[Dogs] On The Ethical Nature of Kneecapping

[jlarke]

I'd be bothered if you did that to me as a player. Let me see if I can explain why. :)

It's not stated in the rules, but my feeling based on all of one session is that a Block or Dodge would normally leave us status quo - I try to do something, it doesn't work, nobody takes any fallout. Turning The Blow means that I tried something and got an outcome that was clearly bad for me. Taking the Blow means that I tried something and got an outcome that was bad for you.

As a player, if I tried to do something and you used the dice to Block or Dodge but narrated an outcome that left me worse off than I was when I raised, I'd feel like there was something hinky going on.

[dunlaing]

There's an example in the book of a Raise and Block in which the player raises "I shoot him" and the GM blocks with "a different NPC jumps in the way of the bullet and is killed."

So it's by-the-book for a Block or Dodge to leave the PC worse off in certain respects.

[jlarke]

I don't see the example leaving the PC worse off. He certainly hasn't mentioned a definite desire to preserve the different NPC's life.

[DevP]

The key thing is about what matters to the player, and are you taking that away via GM Fiat (rather than the system). It's like "Say yes or roll the dice". When the player himself is clearly invested in avoiding the killing, the GM should say yes or go to the system in some way. Of course, if the group is comfortable with the GM taking NPC lives a bit more easily, then that's all good. That just wasn't the tone of play for us so far.