D&D blog 04/04/12

[Blackwarder]

Here it is.

Personally, I want more exploration, puzzels and role playing with open ended being a very close after those three.

Warder

 

[I'm A Banana]

Let me be the first person in the entire history of this thread to gripe about the poll.

Now that that's out of the way, it's cool to see that they're definitely aware that adventures need to be a key component of the game, and that a string of encounters doesn't necessarily make a good adventure.

Personally, I guess if you have combat, exploration, and interaction (aka role-playing), you've got everything else in that poll, functionally. Horror is a particular kind of interaction. Geographic wonders are particular exploration rewards. Dungeons are settings for all of these (though mostly exploration and combat).

Can't say I actively hate anything there. I'd play any of them, in moderation.

 

[Blackwarder]

I think that's one of the polls that could have used one of those "rate each between 1 to 10" polls, all though I have no idea how to read the resaults of such polls.

Warder

 

[Quickleaf]

Actually I liked the poll

Voted for "Story (to tell a well-crafted tale sometimes player choice is limited)" AND "Open-Ended (nothing is preordained, the story is up to the players and their dice)". And I don't think that's contradictory...

My best experiences with D&D have been when there's a strong overarching theme/motive/quest and then lots of freedom within that frame to choose which goals to pursue and how to pursue them.

 

[Blackwarder]

Actually I liked the poll

Voted for "Story (to tell a well-crafted tale sometimes player choice is limited)" AND "Open-Ended (nothing is preordained, the story is up to the players and their dice)". And I don't think that's contradictory...

My best experiences with D&D have been when there's a strong overarching theme/motive/quest and then lots of freedom within that frame to choose which goals to pursue and how to pursue them.

I liked the choices, I just didn't liked having to chose only three

Warder

 

[Raith5]

Good poll for once! I also like all of these in moderation. But I think WOTC has work on its villains. I also like it when the PCs know about (and hate) the archvillian who actively and realistically reacts to their activity.

I also like open adventures where there are different entry points / different ways of tackling the dungeon or adventure. I think WOTC adventures are generally too linear.

 

[Quickleaf]

I liked the choices, I just didn't liked having to chose only three

Warder

I guess I should have qualified that I liked the poll more than other recent polls by WotC staff

The way Bruce emphasizes the importance of iconic adventures and adventures of varying length & style leaves me feeling encouraged.

I forget, what is his role in D&D Next again ?

 

[Minigiant]

Ahem...

DIE PUZZLES DIE!
DIE PUZZLES DIE DIE!

The characters I roleplay are supposed to figure puzzles out, not me.


But an Arch-villain are very helpful tool for a DM. They can motivate and lead players while them feeling railroaded.

Behold the power of anger and vengeance.

 

[kevtar]

I liked the article, and I'm glad we're having conversations about the types of adventures they'll be producing, but I'm not crazy about the poll. From a very cursory view, it could have been improved by dividing the answer choices into different categories, such as: Genre, Elements, Setting, and Structure, and then asking players to rate them on a scale.

Here's an example. Typically each entry might have a brief description, but I just don't have the time for that now).

Please rate the your preference in each category from 1-5 with (1) being your highest preference and (5) being your lowest preference.

Genre
Horror
Mystery
Prophecy
Apocalypse
Arch-villain

Setting
Dungeon
Urban
Wilderness
Outer planes
Rural Villages

Elements ( I know this has 6 entries and the scale is 1-5, this is just an example )
Roleplaying
Exploration
Combat
Puzzles
Traps
Story

Structure
Episodic
Campaign
Open-ended
Stand alone, single-shot adventures (focused one-hour adventures)
"Living" adventures

Anyway, something like that will help us to respond by saying, "I like urban, episodic adventures that feature a lot of exploration and some roleplaying, and feature an archvillain."

 

[Janaxstrus]

Actually I liked the poll

Voted for "Story (to tell a well-crafted tale sometimes player choice is limited)" AND "Open-Ended (nothing is preordained, the story is up to the players and their dice)". And I don't think that's contradictory...

My best experiences with D&D have been when there's a strong overarching theme/motive/quest and then lots of freedom within that frame to choose which goals to pursue and how to pursue them.

See, as a player and DM, I am not a fan of limited player choices. I love a good dungeon crawl, especially when part of a big adventure path with all of the other roleplaying, puzzles and trap goodies mixed in.