D&D General A History of Violence: Killing in D&D

[Guest 85555]

That's the thing, I don't have the answer. There is no solution I can think of. I just know that one day there is going to be a reckoning on it like there has been on evil humanoids or slavery, and I hope people have enough time to figure out how to thread that needle.

I don't think there will be. I think people have been in a bit of a moral panic again about media tropes and D&D, but I think what will happen, is what usually happens: things will settle down and we will realize D&D isn't at the heart of society's ills (real problems are caused by real people in the real world, not imaginary knights and orcs at a table)

 

[Alzrius]

Things that in the real world would be unacceptable are the norm. I don't know how to solve that disconnect

That's not a disconnect, it's the entire point.

The idea of "if you wouldn't do this in real life, why would you in a game?" answers its own question; we'd do that in a game because we wouldn't in real life. That's (at least a major part of) why we play the game. I've said before that symbolic rejections of cherished values are methods of catharsis with regard to the stress of everyday life, rather than representing any sort of actual lionization of things we know are wrong.

 

[AnotherGuy]

But I do have concerns that Western media is quick to justify lethal force against people it deems Evil,

Not important for the discussion.

and D&D is built squarely on the tropes of violence being the best solution to the majority of conflicts.

Conflicts which exist due to

Dragons/Giants terrorising the land (SKT/ToD)
Slave ring operating within the city
Bring about end of word by summoning a great evil/s (ToD/OotA)
Etc
These are the typical types of conflicts in D&D.

Furthermore, it is fantasy to be believe that every alien species or peoples in a cosmos of magic and very present pantheon would share the same value systems as you or I.

 

[Horwath]

That's not a disconnect, it's the entire point.

The idea of "if you wouldn't do this in real life, why would you in a game?" answers its own question; we'd do that in a game because we wouldn't in real life. That's (at least a major part of) why we play the game. I've said before that symbolic rejections of cherished values are methods of catharsis with regard to the stress of everyday life, rather than representing any sort of actual lionization of things we know are wrong.

this!

still waiting for invention of Holodeck.

Until then, lasertag as call of duty substitute.

 

[TiQuinn]

I’ve seen less combat in our 5e game since we instituted milestone leveling. If you remove the incentive for violence, you get less violence.

 

[Horwath]

I’ve seen less combat in our 5e game since we instituted milestone leveling. If you remove the incentive for violence, you get less violence.

we didnt use XP for 15+ years, amount of combat stayed the same, more or less.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I’ve seen less combat in our 5e game since we instituted milestone leveling. If you remove the incentive for violence, you get less violence.

Never been a fan of milestone. Too narrative, and I feel it removes the motivation to take the game seriously, as all you have to do is cross an arbitrary line to level up.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

That's the thing, I don't have the answer. There is no solution I can think of. I just know that one day there is going to be a reckoning on it like there has been on evil humanoids or slavery, and I hope people have enough time to figure out how to thread that needle.

I absolutely agree that this will be pivoted towards at some point. I just hope that's it's confined to DnD, and doesn't spread to other TTRPGs.

Though finding a DnD 5e replacement is hard. Pathfinder is too complex for my lil brain. Daggerheart is even more simplified than 5e, which I already find doesn't have enough options. Anything beyond those has almost no community, online tools, and support.

 

[Horwath]

Never been a fan of milestone. Too narrative, and I feel it removes the motivation to take the game seriously, as all you have to do is cross an arbitrary line to level up.

heh, some would say, that is you need XP to take the game seriously, maybe you are playing the wrong game.

 

[KYRON45]

I think the ratio of RP to combat will always have more to do with player types, character builds, any current situation and how much Mountain Dew has been consumed vs. moral quandaries.