TFT is two different games that happen to share a system

[Chris Goodwin]

I keep harping on this, so I've made a separate thread for visibility.

In another thread...

Originally Posted by Jim Kane

In sum: All that extra life-extension the "Unconscious at 0, Dead at fully negative ST" rule creates, also has other affects on the TFT game as a whole; because it applies to everyone and every thing - or it SHOULD.

Which game? I've said in a number of different threads (and gotten agreement from Steve Jackson) that TFT is two different games that happen to share a system: the arena battle game and the RPG. They're both the "right" way to play, and each is just as much TFT as the other.

In an arena battle game, where it's PvP and might not have a GM, the difference between unconsciousness and death is moot. When a figure goes down, they're down; the fight ends. Maybe their opponent slits their throat; maybe their opponent leaves them there bleeding on the ground; maybe something else.

In a roleplaying game, usually with a GM, players want their characters to have a chance. A party will usually try to pull their unconscious members to safety, will try Physicker or such healing spells as there may be, will try to get them out of the dungeon and back to town to rest and heal up.

Rules can make sense for one of the games but not the other. "Dead at 0 ST" can be right for the arena, but wrong for the RPG. Job rolls can be wrong for the arena but right for the RPG. There are likely any number of rules that fall onto one side or the other of this divide.