D&D 5E I hope 5th edition makes room for "Adventurers" and "Heroes".

[ForeverSlayer]

Pre-4th edition PC's were referred to as "adventurers" most of the time while 4th edition made PC's more into "heroes".

I hope 5th edition makes room for both because sometimes I like being a hero, based on the style of game I'm in, and sometimes I like to be just an adventurer.

 

[slobster]

I assume your alluding to something more than terminology here.

What, in your opinion, is the difference between an adventurer and a hero?

 

[Mengu]

That's really DM's domain, and has little to do with PC's. I can run a 4e game of almost any level, where the PC's feel like groveling low life. I can also run a 4e game of any level where PC's feel like renowned heroes of the realm. (And I only say 4e because at the moment I'm more familiar with it than anything else.)

 

[ForeverSlayer]

I assume your alluding to something more than terminology here.

What, in your opinion, is the difference between an adventurer and a hero?

Adventurers and Heroes are two different things and yet can be the same all in one go.

An adventurer doesn't have his destiny planned ahead of time, he isn't always the stuff of legend, or has noble qualities. Sometimes he/she is the person along for the ride that relies on everyone else to carry them through the dungeon so they can get their spoil of the riches.

Adventurers are the people who like to explore dungeons for the knowledge, the wealth, or the power and not a noble or legendary cause.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

That's really DM's domain, and has little to do with PC's. I can run a 4e game of almost any level, where the PC's feel like groveling low life. I can also run a 4e game of any level where PC's feel like renowned heroes of the realm. (And I only say 4e because at the moment I'm more familiar with it than anything else.)

You are only partially correct.

It's not just the DM but the PC's as well.

The way PC's in 4th edition start out with more HP and powers and the sheer fact that 4th edition was geared more towards a "heroic" type of PC than the farmer's son having wonder lust shows how it is more than just the DM.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Actually... the DM could have easily reduced the PC's starting HP and not given out as many powers at 1st level for his game if he really wanted to. So yeah... playing 'Adventurers' (by your definition) was really quite easy to do in 4E if the DM did a little work.

And I played in several pre-4E games where the PCs started as 'Heroes' too, just by the DM starting us at a higher level or giving us more stuff to start with.

Any game can go both ways if you fiddle with it for all of like 6 minutes.

 

[slobster]

Adventurers and Heroes are two different things and yet can be the same all in one go.

An adventurer doesn't have his destiny planned ahead of time, he isn't always the stuff of legend, or has noble qualities. Sometimes he/she is the person along for the ride that relies on everyone else to carry them through the dungeon so they can get their spoil of the riches.

Adventurers are the people who like to explore dungeons for the knowledge, the wealth, or the power and not a noble or legendary cause.

To me, that boils down to motivation and play style. Two parties with identical stats in 3.5 (or 4E, or Savage Worlds) could go to opposite extremes of that axis just by roleplaying. I think 5E should be fine for both, too.

 

[Emerikol]

I think the OP is mainly talking about what a 1st level character is capable of.

Is a 1st level character a beginner in his profession or is he already accomplished?

This is reflected in hit points, number of powers, etc...

 

[TrippyHippy]

Well, yes. This is the same sentiment I had when I suggested that D&D isn't a supers game.

There are lots of really interesting, exciting adventure stories that can be made when PCs are relatively 'low powered'. Power creep denies opportunities to tell these stories and some of the experiences that makes for a good fantasy RPG.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Imho, 2e thinks of the PCs as heroes more than adventurers. It's more interested in the Tolkien-esque Dragonlance-y, epic quest style of D&D where the PCs are good guys, rather than the Gygaxian sword and sorcery style.

Evidence:
1) 2e removed 1e's xp for gold rule, which encourages money grubbing. By contrast, 2e PCs get xp for defeating monsters and, I think, completing quests - hero behavior.
2) 2e removed the assassin class, the only D&D class that had to be evil, whilst retaining the good-aligned paladin and ranger.