your character doing something other than attacking outright to initiate combat. Also, you buy yourself a spear.
