response 25 of 32:

Nov 24 21:17 UTC 1999

Phenix: Every instinct i have is telling me to flame you for posting an 
incredibly badly thought out piece of shit.  But since I don't have time
(and I hit most of your points in my original essay), sufice it to say that
I don't -want- to live in a fantasy world, just like our own; I want to live
through stories, which is an entirely different thing.  And stories aren't
real; they're artificial in ways reality can't be, and paridoxically,  more
beleivable and sensical than reality every can be.
        But go forth, hero, and roll your dice, not able to stomach the
alternative, but knowing only that it must be stopped.

        Lumen: Thanks!  Don't forget the distinction between "my character does
things" and "I do things!" -- neither covers for the other, so a game can be
unsatisfying if as a player you spend all your time helping other players with
strategy, but don't get to play, or it can be unsatisfying if your character
wanders around and kills a lot of thing (but you're in a style of party where
this involves almost no input of your own).