D&D 5E Aversion to Creativity?

[Sailor Moon]

I have no trouble making up my own content, but sometimes I just want to delve into someone else's imagination.

 

[MoonSong]

I so hope you're wrong. For me, the game has always been about fun and the fun is in the creativity and what the players do in game. The Min/Max Power gaming that so many people like to talk about at length in forums like this one is pointless in a game like D&D. The DM always has the power the match and surpass the strength of the characters to keep things interesting. D&D is not a competition (except in tournament play, but even then characters are not competing against their own party.) so I'm curious who these players are trying to impress. The statement that there are only so many things one can build within the existing rules isn't true when creativity and fun stay integral parts of the game.

But why assume it is all about powergaming? You don't need the parts to be creative, but you need them to be playable. I can easily create tons of concepts, but if the rules don't support them you are in homebrew territory -and that is DM's territory, I don't know anybody who can freely homebrew as a player- or in refluffing and ignoring mechanics -And I don't know you, but ignoring mechanics feels like munchkin behaviour-. Anyway it just calls unwanted attention to oneself. What's wrong with the being able to know who is the character with just looking at the character sheet?

 

[GMMichael]

If I want to play a warlord then my best chances is not to make one, but to buy one... The same with a chronomancer, or a bladesinger....

This is the most poetic of the responses I've seen.

Yet, I wonder if it's something deeper...something more sinister...like:

"The American Idol Effect" - people today don't accept something unless it's presented to them by authorities. So-and-so was "pitchy," so she gets invited to Hollywood to sing on the show, or gets berated by Simon. It's not the same to watch a movie with singing and dancing, because there aren't authorities saying which singing stays, and which goes.

Transfer that to D&D: you can come up with your own ideas all you want, but unless it's endorsed by authority (the rules, the game designers) it doesn't have much value.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Transfer that to D&D: you can come up with your own ideas all you want, but unless it's endorsed by authority (the rules, the game designers) it doesn't have much value.

The ultimate irony of all this is that many of the people who want "official" D&D products and can't accept homebrewed creations as "real"... are the same people who are complaining about not having an OGL and 3rd party support-- which is the ultimate in paying real money for HOMEBREWED creations. A sub-class designed by the player isn't worth crap... but one made by some random schmoe at Necromancer Games (just pulling a name out of thin air), is A-OK and worth dropping some cash on!

How ridiculous is that?

 

[neobolts]

I've been doing a great deal of work for 5e, but it has almost entirely been worldbuilding rather than mechanical in nature.

 

[Neonchameleon]

The ultimate irony of all this is that many of the people who want "official" D&D products and can't accept homebrewed creations as "real"... are the same people who are complaining about not having an OGL and 3rd party support-- which is the ultimate in paying real money for HOMEBREWED creations. A sub-class designed by the player isn't worth crap... but one made by some random schmoe at Necromancer Games (just pulling a name out of thin air), is A-OK and worth dropping some cash on!

How ridiculous is that?

Not terribly ridiculous. When I homebrew something I can see most of the flaws and they can bug me. When I buy a supplement written by a supposedly professional game designer I am paying for their expertise and the understanding that they should be able to do the job better than I can. (Of course I don't think this was actually true for most of the d20 glut, but at least at first it was what I paid for)

 

[Mallus]

When I homebrew something I can see most of the flaws and they can bug me.

I almost wish that was me. When I homebrew (or co-homebrew), all I see is the unfettered genius of my mind gone a wanderin'.

I imagine my players see something else .

Re: creativity - I'm averse to the same things I've always been: drawing maps, making up my own mechanics, and suchlike. As for the other stuff, well, I love that with the same passionate and ridiculous intensity (which usually means 'an intense passion for the ridiculous').

 

[ExploderWizard]

But why assume it is all about powergaming? You don't need the parts to be creative, but you need them to be playable. I can easily create tons of concepts, but if the rules don't support them you are in homebrew territory -and that is DM's territory, I don't know anybody who can freely homebrew as a player- or in refluffing and ignoring mechanics -And I don't know you, but ignoring mechanics feels like munchkin behaviour-. Anyway it just calls unwanted attention to oneself. What's wrong with the being able to know who is the character with just looking at the character sheet?

It isn't all about power gaming per se. Power gaming is simply the easiest example of such behavior. As long as the activity is centered on interacting with the rules crunch instead of the fictional world it can take many forms. Being a combat monster is one popular form, perhaps others want support for being the best artificer, beast tamer, or (insert skill set) that they can be via interacting with mechanics.

Regardless of motive, once interacting with the game's mechanics becomes the primary fixation, the imagined game space and the activities taking place therein take a back seat to mechanical issues. If everyone in the group is happy with that arrangement its all good but that style does clash with those to whom mechanics are a distant second to actual play.

The one this style impacts most is the DM. One reason published material may be so popular is that if the DM knows that the group is only going to care about the world or adventure in a cursory manner, instead fixating on getting to level X so they get abilities Y and Z and can then do yadda yadda yadda, why would they WANT to put time and effort into creating content even if they had the time?

Spending hours working on content for a group who will largely be indifferent to it isn't very rewarding. This is the natural result of play focusing on what the character CAN do vs. what the character is actually doing . I really don't fault such DMs for wanting labor free content to run or even just pulling monsters out of the MM at random for such a group.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Not terribly ridiculous. When I homebrew something I can see most of the flaws and they can bug me. When I buy a supplement written by a supposedly professional game designer I am paying for their expertise and the understanding that they should be able to do the job better than I can. (Of course I don't think this was actually true for most of the d20 glut, but at least at first it was what I paid for)

I feel sorry for you then. The fact that you will turn a blind eye to the work of a 3rd party publisher and just by rote call it "real" because they are so-called "professionals"... but can't do the same to your own work is a shame. Too many of us are blinded by authority to our detriment.

 

[Sailor Moon]

I created a Bladesinger using the Fey Pact Blade Warlock but I still want an official one.