--- mcsorley@... wrote:

> Do you tell your players the threat rating of a
> challenge? What about how
> dangerous it is? I'm seeing pros and cons of doing
> it both ways, and
> wondered how others run this.
<snip rest of message>

I getting close to running my first Wushu thing, so
bear in mind I don't have actual experience here..

I'd have to say, the big question is, what's gained by
_not_ telling them? One of Wushu's big things is,
player empowerment. Not telling them potentially
reduces the amount of power they feel they have within
the game.

Another consideration is how many other games that
they're used to withold this sort of knowledge? If
they're used to being told "Roll a dice, and I'll tell
you if you hit or not", then simply telling them
what's needed to beat the conflict might take a bit of
getting used to.

I'd say part of keeping the information secret (in
other games at least) is it's used as an attempt to
engage the player. They have to worry about whether or
not they're actually able to succeed in the combat.
Each die rolled increases the tension, and the player
is trying to remember the past rolls so they'll be
able to figure out if they've succeeded or not.

Wushu on the other hand isn't relying on that sort of
mechanic. At least not exclusively.

Me? I'd try laying it out for 'em. Everyone's going to
know what to expect (at least initially) and they'll
likely be more engaged.

The one thing I would consider holding back on
(depending on the situation) would be the "time bomb"
aspect. This being the "Party needs to resolve the
conflict within X rounds, or the threat
increases/replenishes/changes in some way". If you're
using a Time Bomb style encounter, you might not
inform them that there's a ticking clock. Let 'em
discover it when the clock ticks down and BAM! a whole
new problem confronts them, or the nature of it
changes. Times when you _do_ want to let them know, is
when it's going to increase the tension.

Action movies, T.V. and so forth are always messing
around with showing you the time ticking down.
Pressure increases, and even though you as the
audience know what the outcome _has_ to be, if you're
a fan of the show, you'll get caught up in it.



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