Why is realism "lame"?

[Nytmare]

You are actually going to use alignment and realism in the same sentence?

To be fair, he followed it up with a request for a scientific explanation for how something that breaks all the rules of science works.

Lanefan, I'm blaming you for midichlorians from this point out.

 

[Janx]

Does Call of Duty have spikey armor, and buster swords?

as compared to Halo?

at least 2 shots can kill a man in CoD. Halo, you'll empty 2 clips to take down a man.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Capitalism. Reality is in the public domain.

Something that was a great worry to Homer, Valmiki, Wu Cheng'en, Ariosto, and Spenser I'm sure.

 

[MichaelSomething]

as compared to Halo?

at least 2 shots can kill a man in CoD. Halo, you'll empty 2 clips to take down a man.

Well Halo does take place in a sci-fi future. If you're a genetically engineered super soldier in power armor with an energy shield, it would make sense to be able to stand up to getting shot a few times.

The aliens could take a beating as well.

 

[Elf Witch]

I have this issue a lot I prefer a little more realism and less who hoo in my games. And for a long time I could not figure out what my problem was.

I compare all games to what I considered the best game I ever played which was a home brew 3.0 game when 3.0 first came out. Looking back on what made it so special besides the role playing was the way the DM managed the game we played just shy of two years every week yet we never got over ninth level.

It was low magic with not a lot of magic items and not a lot of clerical magic. The only magic in the party was a fighter/wizard and my character a sorcerer who I did not build as a blaster but more as an investigator and party support. There were not tons of source books and the DM used a variant damage system.

The party never became the most powerful SOBs around yes we were more powerful than villagers and we could handle a lot but there was no way we were going by ourselves take on and unseat the powerful evil Elven Bright Kingdom. The city we were in the Keepers of the City together were far more powerful than us but that was as long as they stayed in their city.

I started to realize my main issue is that once you get over a certain level it becomes almost impossible to keep any kind of realism in the game.

I am finding the more I play that I am getting tired of level based play it leads to superheroes way to fast. You start out as an adventure at 16 and by 18 you are a god.

I love fantasy novels and very few have magic as powerful as it is in DnD or fighters and rogues who can fall from great heights and get up and brush off their bottom and get up and walk away and that is not a fluke or a gift from the gods.

I don't want it to be so realistic that healing takes months but I would like to see disease and poison be more than just a minor nuisance. And while I do like the idea of coming back from the dead I would like to see some kind of consequence for it.

I would like to see penalties for wearing heavy armor all day long and I would like to see and end to spells that just create food and water from nothing. All these little things that can make adventuring more difficult is swept away with a spell.

That is the little touches of realism I would like to see.

 

[Balesir]

I started to realize my main issue is that once you get over a certain level it becomes almost impossible to keep any kind of realism in the game.

Nicely explained!

I've said it before, and I still think it's true, that the game that would suit you best is HârnMaster. You don't need to invest in anything - take a look here and sample some of the free downloads. In particular the "Friends, Foes and Followers" series (a collection of NPCs for a "realistic" medieval setting, light on system and heavy on fluff) and the "Anya's Vale" site are worth a look - although there's absolutely tons there if you get "bitten by the bug". There's also a very friendly forum attached where you can ask questions and find answers to all manner of queries.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Nicely explained!

I've said it before, and I still think it's true, that the game that would suit you best is HârnMaster. You don't need to invest in anything - take a look here and sample some of the free downloads. In particular the "Friends, Foes and Followers" series (a collection of NPCs for a "realistic" medieval setting, light on system and heavy on fluff) and the "Anya's Vale" site are worth a look - although there's absolutely tons there if you get "bitten by the bug". There's also a very friendly forum attached where you can ask questions and find answers to all manner of queries.

I have to second harnmaster. The only thing to keep in mind if you buy the books is they are in three ring binder, loose-leaf form. Sme people are a bit surprised by that. The downside it is a bit more difficult to read through than a proper book (at least in my opinion) but the upside is once you start getting more packets its so easy to customize your folder.

Even if you end up not liking the system, definitely check out the setting material.

 

[Balesir]

I have to second harnmaster. The only thing to keep in mind if you buy the books is they are in three ring binder, loose-leaf form. Sme people are a bit surprised by that. The downside it is a bit more difficult to read through than a proper book (at least in my opinion) but the upside is once you start getting more packets its so easy to customize your folder.

Thanks for the second! The easiest way to get HM these days is as a PDF, so you can have it printed by Lulu or something to your own specifications I like the binder format, personally, but can well understand those who prefer a "proper book".

Even if you end up not liking the system, definitely check out the setting material.

Hârn has an interesting history. It started out as a systemless world setting - and you can still treat it that way, if that suits you. But feedback in the '80s was that no extant system really did the setting "properly" - so a purpose-made system was created. For my money, it's still the best system for playing in a "world you can almost reach out and touch".

 

[Elf Witch]

I have looked at Harn and when things are less chaotic in my life I am going to purchase it. Right now I am not gaming at all. My game is on hold my roommate game is on hold. Real life issues of unemployment and health issues are in the forefront. I am going to be facing major spinal surgery in the new year.

After all that I am going to look at changing over to Harn.

I have also been looking at E6 which also limits the higher level power creep.

One of my players is really upset over my decision he just loves DnD and I think he feels I don't like the game any longer and that is not really true. I am burned out and I am bored with it. DnD is its on style of fantasy and it really does not support well a lot of variety of different styles. I am not talking flavor. If you want a low magic game DnD is not that ,not without a lot of work on the DMs part to try and keep things in balance by taking spells, classes and whole lot of things out.

There are times I do enjoy DnD style fantasy and want to play a game and I am beginning to realize I enjoy playing far more than I enjoy DMing it. It is not the amount of prep work. It is that the rules keep getting in the way of being able to bring my world to life.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I have looked at Harn and when things are less chaotic in my life I am going to purchase it. Right now I am not gaming at all. My game is on hold my roommate game is on hold. Real life issues of unemployment and health issues are in the forefront. I am going to be facing major spinal surgery in the new year.

After all that I am going to look at changing over to Harn.

I have also been looking at E6 which also limits the higher level power creep.

One of my players is really upset over my decision he just loves DnD and I think he feels I don't like the game any longer and that is not really true. I am burned out and I am bored with it. DnD is its on style of fantasy and it really does not support well a lot of variety of different styles. I am not talking flavor. If you want a low magic game DnD is not that ,not without a lot of work on the DMs part to try and keep things in balance by taking spells, classes and whole lot of things out.

There are times I do enjoy DnD style fantasy and want to play a game and I am beginning to realize I enjoy playing far more than I enjoy DMing it. It is not the amount of prep work. It is that the rules keep getting in the way of being able to bring my world to life.

Sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope the surgery improves things for you. Gaming when you are sick can definitely be difficult (and when you are not well, energy is often hard to come by). For the last two years I have been dealing with serious complications from crohns disease and it had a huge impact on my gaming. Earlier this year I blogged about gaming through illness (if you think it might be helpful feel free to check it out: http://thebedrockblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/gaming-through-illness.html).

I am also someone who doesn't play much D&D anymore. I used to play it a lot but now I prefer either a game like Harn (for more realism), or Savage Worlds (for cinematic stuff). I also play my own games, which are a pretty good blend of gritty and rules light. When different people in your group want to play different things it can be tricky to keep everyone happy. Best thing in my opinion is to have a frank discussion where everyone can freely give their opinion. You may be able to strike a compromise if you know what folks want. My own solution is to game with a few different groups.