D&D 5E Roleplaying in D&D 5E: It’s How You Play the Game

[jmartkdr2]

What's the point? This kind of comes off as one true way-ism, that you must do things a certain way or you are not really role playing.

There are many ways of playing the game, I'm not going to pretend that the way I prefer or my interpretation of this editions rules are the way to play. People can be totally immersed in their PC's life, or a PC could just be stats on a page, a paper avatar that goes from combat to combat while people hang out with friends.

Or maybe I'm just missing the point you're trying to make.

The one true way to play Dungeons and Dragons is to play Dungeons and Dragons!

If you're not playing Dungeons and Dragons, you're not playing Dungeons and Dragons!

(he said, sarcastically)

 

[clearstream]

Suppose (for the sake of analysis) that the game contains rules roughly of the form if a player declares that their PC does X, then mechanism Z is invoked to determine what happens next in the shared fiction. Then one contribution that the players make to the game, beyond determining how their PCs think, act and talk, is to invoke mechanisms via rules of the sort described.

As you might know, I personally enjoy going with players invoking game mechanisms directly as a kind of shorthand, and also to reify a notion that such mechanisms offer them moments of fiat over the emergent narrative.

The 5th edition core book text itself supports more that players should describe how they are thinking and acting, and DM should invoke the necessary mechanics. There's paragraphs - pages maybe - associating invoking-mechanics with DM's. I haven't noticed anything similar for players.

So I think that form doesn't exist in the text, but stand ready to be corrected with salient references!

 

[rgoodbb]

DM describes the scene
Players describe what they want to do
DM asks for rolls (preferably bacon. They're hungry)
Players didn't bring bacon rolls
DM tells players that they and their characters should feel bad about this
Players describe just how they feel about being told what to feel
DM describes how hangry they are with that reaction
Late player brings bacon rolls to the table
DM describes the settling results and actions of the bacon roll latecomer
Repeat

 

[Oofta]

No.

But I've found that it is useful to reflect once in a while on whether how we've been playing (i.e. "what makes sense to us") continues to jive with the basics of the game. Occasionally the ship drifts off course. YMMV

I would say that the ship goes on the course that makes the most sense to the DM and group and there's nothing wrong with that.

And to some, the books contain lots of rules to support the DM in running the game (and, indeed, the players in helping the DM to run the game). Where one decides to draw the line between "hard rules" and "guidance" is completely arbitrary per the "ruling not rules" uber-advice, wouldn't you say?

The text is quite explicit: make the game your own.

Not sure why this is even a thing in this discussion. Perhaps we could keep the mud on the ground, yes?

Maybe it's S.A.D. talking, but it's just kind of a pet peeve of mine that people trot out sections of text and say "See! This is the way! Any other way means you're doing it wrong!" Then you seemed to double down on it.

So I mean no offense, and I don't know how to state it without sounding like that but telling other people how to play a game comes off as holier than thou. The keeper of the sacred text. The OP was very, very specific on what they consider "correct". That the role of the player is very limited, that declarations must be done in a specific fashion. It's just odd to me and doesn't match up with what I've seen in actual games or on the handful of game streams that I've watched.

Sometimes players add bits and pieces to the lore and story, especially if it has no immediate impact. How much and how often this happens varies widely from table to table, as it should IMHO. Frequently players ask to make perception or insight checks instead of declaring a more generic what they're doing then waiting for the DM to call for a check. For that matter I can't remember ever seeing, in person or on a stream, a DM ask for a Wisdom (perception) check.

One of the big selling points of the current iteration of D&D (especially after the last couple of editions seemed to want to force a specific style) is that people make the game their own. I think that's a good thing and quite honestly don't see the point of "revisiting the basics".

In other words, it's one thing to say "This is how I do it and why it works for me". It's another to say "If you don't do it this way you aren't really role playing." So I do apologize if what I'm saying sounds insulting, and maybe I need to spend more time with my sun lamp or head to warmer (and brighter) climes for a bit. I just don't know how else to state it. There is no one true way.

 

[Charlaquin]

It’s really astounding to me how sensitive people are to literally just having the rules quoted. This thread didn’t even make any ought statements based on the rules it quoted, it’s nothing more and nothing less than repeating the words the rules say. If that’s one-true-wayism, then I don’t know what isn’t.

 

[Oofta]

It’s really astounding to me how sensitive people are to literally just having the rules quoted. This thread didn’t even make any ought statements based on the rules it quoted, it’s nothing more and nothing less than repeating the words the rules say. If that’s one-true-wayism, then I don’t know what isn’t.

The rules were quoted and the post ended with the sentence "This is the players’ sole contribution to the game, the other two thirds of the basic pattern belonging to the DM, and is the only way that the players can be said to actually be playing the game."

That's what I object to. If @Hriston ever wants to clarify what they meant that's fine. Until then they are literally saying that their interpretation is the only way. I'm not particularly sensitive to it, but if you're going to post something I disagree with I'm going to ... wait for it ... disagree with t.

 

[Charlaquin]

The rules were quoted and the post ended with the sentence "This is the players’ sole contribution to the game, the other two thirds of the basic pattern belonging to the DM, and is the only way that the players can be said to actually be playing the game."

That's what I object to. If @Hriston ever wants to clarify what they meant that's fine. Until then they are literally saying that their interpretation is the only way. I'm not particularly sensitive to it, but if you're going to post something I disagree with I'm going to ... wait for it ... disagree with t.

I believe what they’re saying is that deciding how your character thinks, speaks, and acts is the only autonomy the rules explicitly grant players, everything else falling under the DM’s authority. They don’t state any conclusions based on this, so it’s just a factual statement about the rules, but at a guess I suspect they were suggesting that because this is the only power the players are explicitly granted by the rules, DMs shouldn’t take that away from them too.

 

[clearstream]

I believe what they’re saying is that deciding how your character thinks, speaks, and acts is the only autonomy the rules explicitly grant players, everything else falling under the DM’s authority. They don’t state any conclusions based on this, so it’s just a factual statement about the rules, but at a guess I suspect they were suggesting that because this is the only power the players are explicitly granted by the rules, DMs shouldn’t take that away from them too.

It's a provocative statement, and also can be read as a peeve (as you show.) DMs are not taking anything away from players. They say what they want their characters to do, and near-universally groups focus almost all attention on what characters want to experience or achieve.

DM works hard to support that: there's no reason the game should be balanced as to possession of rules.

 

[Nefermandias]

I don't think OP is telling anybody how to play their own games. Heck, he wouldn't have that power even if he wanted to do so.
You guys are overreacting a bit here.

 

[DemoMonkey]

Fascinating. This thread is like the cave on Dagobah.

What will you find inside?