D&D (2024) What could One D&D do to push the game more toward story?

[pemerton]

As gamers, we do over analyse stuff don't we ?
I wonder how many of these in-depth discussions actually change the way we play?

Well, in my case discussing different techniques is pretty useful.

And the methods I use for GMing a RPG where story is supposed to be a thing are pretty different from those I use in the occasional session of classic AD&D.

 

[pemerton]

...are we not already having final battles on dragon back over waterfalls wherein the PCs can realize the redemption they sought all along was never needed because the burden of their past was never something they should have carried and now they can truly be heroes, not just debtors paying their due?

I dunno. Which participant decided that it's the final battle?

 

[Aldarc]

As gamers, we do over analyse stuff don't we ?
I wonder how many of these in-depth discussions actually change the way we play?

I may be an outlier but it has changed the way that I think and go about play. It's also improved my relation with games to the extent that I'm not trying to force square-shaped games into round-shaped holes, but, instead, play a variety of games in accordance with their respective strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Incenjucar]

I dunno. Which participant decided that it's the final battle?

The DM, because that is fairly baked into the role.

 

[pemerton]

The DM, because that is fairly baked into the role.

If that is a table's approach to story, then nothing is needed in One D&D. 5e D&D already strongly emphasises the GM as having extensive, even sole, authority over what events occur in the game and what their dramatic significance is. All One D&D needs to do is keep it up!

 

[John R Davis]

I may be an outlier but it has changed the way that I think and go about play. It's also improved my relation with games to the extent that I'm not trying to force square-shaped games into round-shaped holes, but, instead, play a variety of games in accordance with their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Agreed.
I have/do played a massive variety of games ( I do get to play a lot).
Not a fan of OneGame Uber Allies.
Discussion for another thread.

 

[Reynard]

As gamers, we do over analyse stuff don't we ?
I wonder how many of these in-depth discussions actually change the way we play?

I think for a lot of people, these discussions are akin to painting that army you bought. That is,they actually represent the bulk of the time we actually engage in the hobby. On the upside, unlike painting, it's social.

 

[Reynard]

The DM, because that is fairly baked into the role.

Any battle can be the final battle if the DM tries hard enough.

 

[tetrasodium]

The DM, because that is fairly baked into the role.

It should be. But with no consequence to worry about burning through resources too fast and being in a bind without them, the pllayers are now free to nova through any encounter & declare it was the final by demanding a rest.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Come to think of it, everything in a story serves a purpose, whether plot- or character-based. So, in theory, the only things that should be in the game are story-focused mechanics. Everything else is superfluous.

There is a ton I disagree with vociferously in this post, but this most of all.

You describe one style of storytelling. Not everything in a story needs to matter.

Beyond that, part of why people play 5e D&D so much as a game about stories is that it doesn’t mechanize the process of storytelling, it gives structure and form in which boundaries the participants can tell a story. It encourages making characters you have a clear image of, and then puts fun gameplay challenges before them, and otherwise leaves you to it.

A bunch of storytelling mechanics wouldn’t improve it. IMO.