The bigger picture part 2...Poking & Winning, Flailing & Losing

Other than D&D, my great hobby passion is fighting games. Now, I love games in general, but fighting games have always been my favorite because of the beautiful simplicity of their design intent: reduce the other guys life to 0.

You'll notice how that utter, beautiful simplicity and the ease with which it is understood is just about the exact opposite of D&D which is not well understood, nor overly obvious in it's intent. Of course, I discussed that here. Feel free to read that and come back to this if you haven't read it already. Hell, read it again THEN  come back here so it's fresh in your mind! Whatever, it's your time.

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Okay back? Never left? Great. Let's move on.

So what you're going to find is that I draw from the simplicity of fighting game design to help explain and illuminate the more esoteric and mysterious (oooh) components of D&D. We're gonna dive into that to help frame how PCs interact with the world...how & why they fail to play D&D to win...and how they do just the opposite. First let's start with an important concept...

High-level Assassin right here!

This is Vega. Otherwise known as Balrog. Otherwise known as "Claw" to the fighting game community. He is one of my all-time favorite fighting game characters (ugh except in SF4...awful) but that bit of trivia is neither here nor there.

See what he's doing in that picture? The stab? That's called a "poke". A "poke" is a fighting game term for quick attacks with good reach used to control space and peck at the opponent. It is similar, in many regards, to a jab in boxing because they both seek to control the other person and create openings for bigger hits.

What in the world does this have to do with D&D?

Stay with me, Burt!

This is what you need to do as a D&D player. You need to poke and prod. You need to set up for the big "score" in the game. How do you do this?

Know your goals!

In a fighting game, a good player will poke to control their opponent to set up for bigger damage. Simultaneously, if the poke hits IT does damage as well SO (and this is the important part) you've just moved closer to your goal by working towards your goal.

Crazy right?

Great. Awesome. Stab the orcs like Vega. Reduce their HP to 0. Win! Right? Wrong, scrub.

That isn't the goal of D&D. Remember?

Reducing an orc to 0 HP is ONLY valuable when it helps you work towards your goals of progress & accumulation. Now, certainly, someone will say to me "But I got XPs and some GPs for killing the orc! The make for accumulation! I do good!" and I will say back to them "Time is your most valuable resource. You have to use it smarter to get more out of your game". If you are not using your time wisely you are not playing to win.

So...what do we do to play to win? Sensei Akuma, help me out here.

Look at that sexy S.O.B. poke! Beautiful!

You poke.

You poke the world. Remember, the world is your playfield. IT is what you are playing in and against. NOT the DM. The DM is no different from your game system of choice. The DM is there to facilitate you interacting with the game world. He is there to spin the damn disc and load info.

How does one poke? Know your character. Know what your character wants and know how your character would generally default to getting it. Of course, this will require you to understand and give a damn about your characters personality, resources and skills but, hey, that's a given isn't it? Hope so, otherwise leave. (also, bit of a spoiler alert here...your character is you so if you don't give a damn...yeesh)

And the best part? A good DM should love when you poke well. They thrive on it.

Let's go with a classic example.

We've all seen the tired old Thief cliche of "I look around for whoever looks like they have the biggest coin purse. Imma pickpocket'em!"

Wow.

The best is how giddy the person always gets when they say that as if they've, somehow, hit upon the most brilliant get-rich-quick scheme EVAR!

Remember this guy? Yeah look out, Scrooge, we got another up & coming trillionaire

Guess what the DM does at that point? They die a little on the inside. And why? Because it's the stupidest waste of time imaginable. Yes, oh yes, let us take from what little time we have to sit down and enjoy D&D to watch the Thief try and pick-pocket someone for a few gold. Wake me when it's over. At best, you hope for them to totally botch the roll so you can enliven the activity with some good ol' fashioned hijinks at the Thief tries to explain away what they were doing or evade capture. At best you're all laughing at the Thief (and nothing has really been accomplished) and at worst the Thief found some lint and wasted some time.

Oh jeez here comes that guy again...

"But, Yagami, I'm a Thief! I Thief stuff! You just told me to use my skillz (probably learned "in the mountains") and stuff to poke at the world to do good! So I go good, right?!"

Stupid, Thief. That's how level 1's get executed for being idiots.

I hate that guy. However, I'll answer him for the benefit of everyone else.

That is not a poke. That is a desperate flail. Now, they can look quite a bit alike! However, a poke is a tool of a player...the flail is the resort of the scrub. See, the scrub just throws out pokes, not because they are trying to accomplish anything, but because they think they are working towards their goal to mash their face against the buttons and throw out some attacks. There is nothing elegant about it. There is nothing smart about it. There is nothing about it that is trying to win. It is simply trying not to look like they are losing. After all, if the best you can think of as a Thief is to try and pick-pocket...well you'd be doing NOTHING if you don't pick-pocket, wouldn't you?! Can't do nothing! Nothing is worse than flailing! ...at least to the scrub.

Try this instead. Next time you play a Thief in a game, play as you normally do...watch things go on around you...maybe go shopping in the world...talk up some people. Y'know, usual stuff. Then, casually look up, smile at the DM and say "What's in high demand in the city? Trade-wise. What's hot?"

The reaction you get will depend strongly on your DM, their skill-set, their experience and their desire to facilitate playing to win.

Congratulations.  You just poked.

