To much combat and not enough "roleplaying"!

[tecnowraith]

From all the blogs, playtest reports, announcements and articles I have seen allot of talk about combat and not enough adventuring, skill usage, puzzle working (like traps etc) and social interactions (political play) between players and NPCs. I an missing this from the list above or anyone else feel the same way?

 

[Hairfoot]

Of course, but that's been the direction of D&D from day one. Board/wargames are accessible and fun, but roleplaying can be demanding and is not to everyone's taste. WotC wants to expand the D&D audience in the WoW generation, and combat is the best bait.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

puzzle working (like raps etc)

Wait. What? Not enough puzzle-filled rap-battles?

 

[Torgan]

From all the blogs, playtest reports, announcements and articles I have seen allot of talk about combat and not enough adventuring, skill usage, puzzle working (like raps etc) and social interactions (political play) between players and NPCs. I an missing this from the list above or anyone else feel the same way?

Definitely not. D&D has always be about combat mechanics, with nothing else to do about roleplaying. In my opinion, RPing is players and DMs' fun, not a game mechanics role, and having a very good mechanics gives more time for roleplaying.

So 4th ed view is fine with me

 

[pogre]

Rules about roleplaying usually do not need a lot of balance. Combat rules require lots of playtesting. Playtesting should be dominated by combats.

 

[Jack99]

Of course, but that's been the direction of D&D from day one. Board/wargames are accessible and fun, but roleplaying can be demanding and is not to everyone's taste. WotC wants to expand the D&D audience in the WoW generation, and combat is the best bait.

Not to mention the fact that roleplaying isn't edition dependent, so for all old players, nothing will change, except the mechanics... which is what they have been talking about.

Seriously, when has there ever been a big focus on role-playing in the core books? I am asking, because I don't recall neither 2e nor 3e core books to be full of advice on how to "role-play".

 

[Lurks-no-More]

We do know that 4e will feature a rule framework for supporting social encouters (a good thing, IMO), so I'm sure we'll find out more about that in the months to come. Give WotC time, people.

 

[Hussar]

From all the blogs, playtest reports, announcements and articles I have seen allot of talk about combat and not enough adventuring, skill usage, puzzle working (like traps etc) and social interactions (political play) between players and NPCs. I an missing this from the list above or anyone else feel the same way?

Talking to Baron McBaddie doesn't need a whole lot of mechanics. And it certainly doesn't need a whole lot of playtesting.

Mechanics do.

People are not blogging their home games. They are blogging playtests. As in, "Does Mechanic X work the way it should". Puzzle working, for example, is entirely dependent on the group and really shouldn't be included in playtesting.

 

[Khuxan]

People are not blogging their home games. They are blogging playtests. As in, "Does Mechanic X work the way it should". Puzzle working, for example, is entirely dependent on the group and really shouldn't be included in playtesting.

Having said that, Wizards has also revealed that traps will be more interactive instead of 'save or be inconvenienced'. So puzzle-solving as it relates to trap-springing will hopefully be encouraged.

 

[Wormwood]

Traps may no longer be 'thief solo play' but may become encounters which can involve the entire party.