As I mentioned with 4e, "ignoring" rules is a lot easier said than done. If you want to create custom car it's a lot easier to start with a baseline model than one that's already tricked out in a way you don't like. You have to spend as much time ripping out the stuff you don't like than building the stuff you do like.
That's why you pick a preferred playstyle for your game, and provide optional rules for other playstyles you'd like your game to potentially support. People who don't want those rules...don't use them.
For the record. I’m not opposed 1 bit to optional DMG rules for robust social mechanics.I can largely agree with that. And, yes, I do believe you hit the nail on the head.
As far as getting what I want, I suppose, you could argue that I already have. After all, 3pp have all sorts of social combat mechanics for 5e. There's a veritable shopping list of different systems, so, at the end of the day, it really is on me to simply adopt one of those and use them. I have already done so for exploration in my Spelljammer game, for example, to very good effect. And, of course, there's things like Level Up and the small mountain of material there that could certainly be adapted.
From free fanmade stuff, all the way to highly professional polished stuff. I'm really spoiled for choice. I mean, I was just perusing the other day an adaptation of Blades in the Dark's clock system for use in D&D 5e. There really are a small mountain of options out there.
It would just be nice if some of those actually made their way into the DMG so I didn't have to try to convince my bloody players that stuff that doesn't necessarily have the WotC seal of approval on it is perfectly fine to use in the game.But that's a separate issue.
Much, much easier to add than take away. People will use rules they don't like because "That's the way it's supposed to be played." Look how many people complain about getting all your HP overnight making the game too easy.
I don't believe anyone advocating more robust social mechanics ever requested them as default. People are, however, very concerned that any idea they don't care for might become the default and "ruin" their experience.
In theory I’m good with that. In practice modular rpg design doesn’t seem to work that great. At some point you start to get some combinations of options that just dont work well together. So like a few things can be modular no issue, and more peripheral things probably can be more modular, but theres going to be limits unless we turn it into a complete build your own game and you are responsible for how all the rules interact kind of thing.
Maybe. Maybe they weren’t very clear early on in precisely what they were advocating for. I saw alot of just include it, because it can be ignored. Presumably that was include it in a non-optional way but I’ll take your word that this wasn’t the intent.
Well, then I guess tables are going to have to exercise some judgement as to what modules they do and don't choose to use.
You don’t see the problem with that?
Let's just say I think that presumption is inaccurate.
