At 08:23 PM 9/2/06 -0700, you wrote:
As for your puzzle for the PC's to solve, it feels like the sort of thing that happens when the GM is playing the PC's in a campaign. However do we want that level of detail in a wargame?
I guess I haven't absorbed exactly what the play style is. Seems like the ratio of wargaming to roleplaying emphasis would vary from group to group, but I was thinking that if there are PC's, then it's a group doing at least a fair amount of roleplaying. Seemed quite appropriate to what I assumed you expected, since you mentioned the option of running a TFT combat to resolve a risk-of-injury event.
Hovever, in the case of a wargaming group where the PC's are just there to personalize the experience, they might want more automatic effects. So I guess it's up to the group and/or GM, but I can certainly see that some groups might really prefer to have some input into the fates of their own characters. OTOH I can also really see some groups wanting it all automatic, or even, automatic for NPC's, but roleplayed for PC's. They might even choose one approach or the other based on the result (e.g. I don't want my PC to automatically _die_ or lose an arm from one abstract die-roll, but if I just losing some equipment or having some officer bear a grudge might not bother me).
For the concern you mentioned before about having the detailed PC resolution remove the risk, as in the case of a danger event played out in TFT being completely won by the players... I guess it's a decision whether that is enough, or whether the abstract danger roll should be required to have some negative effect - hence the dilemma-type decisions. Kind of like in wargames where the player taking damage sometimes gets to decide which units take the damage, or which direction his units will retreat.
It can definitely be a non-trivial problem to resolve all such concerns. Be sure to add the "GM discretion" caveat somewhere. ;-)
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