D&D General Anyone else notice this?

[Seramus]

I'm not sure I would want D&D to be more roleplay heavy, despite the fact that I roleplay FAR more than I ever do combat related things. Hear me out. D&D has incredibly strong wargaming roots, to the point that I consider D&D to be "50% Wargame" to this day. Can you find a subclass that is not at least half combat abilities? Have you ever seen a subclass with NO combat abilities despite that theoretically being 2 of the 3 other pillars of the game?

But... being 50% Wargame is just part of the D&D identity. I pick up D&D when I want something heavier on the wargaming side of things (without going entirely into the deep end). I pick up a different game system entirely when I want something more roleplay heavy. I wouldn't even want D&D to pursue being some kind of perfect reflection of what modern gamers desire. It's not the 'middle ground option' even if it is the biggest. It's the 50% Wargame option.

 

[Bedrockgames]

So I was thinking today... about how out of sync the games as designed seem to be with how people play.

TSR era D&D actively punished action oriented/ combat heavy play- but everyone played it like that. (And just ignored the punative/restrictive parts.)

Modern D&D mechanically is everything we could have asked for in those heady days of dungeon crawling, monster bashing, and hoard looting- in particular characters that can actually do things right out of the box, and have durability at low levels. But "Everyone" now seems to prefer the RP side of the game most of all.

Are the game designers THAT far out of the loop,

Or are we players just THAT contrary and ornery?? lol

I am not seeing this. Action was a lot faster in TSR era D&D. So you could get through a dungeon crawl in a much more breezy way than in 3E or later editions in my experience. I am not saying one is better than the other.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't agree with the bolded part at all. I think people who want nothing to do with D&D have a large number of options across many different genres and many different types of systems that are not beholden to WotC decisions.

Absolutely. I did say the pressure was strong but not insurmountable. Players and publishers alike have many options, and no one is beholden to WotC's decisions. That doesn't mean that decisions WotC makes don't have more weight than similar decisions made by other companies.

 

[TiQuinn]

Absolutely. I did say the pressure was strong but not insurmountable. Players and publishers alike have many options, and no one is beholden to WotC's decisions. That doesn't mean that decisions WotC makes don't have more weight than similar decisions made by other companies.

No, other companies don’t have the same wake as D&D/WotC but I also believe that they are now navigating a bigger ocean that allows them to avoid it.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Have you seen Mearls latest work? Has a novice anc apprentice level for his classes, which preludes his 10-level classes.

I have not, though I will admit part of that is my general dislike of things that I know Mr. Mearls had a direct hand in creating. But just because I have disliked his work in the past doesn't mean he couldn't have any good ideas ever, so I guess I'll have to check that out.

 

[DEFCON 1]

No!

"Look, if I argue with you... I must take up a contrary position."

"Yes, but that isn't just saying 'No, it isn't'."

"Yes, it is."

"NO, IT ISN'T!"

 

[Chaltab]

I have not, though I will admit part of that is my general dislike of things that I know Mr. Mearls had a direct hand in creating. But just because I have disliked his work in the past doesn't mean he couldn't have any good ideas ever, so I guess I'll have to check that out.

I can think of a couple reasons not to give him the benefit of the doubt, but in general that's a good attitude to have.