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

[Cadence]

Because some people want to have their cake and eat it too.

Mmm....cake. Is the trick to buy or make two, and not tell anyone you ate the first? If so, posting about it feels like it ruins it.

Doh!

 

[Gammadoodler]

Or as Gary used to do, "if you jump off a 200 foot cliff you are dead, I don't care how many hit points you have.". He didn't think such obvious things needed to be explained.

He was wrong.

He was wrong twice. First in the quote. Second in thinking it should be obvious.

 

[Bill Zebub]

The best cakes are supernatural.








Oh, wait, I'm confusing that with non-natural.

 

[Cadence]

He was wrong twice. First in the quote. Second in thinking it should be obvious.

Does it round to zero chance if you're rolling a d100. Of course more zeroes can be added and on a d1000?

Survival following a vertical free fall from 300 feet: The crucial role of body position to impact surface - PMC

We report the case of a 28-year old rock climber who survived an "unsurvivable" injury consisting of a vertical free fall from 300 feet onto a solid rock surface. The trauma mechanism and injury kinetics are analyzed, with a particular focus on the ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[FrogReaver]

Isn't mundane the opposite of supernatural? Happy to get more word choices. What would you do with.

On mundane - One definition is that. Another is dull and uninteresting, lacking excitement. I think you can see why that doesn’t sit well.

I think Natural would be the obvious opposite to supernatural. Perhaps a better description though would be skillful. In whatever setting/genre I want the fighter to be skillful. In settings with supernatural fighters that’s what my skillful should be. In settings with captain America fighters that’s what skillful should be.

The question I think is - what kind of fighters are d&d setting fighters - and the fighters most associated with d&d are not supernatural.

 

[Cadence]

On mundane - One definition is that. Another is dull and uninteresting, lacking excitement. I think you can see why that doesn’t sit well.

Duh. I knew that and must be tired. Thanks for the reminder.

I think Natural would be the obvious opposite to supernatural. Perhaps a better description though would be skillful. In whatever setting/genre I want the fighter to be skillful. In settings with supernatural fighters that’s what my skillful should be. In settings with captain America fighters that’s what skillful should be.

Why isn't the demi-God or whatever odd training all the time too? (Or does Herc just get to party while Cap sweats all the time?).

What fantasy has completely natural fighters facing off with Balrogs and not getting stomped? (It feels like all the big Nolodor certainly had the supernatural elviness around them compared to say even Hurin). Is it a thing in Anime, say?

The question I think is - what kind of fighters are d&d setting fighters - and the fighters most associated with d&d are not supernatural.

"A sufficiently powerful level of skillfulness is indistinguishable from magic." ?

 

[Gammadoodler]

Ok, so I've lost a thread (mental, not ENWorld one) somewhere.

I know why group A doesn't want super-buffed fighters unless they're supernatural somehow.

And I know that group B wants fighters to be just as gonzo as the wizards.

I've forgotten why either group cares if there is no decent mundane fighter option, and all the good ones are supernatural somehow.

Anyone care to say if they are A or B and if they hate the balanced-with-wizards /gonzo fighters needing to pick a power source like demi-god, ancient mystic heritage, secret inner power source, dipped in Styx, blessed by the gods, etc ..?

Likely haven't been involved in the particulars of the threads you're referring to, but I believe I fit the description.

My issue with the "pick a power source" solution is that I find that it unnecessarily limits folks thematic options. And ultimately, I don't see a strong reason to care where the martial power comes from. For me, what matters are the things your PC can do, not why they can do them.

It's not like we perform this level of justification for casters.

What are the setting conditions that make a wizard different from an academic?
A cleric different from a priest?
A bard different from a busker?
A sorcerer different from their siblings?
A druid different from a dirty hippy?

We don't really know and we don't care. I don't see why we should for martials.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Does it round to zero chance if you're rolling a d100. Of course more zeroes can be added and on a d1000?

Survival following a vertical free fall from 300 feet: The crucial role of body position to impact surface - PMC

We report the case of a 28-year old rock climber who survived an "unsurvivable" injury consisting of a vertical free fall from 300 feet onto a solid rock surface. The trauma mechanism and injury kinetics are analyzed, with a particular focus on the ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Personally I think asserting an "obvious truth" for a diverse population of magical fantasy settings is a tremendously foolish thing to do.

 

[Cadence]

Likely haven't been involved in the particulars of the threads you're referring to, but I believe I fit the description.

My issue with the "pick a power source" solution is that I find that it unnecessarily limits folks thematic options. And ultimately, I don't see a strong reason to care where the martial power comes from. For me, what matters are the things your PC can do, not why they can do them.

Are you fine with the martials doing gonzo things? (More spiderman and above than black widow and below?) If so I don't think you are in either group that confused me.

It's not like we perform this level of justification for casters.

What are the setting conditions that make a wizard different from an academic?
A cleric different from a priest?
A bard different from a busker?
A sorcerer different from their siblings?
A druid different from a dirty hippy?

It feels like the rules do for the wizard? (They studied magic instead of baking). Same for the bard.

Fair enough in the others. I note you left out Warlock.

We don't really know and we don't care. I don't see why we should for martials.

Fair enough!

 

[Cadence]

Personally I think asserting an "obvious truth" for a diverse population of magical fantasy settings is a tremendously foolish thing to do.

For all the folks quoting Gygax as not simulating the world at all... he certainly seems to have used it as guidelines in places.

And, it was at the time his rule book to roughly define the default genre of the game in, wasn't it?

You are of course free to let people regularly survive slamming to the concrete from a few miles up in a powerdive with no magic. I'm guessing that would still be a minority choice, but I've seen some anime where it would be expected - so I would not be surprised to be wrong.