One of the chief problems of evaluating an RPG is that the mechanics may have little to do with the actual play of the game. Activities such as roleplaying and exploration often don’t need much mechanical support. This is where the adventures are so important.

If you look at Call of Cthulhu, there are a lot of skills. In play, I’ve rarely seen that huge list of skills be relevant. And, when you come down to it, often the skill use is a flat percentage roll. It’s not an involved system. The game is about exploration and discovery.

The skills of Call of Cthulhu are often just a way to access clues. The flaws with that approach is why the GUMSHOE system came along, but CoC still works fine; it’s just in how you approach the skills during an adventure that matters. Requiring a success to proceed ain’t great!

The point is that the assumption that finding a mechanical solution to combat, roleplaying and exploration is necessary and you can find perfect ones is poor. Games approach each of these areas differently, with dials set in different places. No one solution fits all.

My appreciation of games tends to come down to more of the decisions I get to make in them rather than the mechanics. In older D&D, you’d find a strange idol, and examining it came to a discussion between you and the DM where you needed to ask the right questions. Problematic?

It might seem so. And some games came down to the DM being horrible about it. But in the good games, at least deciding what to ask and what to prod was interesting. And one valid criticism of modern games is that they replace that discussion with a bare Perception roll!

Now, this is not true of all modern games and even scenarios. I *do* like having the option to roll dice. But, for me, it works best when in combination with me making decisions. So, it’s more than just “I examine the statue” “roll a d20”.

One thing to consider is that we make mechanics like passive Perception to get away from tedious tasks. However, for the new player, these tasks may not be tedious and indeed hold a lot of enjoyment of early play. But I don’t know where that line is.

But to some extent, the exploration pillar requires us to discover something new. Which means that you want the scenario to present new material rather than falling back entirely on existing mechanics. (Although arranging mechanics in new ways also works).

It’s one of the reasons I’ve turned away from revealing monster vulnerabilities and resistances with skill checks. I think the exploration aspect of the players trying ways of hurting a monster that may not work is more interesting than a bare roll. (my way is not the only way!)