Now, maybe the DM has NO IDEA...in which case, well they better get ready to come up with an answer or to allow you to find out. See, now you have a potential goal in mind. Now you have something to do. Perhaps the DM says "You aren't sure". Well time to go out and about and find out, isn't it? Definitely gives you some conversation besides the trite "So any rumors?" as you drink down ale in the boring ass tavern. Cuz those are so fun, right?

You said it, Han ol' buddy

At this point, you'll note that you probably have the other players looking at you quizzically. After all, they were expecting your dumb ass to try and pick-pocket someone so they could get in a scuffle with town guards. God knows the Paladin player was relishing the opportunity to chastise you for those sticky fingers!

Give them an explanation. Something like "Look, we have a few options. If what's hot is being sent here...we go talk to the biggest importer. Find out what's giving him problem. Find out what'll help improve his profits. Then, we offer to make that happen...for a cut of those profits. Or...if it's being made here, we find out who's getting a cut. Someone's always getting a cut. Maybe we offer to reduce that cut...by eliminating the cutter. You catch me? That'd be worth a pretty penny to whoever is getting the pinch, right?"


Now the DM is whirling. His brain should be abuzz. After all, the fine silks that all the noblewomen in city have just been demanding their husbands purchase them have to get all the way here from South Whateverville and those trade routes are beset by bandits (or whatever). So...now the PCs can offer up assistance WITH a plan in place to profit from it all. Good for you, you've made a protection racket! Or, perhaps, the local winery would just love to be able to expand their business and ship out their profitable wines but they can't afford it because Whosit the Kerfluffle has been leaning on them hard to pay into them "else their vineyard might accidentally burn down one night". Either way, the DM has the start of an adventure and they didn't even have to have a hooded stranger sitting in the corner of the bar to give it to you as if you were a bunch of lazy dullards!

Heck, your fellow players should feel great too! They get to be proactive! They get to try to see something through to fruition! And, best of all, they get to do it on THEIR TERMS as a party instead of having to wait to fulfill something for someone else (that stupid guy in the hood, I mentioned)

I have an overwrought, boring-ass quest for you! The world depends on it! Also, can you pick me up some smokes?

No one likes that guy.

Thief gets money. Fighter busts heads. Paladin routs criminals. Cleric builds faith.

Win.

Of course, that's only step one. You just threw out a poke...then capitalize on it. Fights not over, buddy boy. It's just begun. The DM is going to poke back (hopefully) and you have a long road ahead of you.

This, naturally, applies to everyone in the group. Ask yourself as a player "How does what I'm about to do help my characters long term goals?"

If the answer is "Fuck if I know!" then you are doing it wrong. You want to win! You want to spend your time as wisely as possible! You want to be awesome! Doing things for reasons you can't discern will not help you with any of that.

If the answer is "Well it helps in this minor way...kinda" then you are doing it wrong. You are an adventurer! What you're going to do will almost certainly mean almost-but-not-quite-certain death! Are you going to risk your life, reputation and (as a player) time for something little? Hell no!

High level advice, right here!

Oh dammit...here comes that guy from earlier in the post again...

"Hey, Yagami...my guy is Lawful Good. Doing good is it's own reward! I don't need bigger reasons!"

News flash. Your guy isn't Lawful Good then. He's Lazy Good.

Look at someone like Mother Theresa. She didn't sit around and help people that came to her or that she happened to notice or that walked by her. She went out, actively helped people, set up an organization to help people and worked herself to the bone. Agree or disagree with her, the woman was definitely productive.

Your LG Paladin should expect no less from themselves. Come up with a plan! Use your resources! Create new resources! Your allies are resources! Use them!

BEING GOOD IS NOT A GOAL IT'S A MOTIVATION! OUR MOTIVATIONS MOVE US TOWARDS GOALS! THEY ARE NOT GOALS IN AND OF THEMSELVES!

Maybe, for instance, you're a Cleric that believes in helping the weak and sick. Okay. Imagine that. Go ahead.

Yyyyyes! Imagine it!

So...what do you do? Uh you get a quest from a shadowy figure in a hood to go do some vague good to get some XPs to...get stronger so hood-guy can ask you to do tougher stuff? Well doesn't that sound like you're fulfilling your goals? Bzzzt! Nope!

Thought I said 'unfiltered'. Now you're gonna pay...

So...you look at your DM and say "Where in this city do the poor that are sick go?" and the DM looks at you and says "The alleys. To die away from their families so they don't make them sick." Wow. Never actually thought about the little people, did ya, Cleric-player?

Now that should give you a FIRE in your belly if your guy is really about helping the down-trodden.

Now you want to get out there and build a hospice for them. Somewhere your healing talents can really do some good! Right? I hope so!

Ooh that's gonna take more than faith though. That's gonna take money...

...

shit...

Wait!

Didn't the Thief say he had a way to make money?!

At this point the Thief should look like this. So should your DM if he's smart.

Here's the secret to the world. Money makes the world go 'round. Money gains you power. Power gains you money. GP and XP. XP and GP. You need to make it flow like water. YOU THE PLAYER. Not the DM. The DM is merely the system of pipes that deliver the water...you have to turn the handles and hold the glass. If you suck. If you're awesome, you steal a back-hoe, dig up the street, and tap into the main! Because that's playing to win.

Part 3 will address how a DM can make all this possible...and why they should.