3 ms·
Good comment! > The author might make broad sweeping generalizations but the main point is true. A group of PCs is basically a democracy. Such D&D democracy ma
by the_af 2y ago
Good comment!
> The author might make broad sweeping generalizations but the main point is true. A group of PCs is basically a democracy. Such D&D democracy makes roleplaying in strict social hierarchies pretty difficult. PCs will mouth off to kings or wizards or even deities.
But D&D (and its descendants) make this particularly likely to happen, right? Take Paranoia as a different extreme. You cannot mouth off to authority figures in Paranoia because it will get you killed in a second, and the rules encourage making you trip and get killed because you said the wrong thing to the wrong person (or Computer).
- the_af 2y agoWow, negative score on my comment. People seem to feel so strongly about this. I was punished. I feel like a Troubleshooter that mouthed off to Friend Computer!
- PeterCorless 2y agoNote: I was there at West End Games when we launched Paranoia. In fact, I drew the original computer illustration as well as the secret society logos (they were inked by another artist). A little known story: there was a player in Dan Gelber's social circle who was a total rules lawyer. He annoyed Dan & crew immensely. So Dan created a game where it was treasonous — reason for summary execution — to show any knowledge of the rules. They had a lot of fun killing that player's character over-and-over.
- the_af 2y agoThanks for sharing this. I love it. Back when I played it, I definitely got the vibe that Paranoia was designed to deal with smart-ass rules lawyers!