[@ELGainsborough]
I'm just glad that my insight was able to contribute to offering some clarity in the previous discussion. I don't have an inherent problem with you using the dice for your own amusement, especially since you clearly have a history with D&D, but I'll only allow them to play a major impact on my posts in situations where I feel they don't cause an out of character scenario on my part.

Either way, I've checked the post now; I'll work on a reply once I've gotten food. Once again I'm here later than planned.

[@MelonHead]
I noticed you lurking too, actually.

A good portion of the previous discussion that was just referred to focused on emphasizing inherent problems that relying on dice during combat could bring to the table during a role-play. I don't plan to go into every detail I brought to up there, but the abridged of my side of the debate revolved around the idea that quality of writing would actually be stifled (creatively and competitively) and made less compelling (strategically and realistically) if dice or video game stats were implemented as the primary deciding factor for everything; there's plenty of ways to prevent the negative problems of free-form role-play - problems usually fostered by bad sportsmanship or poorly established groundwork - without dumbing things down like that. I won't go into further detail, however, since the previous discussion is available to read; it is a [i]little[/i] long-winded though, so be warned.

While it might seem appealing to someone with a history of using these things or to those who don't understand how to properly debate/collaborate and establish an arena battle, to those who grasp the deeper and more intricate nuances of free-form role-play there are a [i]lot[/i] of inherent imperfections in the narrative created by focusing on RPG mechanics. I think a more compelling and detailed story is produced from avoiding the use of dice, and I'm someone who actually [i]does[/i] engage in role-playing duels for the purpose of good storytelling instead of having competition as the motivation; having the competitive attitude simply helps the writing be more convincing if good sportsmanship and collaboration are maintained.

Nevertheless, there's nothing stopping you from observing; commenting is more on the GM's end but I imagine it isn't an issue. Just keep in mind that, if you do get involved, you're not obligated to use the dice; I'm clearly not using them, and I believe the GM is mostly using them for his own enjoyment. The only time the dice will become essential from his perspective is seemingly if a disagreement can't be reached through collaboration, which for the time being I'm confident won't become an issue. I'm mostly taking the dice rolls into account during my posts for the sake of indulging ELGainsborough's preference for this sort of thing, but only so long as I find it reasonable; I don't plan to make an unrealistic post based off them, since that's precisely one reason why I find such RPG systems unpleasing when writing; the novelist in me loses his willing suspension of disbelief when presented with such issues.

Give it a try if you're interesting. It doesn't sound like the dice are going to be invasive (my usual experience with them), which is why I took the GM up on this in the first place.