D&D General Skilled Play, or Role Play: How Do You Approach Playing D&D?

[Oofta]

It’s weird, I‘m not sure I agree that having DCs for puzzles helps roleplaying. Quite the opposite, I think. They prevent roleplaying.

In my experience, players don’t roleplay when they know they can just roll dice to resolve an obstacle. See combat devolving to blandly repeating endless variations of “I swing, I hit, I do 3 damage”. The players immersing themselves in the fantasy world by describing what their characters actually do in that fantasy world is roleplaying.

Whether those actions are “in character” or not is beside the point, to me. You can’t really separate “what the character would do” from how the player decides to play them. Any version of “that’s not what a thief in the fantasy world would do” is easily countered by “well, this one would”. It’s not up to the table or the DM how a player plays their character.

I will frequently give people bonuses or advantage to checks depending on what they say or do.

But it also just depends, is the door locked because it's critical to the story or is it just locked because people lock doors and opening the door is time critical? Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, sometimes a lock is just a lock. Sometimes I just handwave it because they have all the time in the world.

 

[Charlaquin]

It’s the age-old problem of a charismatic player sweet talking the NPCs when the character has 3 CHA.

I think this is all in how you run NPC interactions. If you just act out the conversation and call for checks only occasionally when something seems to particularly warrant it, then yeah, Charisma won’t be particularly important for social interaction. On the other hand, if all you do is call for checks, then player skill becomes meaningless. The best approach, in my opinion, is to either act out the conversation or have players state their characters’ general intent, but either way, pay attention not just to wha the player is saying, but when they’re trying to influence the NPC in some way. Then treat that attempt to influence as you would any other action - evaluate the goal and the approach for chance of success, chance of failure, and consequences, calling for a check if it has all three.

 

[Charlaquin]

Well, collapsible equipment (whether metal or wood) would likely require a greater level of "tech" (metal working, precision tools, etc.) than is present in the D&D world.

But then again, maybe not? The actual level of "tech" in the D&D world seems to vary from bronze-age to early Industrial Revolution depending on what you looking at.

Yeah, if it was a straight medieval world, collapsible equipment would be very difficult to create. But we’re talking about a world with supermaterials like mithril and darkwood, dwarven smiths, gnomish engineers, etc.

 

[Campbell]

I think if your emphasis is really digging into character and pursuing that characters' personal goals there are much better vehicles than a team based dungeon crawler. When playing variations of D&D I try to portray a character with integrity, but my first priority is completing the adventure or getting that treasure.

 

[Krachek]

Is that 10' pole in your inventory, or are you happy to see me?

Forget?
To know the rules. To use a 10' pole to check for traps. To know how to use flaming oil.

10’ are nice until kobolds set trap that trigger 10 feet away, nullifying the pole!
most of the time skilled play is an illusion that the DM let roll.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

10’ are nice until kobolds set trap that trigger 10 feet away, nullifying the pole!

Well, if you've got a case of Tucker's Kobolds, you're gonna need a bigger pole!

 

[Oofta]

10’ are nice until kobolds set trap that trigger 10 feet away, nullifying the pole!
most of the time skilled play is an illusion that the DM let roll.

That's why you get a dog and teach it how to play fetch. Oh, and the ball has continual light cast on it.

 

[not-so-newguy]

That's why you get a dog and teach it how to play fetch. Oh, and the ball has continual light cast on it.

That dog may want to play fetch once.... and only once.

 

[Oofta]

That dog may want to play fetch once.... and only once.

That's why you have dog #42 waiting for you with the horses.

 

[nevin]

2. Role Play

skilled play I can get from board games. It's an ok way to resolve combat but That's not what I'm there for.