D&D 4E 4E: The day the game ate the roleplayer?

[Nymrohd]

Ehm just a single point.
Doesn't the fact that in 4E we have been explicitly told you can level solely by doing social encounters promote roleplaying or at least actively reward it?

 

[Fifth Element]

The rules are telling you what you can do in the game world. This can directly impact your roleplaying experience if you are wanting to do something other than what the rules say. It's not just about power level, it's about what can and can't be done in the game world.

Yes, it's true that the rules affect your roleplaying if you have very particular things that you want to do. But this has nothing to do with the general ability to roleplay. An assertion seems to have been made above that 4E will make roleplaying - not in specific ways, but in general - more difficult.

 

[Halivar]

Doesn't the fact that in 4E we have been explicitly told you can level solely by doing social encounters promote roleplaying or at least actively reward it?

Aagh! Look what you did! You got your pertinent facts all over the argument! How in the world are we going to get that out? This is why we can't have nice things! Now go to your room, young man, and think about what you did.

 

[Nymrohd]

Also did noone use the Faith Feats from Complete Divine in 3.5? They actively promoted roleplaying.

 

[small pumpkin man]

(which is assumed to be 5 minutes in length no matter how many rounds it is)

I remember something like this, but I think people might be taking it out of context, do you know where this specifically comes from?

(translation, link?)

 

[Nymrohd]

Personally I have one serious issue with 4E and that is explaining in character the daily restriction on abilities (and to a lesser extend the per encounter) for martial characters. I really have no idea whatsoever on how to handle this.

 

[hong]

Personally I have one serious issue with 4E and that is explaining in character the daily restriction on abilities (and to a lesser extend the per encounter) for martial characters. I really have no idea whatsoever on how to handle this.

It's a ki thing.

Or, if ki ends up as a distinct power source later on, a mojo thing.

 

[BryonD]

Ehm just a single point.
Doesn't the fact that in 4E we have been explicitly told you can level solely by doing social encounters promote roleplaying or at least actively reward it?

You do realize that this is also true in 3e right?
Back when 3e was first being showcased it was mentioned quite frequently.
It turns out that the majority of gamers prefer to just kill the monster. So regardless of how much some people want to roleplay, the overall perception of the game becomes "kill the monster, add XP".
So the fact that the option is there is a wash.

All that aside, the promise of a carrot at the end of roleplaying doesn't have anything to do with a conversation of whether or not the mechanics of gameplay itself provide support or obstacles to the actual roleplaying.

 

[BryonD]

Good stuff here.

Thanks

Though I guess I've been put in my place and now understand that the difference between Chess and 3E is really just my idiosyncratic taste.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

You do realize that this is also true in 3e right?
Back when 3e was first being showcased it was mentioned quite frequently.

Ummm, no it isn't. Not without using optional rules. The DMG only gives out XP for defeating challenges that have a risk to you(i.e. traps and monsters). No risk=No XP.

There is a section that describes how to give out story rewards and the like but it is labeled optional.