units

 the units of your game are the resolution at which it will be played!

and just like 4K as a technology was never meant for computer screens, there is an optimum resolution for your game!

there are probably parts of it that are too fine.

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i contend that most dungeon-delving games don't need to track time in minutes. it only adds a cognitive load on the GM's end.

just like combat is abstracted to turns, so to should dungeon delving--many games do this already, with 10's of minutes being the usual unit.

mausritter does this great--

"Each turn is around 10 minutes, and is enough time to explore one room and perform an action or two. A fight will almost always be one turn long."

elegant!

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if you have a superhero game where range is measured in feet that's waaaay too fine.

"You can emit electricity. spend points to increase the range."

+5' per point???? no superhero cares about 5' of distance.

in my opinion the optimal resolution for a superhero game is abstract tiers--in the case of our electricity hero, maybe something like

1. touch
2. "in the same room" distance
3. shouting distance
4. far

same goes for power. health measured in points is TOO FINE for a superhero game. in addition, health points instantly turn health into a RESOURCE!!! not fitting for superheros. superheros get hurt when its dramatic, not as a cost for goodies.

and if that's true, damage measured in integers is also too fine for superhero games.

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one last example? mech games, those complicated sons of bitches. i don't have the brain RAM to run most mech games.

if we assume tactical grid (or hex) combat is the core game, no unit smaller than a single space matters.

weapons that cannot affect an entire space don't matter. (pistols shouldn't do anything in mech combat, but maybe rocket launchers do)

terrain smaller than a single space doesn't need to be modeled. drywall and 2x4's aren't gonna stop a mech from bulldozing through your house.

entities smaller than an entire space (Lancer RPG does this great--explicitly tells you pilots are useless in mech combat)

tracking parts of the mech--disabling an entire leg will have a space-level effect. the mech can't move as many spaces with a dud leg. good. disabling a foot does not. don't track it.

think about your game!! are the units too fine???

 

editing in real quick to say ofc you can do whatever the hell you want. at the end of the day the only consequence is that everyone at the table has to think a little harder. i, as someone who only has so much think to spare, care about reducing that as much as possible. if you don't, more power to you.