D&D General Why the resistance to D&D being a game?

[Maxperson]

Untrue. A Quarterback is blatently superior to a runningback and more important to the sucess of the team and this was specifically addressed by the players union last year. Likewise an offensive tackle is superior to an offensive guard even though they are both offensive linemen. Those two positions (quarterback and tackle) are inherently more important than other similar positions.

The Detroit Lions show that to not be universally true. Barry Sanders was the entire team for years. No quarterback to speak of, though Rodney Peet was okay during those years. He had no receivers to throw to, though. No offensive line. No good tight ends. It was just Barry Sanders and he still consistently put up some of the highest yard seasons in NFL history. Aside from that, without a good running back to create a ground threat, defenses can key on the QB and receivers and many teams do very poorly as a result. The QB position does as well as it does BECAUSE of the running back position, so I don't think QB is superior. I rate both positions to be about the same in importance.

 

[Scribe]

I rate both positions to be about the same in importance.

...

That wont hold up. In many ways I agree, but there is a reason the RB position made waves in the news before training camp this year, and its not because its seen to have the same importance as the QB relative to the players in that position.

 

[Cadence]

Either or both. I don't think it matters. Fighter A was born with the blood of a god running through his veins and that allows him to do amazingly supernatural martial feats, and Fighter B was born a normal(anime) human(Zoro from One Piece) who trained and trained with his sword until he could cut someone in half from 50 or 100 feet away just by swinging his sword. Both achieve supernaturally effective martial attacks, but via different means.

Why can't the demi-god ones train as much as the normal ones and be even better? (I mean, sure, game balance,.but...)

 

[Cadence]

...

That wont hold up. In many ways I agree, but there is a reason the RB position made waves in the news before training camp this year, and its not because its seen to have the same importance as the QB relative to the players in that position.

And besides, isn't the O-line the most important thing? (Try running or passing without them!)

 

[doctorbadwolf]

That is a definition so broad as to be meaningless.

Not at all. It is simply what storytelling is in roleplaying games. The story told after the fact is storytelling about the game, not in it or as part of it.

 

[MichaelSomething]

This thread needs some Brock Samson!

 

[Guest 7042500]

I've been playing since before D&D was published (I am mentioned in the GREYHAWK supplement.)

Once I finally stopped trying to reconcile D&D with my medieval history degree and accepted it as a goofy game of exploring the "Fun House From Hell," dumb puns and all, it became fun again.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Both are wizards AND angels. They are angels of the order of the Istari who are wizards. Gandalf casts magical spells(fireballs, lightning bolts, knock, and more) and also has his own innate angelic powers.

No, not really.

There's no separation in the way you're describing. All the Istari are "wizards" and the all "wizards" are Istari. It's a Venn diagram with 100% overlap.

There's no reason to believe that "wizardly" powers exist in Middle Earth beyond the Istari (regardless of how MERP or whatever handled it), and no reason to believe the Istari are somehow separating their powers into two categories.

In case you want to dispute this:

Wizards

The Order of Wizards (Q. Heren Istarion) was the title assigned to five Maiar in the Third Age of Middle-earth. The wizards were commonly known as the Istari (Quenya...

tolkiengateway.net

The Istari

The Istari is the title of the second section within Part Four of Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. In the section is described the background of the...

tolkiengateway.net

Order of Wizards

The Order of Wizards (Quenya: Heren Istarion), or simply Wizards (Q.: Istari), were a group of Maiar sent to Middle-earth by the Valar in the early Third Age[1] around TA 1050 when the "Necromancer" became active in Dol Guldur.[2] They were embodied as elderly Men and entrusted to aid the Free...

lotr.fandom.com

I can go on. There are no "wizards" who aren't Istari and no Istari who aren't "wizards". But their power comes from being Maiar, and there's no dispute on that.

You're perhaps confusing Istari and Maiar? There are Maiar who aren't Istari, who are generally range about equally powerful to significantly more powerful.

Maiar

The Maiar (singular Maia; Quenya, pronounced [ˈmaɪ.ar]) were those spirits which descended into Ëa to help the Valar shape the World. They were numerous, yet not...

tolkiengateway.net

 

[Maxperson]

No, not really.

There's no separation in the way you're describing. All the Istari are "wizards" and the all "wizards" are Istari. It's a Venn diagram with 100% overlap.

There's no reason to believe that "wizardly" powers exist in Middle Earth beyond the Istari (regardless of how MERP or whatever handled it), and no reason to believe the Istari are somehow separating their powers into two categories.

We know for a fact that spellcasters were among elves, orcs and men at the very least. And that Gandalf was casting spells at Moria at the very least, not using divine power, unless he's also a liar and I don't think Tolkien intended him to be a liar.

Wizards

The Order of Wizards (Q. Heren Istarion) was the title assigned to five Maiar in the Third Age of Middle-earth. The wizards were commonly known as the Istari (Quenya...

tolkiengateway.net

The Istari

The Istari is the title of the second section within Part Four of Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. In the section is described the background of the...

tolkiengateway.net

Order of Wizards

The Order of Wizards (Quenya: Heren Istarion), or simply Wizards (Q.: Istari), were a group of Maiar sent to Middle-earth by the Valar in the early Third Age[1] around TA 1050 when the "Necromancer" became active in Dol Guldur.[2] They were embodied as elderly Men and entrusted to aid the Free...

lotr.fandom.com

I can go on. There are no "wizards" who aren't Istari and no Istari who aren't "wizards". But their power comes from being Maiar, and there's no dispute on that.

You're perhaps confusing Istari and Maiar? There are Maiar who aren't Istari, who are generally range about equally powerful to significantly more powerful.

That's my entire point. There are Mair that aren't Istari and therefore are not wizards, that means that the Istari have to be both Maiar AND izards

 

[Maxperson]

Why can't the demi-god ones train as much as the normal ones and be even better? (I mean, sure, game balance,.but...)

You called it. Game balance. Otherwise they should be able to, just like someone should be able to use a mundane class ability more than once per day.