Re: General Nomenclature
Posted: 20 Dec 2016, 11:54
My only hesitation with 'drives' is that it is such a common word. This isn't a problem from an aesthetic standpoint, so much as that once something becomes a game term you want to avoid using it in it's more general meaning. You don't know how many times I've written something like "works to the character's advantage" only to have to stop and rephrase it because I meant "is beneficial" not "bumps their TN." We use the phrase "drives the story forward" on more than one occasion. It's a small thing, ultimately, though, and drive is the best we've come up with thus far.
Oddly enough, we didn't invent this one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_fencing — that seems to be the actual term for it.myanbar wrote:One thing I believe you absolutely should change is "Phrase." The word is almost identical in spelling Phase and used for exactly the sort of purpose something called Phase would be used for. I guarantee many people will read Phase instead of "Phrase" and call it that in actual gameplay. Additionally, if you were trying to play up the "conversation in steel" theme, you should theme all of your words around it, not just the single term "Phrase." Either you go all in or not at all, and in this case, I believe not at all is the right way to go.
The only reason we don't have "conversation" as a game term is because we don't presently have a need for "A complete melee fight." This is a rare moment where one has to ask -- Should we ignore the real term for the thing in favor of something more gamey? That sounds weird to say out loud, given how much work we've done towards the opposite goal.Conversation
The back-and-forth play of the blades in a fencing bout, composed of phrases (phrases d'armes) punctuated by gaps of no blade action.