Friendship is Dragons
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Newbiespud
4th Oct 2022, 6:00 AM
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Because it's one of my pet pieces of pedantry: technically, a "point of order" is purely procedural - drawing attention to a rules transgression, or potential transgression. One reason it's widely used to introduce information outside of a formal parliamentary (or other deliberative) setting is that there doesn't seem to be a correct equivalent phrase for "I want to interject a relevant fact here" - the motion previously known as "point of information" is now less misleadingly known as a "request for information" and is used to request facts, not to provide them (except as necessary to provide context to the actual question). Also, a point of order should be asking the GM for a ruling, not being raised by the GM.
None of which is to say that the GM wouldn't use the phrase in this context - I doubt anyone but Twilight would actually know or care about this particular piece of trivia. I just find it interesting and wanted to share.
None of which is to say that the GM wouldn't use the phrase in this context - I doubt anyone but Twilight would actually know or care about this particular piece of trivia. I just find it interesting and wanted to share.
That is an absurd nit to pick. And I say this as an experienced nitpicker. "People are using formal terms informally!" yeah that's how informal speech works
At least it's not the argument that "begging the question" should inexplicably due to a Latin mistranslation from centuries ago mean "assuming the antecedent."
Oddly, I do use "point of information" instead, and do it often enough that others do as well on occasion.
I definitely read that as bringing up an incidental point of information, then confirming that said information would be understood before passing the incidental point. Consider an alternative exchange:
DM- Just one small point of order: Discord senses that the Plunderseeds and their vines have all been vaporized.
Discord- The which what now?
DM- The Plunderseeds Contingency.
Discord- Oh yeah! As "sequel hooks" go to bring a villain back for Round 2, I still quite like it. Slowly creeping up on the heroes until it's almost too late... Now what's the news again?
DM- Discord senses that the Plunderseeds and their vines have all been vaporized.
Discord- WHAT?! HOW? How did they find them??
All the same info and roughly in the same order. But without cluing in Discord about what the relevant context is, DM risks Discord not being able to link the news to the importance and the exchange becomes awkward. Might have been better starting with the question, but people frequently misorder logical statements especially in causal speech.
DM- Just one small point of order: Discord senses that the Plunderseeds and their vines have all been vaporized.
Discord- The which what now?
DM- The Plunderseeds Contingency.
Discord- Oh yeah! As "sequel hooks" go to bring a villain back for Round 2, I still quite like it. Slowly creeping up on the heroes until it's almost too late... Now what's the news again?
DM- Discord senses that the Plunderseeds and their vines have all been vaporized.
Discord- WHAT?! HOW? How did they find them??
All the same info and roughly in the same order. But without cluing in Discord about what the relevant context is, DM risks Discord not being able to link the news to the importance and the exchange becomes awkward. Might have been better starting with the question, but people frequently misorder logical statements especially in causal speech.
Yeah, that's why I love Shane the Shy, the BBEG who is only so because he's a rich idiot with no day job. He just "helps" other villains with their own schemes, then skips out before the heroes can catch him. I'd love to use him in my campaign.
Interesting. I'd been wondering whether returning the Elements to the Tree would've impacted Discord's slow petrification—I could honestly see it accelerating, slowing, or stopping entirely depending on how the DM interprets things—but a standing harmonious curse not being impacted after getting bestowed also works.
And yeah, the thing about complicated, wheels-within-wheels schemes is that they have countless potential points of failure. Still, that's why you have lots of them. A poor Plan B, but a promising Plan Q.
And yeah, the thing about complicated, wheels-within-wheels schemes is that they have countless potential points of failure. Still, that's why you have lots of them. A poor Plan B, but a promising Plan Q.
Does DiscorDM know about the Tree of Harmony being where he planted the vines? Will he be able to surmise that the girls no longer have possession of the elements because of this?
That's the thing that gets me about a lot of seemingly brilliant schemes: After all the anticipation of willful actions on the enemy's part, they can fail simply by the enemy happening to choose a different path without knowing what to expect.
As an older DM Discord should also have made a "blind luck from players" contingency plan