D&D General I really LOVE Stomping Goblins

[Charlaquin]

Sometimes I want a complex game with meaningful choices. Sometimes I just want to kick ass and chew bubblegum. Except I don't ever chew bubblegum.

Right, and my point is that both of those things are fine, but it doesn’t work well to try and have both at once.

 

[Alzrius]

Does it change anything if they're fairies now instead of humanoids?

Will Smith says no.

 

[Charlaquin]

Does it change anything if they're fairies now instead of humanoids?

(If demons and angels are outsiders, are fairies insiders? Or would that be elementals? )

Depends. If your faeries have free will, culture, individuality, they’re not ok to murder on sight. If they’re pure forces of nature with no actual agency of their own, then sure, they’re fair game.

 

[MGibster]

Years ago , I'd agree. I prefer more nuance now. I need to know why my character's enemies are their enemies. I've lost my bloodlust for stock score killing at the table.

D&D is not a game I show up to for nuance. That said, even my more mercenary players are more apt to take a wait and see approach in regards to how goblins behave rather than just attacking them on sight.

The Last of Us 2 was a really strange experience. The game does this great job of humanizing both sides of the conflict. However, while trying to make violence, revenge, and death a shocking and sad experience, the gameplay had you killing scores of faceless stock enemies. Quite a cognitive dissonance going on there. I definitely prefer it to be a thing or not a thing. Dont cross those streams!

Far Cry 3 was like that. The protagonist was supposed to be some some kid from the suburbs who wasn't a badass commando type yet a few minutes after the introduction you're slaughtering bad guys left and right. I especially love it when games wax poetically about the madness of war/combat and yet the game play encourages you to kill, kill, kill.

I play video games. I recently played a Far Cry game where you basically ran around shooting people in the head. I didn't think twice about it because they are not real. Neither are the enemies in D&D.

And that's how a lot of people, myself included to a degree, play D&D. They're not playing to a deeper narrative they're just playing a game where they stomp things that just happens to have a narrative framework explaining the violence. And that's perfectly okay if that's what someone is into.

Does it change anything if they're fairies now instead of humanoids?

Yeah. You eat the fairies to gain their magical powers. And fairy meat is delicious.

 

[Charlaquin]

I must have missed where the thread was asking for a debate or putting up a dichotomy?

Last time I checked, this was an online discussion forum. Sharing an opinion in such a forum is de facto inviting people to express dissenting opinions.

Seems more like the OP was a statement of an activity they enjoy, and one I dont begrudge, since in my 'career' as a gamer, I'm probably running up millions, 10's of millions, of slain foes.

Ok, that’s great. I also wanted to share my opinion, which is that I feel that works fine, unless you also try to make those enemies morally nuanced.

Heck, fire up those strategy games (Stellaris for example) and I'm in the billions.

An utter monster.

 

[Cadence]

Depends. If your faeries have free will, culture, individuality, they’re not ok to murder on sight. If they’re pure forces of nature with no actual agency of their own, then sure, they’re fair game.

My brain is a bit sloggy tonight so apologies if this isn't right at all.
In some versions would they have agency, but also have spirits instead of souls and be reincarnated when they die? Would coming back in some form make it different too?

 

[Charlaquin]

I simply accept that games are not real. Has nothing to do with real world morality.

I also accept that games are not real. And I accept that they nonetheless express meaning.

 

[payn]

D&D is not a game I show up to for nuance. That said, even my more mercenary players are more apt to take a wait and see approach in regards to how goblins behave rather than just attacking them on sight.

I'd have said this years ago too. If my games are not like philosophy 101 club, I dont have any fun anymore.

 

[DarkCrisis]

My avatar agrees.

 

[Charlaquin]

My brain is a bit sloggy tonight so apologies if this isn't right at all.

No problem!

In some versions would they have agency, but also have spirits instead of souls and be reincarnated when they die? Would coming back in some form make it different too?

I’d need a clear definition of spirits and souls and what the difference is between them to answer that question confidently. But, in general I would say probably not. The important thing (to me) is whether they have agency. And reincarnation doesn’t really change things. Would the fact that Tatyana’s soul is trapped in a reincarnation loop in Ravenloft make it ok to kill whoever her current incarnation is? I would say no. You’re still ending the life of an autonomous living being.