D&D General Styles of D&D Play

[Hussar]

Unlike chess, D&D almost invariably provides a forum (the setting in use) as a backdrop against which that free-forming can take place.

Freeform in-character roleplay (a common enough concept) is quite happily supported by D&D when, once the characters are made and the secne is set, the rules just stand aside and let the players get on with it.

The rules don't have to get involved until-unless something cannot be roleplayed and needs to be abstracted.

Again, I strongly disagree. By this logic, a totally systemless game would be the best solution to an RPG. An RPG with zero rules would always be better than an RPG with any rules.

 

[Hussar]

People are arguing that we should make a significant change. I think that's a minority opinion. That's all.

No one is arguing that we should make any changes.

What IS being argued is the notion that D&D supports things that it clearly doesn'T.

 

[Oofta]

Which is the point I'm making. The OP is claiming that D&D is good at dealing with politics. You just said that you'd use a different system to handle a political campaign.

So, why are you arguing with me?

The OP does not say D&D is good at dealing with politics. It states that politics is frequently a focus of the game.

 

[Minigiant]

People are arguing that we should make a significant change. I think that's a minority opinion. That's all.

No one is arguing that we should make a change.

We are saying that D&D, THE elves and dwarves game, doesn't support being a super smart elf or a super wise dwarf outside of combat and exploration very well.

 

[Oofta]

No one is arguing that we should make any changes.

What IS being argued is the notion that D&D supports things that it clearly doesn'T.

The thing that the game "doesn't support" are main focuses of my games. It's called skill/ability checks when there's uncertainty, while also having more detailed support for things I wouldn't know how to run like combat.

Nobody is saying there are detailed rules for everything listed, but they are the focus of many games.

 

[Oofta]

No one is arguing that we should make a change.

We are saying that D&D, THE elves and dwarves game, doesn't support being a super smart elf or a super wise dwarf outside of combat and exploration very well.

It supports it well enough for every game I've ever run or played.

 

[Minigiant]

It supports it well enough for every game I've ever run or played.

How exactly does D&D support my 10 year old niece use her elven countess' super genius intellect and 400 years of life experience during the kidnapping at the Royal Ball?

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

Simple question. How do you use the ability check system as written to determine the attitudes of the population over time during an election for mayor in a large town?

I'm not a DM, so I can't really tell you that. From my perspective I don't know why you would need rules for that. However, I will ask my partner (who is a DM) and get back to you.

Also, which edition are you talking about - this was a general D&D post?

See, there are systems out there that will actually do this. They can track successes and failures over time, can be altered to track different checks over different time periods, and can be nested in order to resolve something like this without simply free-forming most of the answer.

I don't know if this is exactly what your talking about, but 4e skill challenges did something like this. We basically still use them in 5e.

D&D is not a system that does this. That's not saying that D&D is a bad system. Far from it. But, this notion that rules-absent is somehow a strength of a system is so baffling to me.

I think you are reading to much into some posters comments. When someone says it is a strength, I think that is very personal to them and what they want. Not an objective review of the system's tools.

However, you similarly say D&D doesn't support things that it clearly does. Which is baffling to me. Many editions of D&D have rules for the things you say they don't. Are those rules extensive as the combat system? No, but there are rules, i.e. support for most if not all of those styles of play.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The OP does not say D&D is good at dealing with politics. It states that politics is frequently a focus of the game.

It says that it supports, among other things, a political game. In what way, specifically, does D&D provide said support?

 

[Oofta]

Mysteries, politics, etc. happen all the time in D&D. They discuss using skill checks, setting DCs, etc. in the DMG (yes, there could be more). It's supported through skill checks and backgrounds features, not to mention things that may have happened previously in game.

It seems like people are being deliberately obtuse so ... have a good one.