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6/16/2025, 3:41:40 AM
I play with an older guy, and one of the arguments that often comes up with him regarding "OSR" games vs OLDE GAMES is that he often says, "Well, that's how we did it in the old days!" whenever certain rules come up. But I have to explain to him that this isn't a 1-to-1 recreation of the old days, and that "Modernist" and "Modern" aren't the same thing.
For example, in the last session we read a riddle written on the wall in the lower floor of a dungeon. Well, two players had the riddle copied down in two different ways, and they each implied different things. (One player's said "Frost of hate" the other said "Fires of hate") So there was a disagreement over whose was right and who was misremembering.
The old grognard said, "Well, my character has an intelligence of 15, so he would likely know! I'm going to roll a skill check to remember!" To which I said, "No, that's not what skill checks are for. You either remember or you don't." I also said that this is modern narrativist crap. He said, "NO! THAT'S HOW WE'D DO IT BACK IN THE DAY!"
I'm not asking who is right here, because as DM, I've governed that this isn't what a knowledge check is... And that I should rarely use such checks. But I will ask if anyone ever gets in frequent discussions or disagreements with any players regarding "How things were REALLY done"?
For example, in the last session we read a riddle written on the wall in the lower floor of a dungeon. Well, two players had the riddle copied down in two different ways, and they each implied different things. (One player's said "Frost of hate" the other said "Fires of hate") So there was a disagreement over whose was right and who was misremembering.
The old grognard said, "Well, my character has an intelligence of 15, so he would likely know! I'm going to roll a skill check to remember!" To which I said, "No, that's not what skill checks are for. You either remember or you don't." I also said that this is modern narrativist crap. He said, "NO! THAT'S HOW WE'D DO IT BACK IN THE DAY!"
I'm not asking who is right here, because as DM, I've governed that this isn't what a knowledge check is... And that I should rarely use such checks. But I will ask if anyone ever gets in frequent discussions or disagreements with any players regarding "How things were REALLY done"?
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