D&D 5E What's fun?

[DND_Reborn]

I’mma guess 2e is either your favorite edition of the first you tried?

I started B/X in 1978, the of course into AD&D 1E and BECMI within a year or so, then started a 1E/2E-hybrid (mostly 1E) in 1990 which I played until 2005, when I tried 3E for less than a year, then went back to the hybrid. Finally got into 5E about 4 years ago.

2E wasn't really my favorite edition, but the blend of 1E/2E I made was. I liked some of the systems/mechanics in 2E which simplified things from 1E, but kept classes, spells, magic items, and every thing else from 1E. Mostly 2E we used initiative and non-weapon proficiency slots. Once 2E started the splat-book run, I knew D&D was dying IMO then.

What I play now (5E with some house-rules) is a facsimile of what D&D used to be. BUT, I don't want this to become any sort of edition war thread so I'm leaving it at that.

 

[Charlaquin]

I started B/X in 1978, the of course into AD&D 1E and BECMI within a year or so, then started a 1E/2E-hybrid (mostly 1E) in 1990 which I played until 2005, when I tried 3E for less than a year, then went back to the hybrid. Finally got into 5E about 4 years ago.

2E wasn't really my favorite edition, but the blend of 1E/2E I made was. I liked some of the systems/mechanics in 2E which simplified things from 1E, but kept classes, spells, magic items, and every thing else from 1E. Mostly 2E we used initiative and non-weapon proficiency slots. Once 2E started the splat-book run, I knew D&D was dying IMO then.

What I play now (5E with some house-rules) is a facsimile of what D&D used to be. BUT, I don't want this to become any sort of edition war thread so I'm leaving it at that.

Yeah, nor did I want to steer the discussion in an edition war direction. I just figured from the focus on narrative you’d be a fan of that post-Hickman-revolution style narrative-focused play.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Yeah, nor did I want to steer the discussion in an edition war direction. I just figured from the focus on narrative you’d be a fan of that post-Hickman-revolution style narrative-focused play.

Fan, sure, but it has just always been the way I liked to play because for me story is essential. Otherwise, why are the PCs doing what they are doing???

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

. Otherwise, why are the PCs doing what they are doing???

For the loot and the glory, of course!

 

[Shiroiken]

Fantasy and Narrative were super easy. Despite the idiotic name, I went with Submission, since I've seen the overall enjoyment that the pastime provides. If this isn't what Submission is supposed to be, I'd swap over to Challenge.

 

[FrogReaver]

For the loot and the glory, of course!

D&D sounds alot like office worker sim 3000.

 

[overgeeked]

That's fair, I'll say that the Narrative vote is the shocking of the two to me. As limited as Expression is as an actual goal, I'd always thought that old game found Narrative downright blasphemous, if not entirely antithetical to good DMing

Even though EN skews older, most of us came up with or after the Hickman Revolution, which centered narrative in D&D.

 

[overgeeked]

What's the distinction between fantasy and discovery, here? You can't really engage with a fantasy world without exploring it - even engaging with an NPC is an exploration of the world. (You can be a completely RP-less hack-and-slasher - and that's fine, to be clear - but that would mean neither fantasy nor discovery, more like challenge.)

It’s not perfectly clear to me, either.

I did find this video that might help.

 

[Gradine]

Fantasy is the fun that comes from literally losing yourself in the setting/your character. Discovery is the fun that comes from learning things. They can very much go hand in hand but are not mutually inclusive.

One example i can think of is how Dresden Files works. You're certainly indulging in the Fantasy of being a part of that world, but the collaborative world building is very much Expression over Discovery. Similarly, telling a player to describe what they find when they crest over a hill, rather than telling them yourself, is engaging Expression rather than Discovery, but can contribute just as well to the immersion that comes from indulging in Fantasy.

 

[Gradine]

A better example strikes me: any given From Software game. Dark Souls especially. These games deliver pure, uncut Discovery- from the environmental storytelling to all the assorted bits of lore tucked away in item descriptions. And while the games are certainly atmospheric, they aren't exactly designed to help you lose yourself in your character.