Basketball or Golf?

[El Mahdi]

Enforcer = Defender
Skilled Forwards = Strikers
Coaches = Leaders
Defensemen (especially on the powerplay) = Controllers

So:

Chris Chelios = Controller
Scotty Bowman = Leader
Steve Yzerman = Striker
Bob Probert = Defender

and Gordie Howe = Drizz't Do'Urden

(can you tell I'm a Red Wings fan...)

 

[renau1g]

Stevie Y at the start of his career is definitely a striker, but at the tail end is definitely a leader.

Only may replace Chelios with Lidstrom, but you're right.

Not a Wings fan per se, but I respect them immensely (I'm right across the river)

Oh, and Bowman's definitely an Epic-level Leader

 

[Lanefan]

D&D to me is like Hockey, but I'm Canadian

So am I, but in this case the basketball analogy worked better.

My hockey analogy is more related to how the party exists in a long campaign: just like a team franchise.

Franchise = campaign
Players = characters

Players (characters) come and go, to greater or lesser effect; the franchise (campaign) chugs along regardless.

Lan-"Canucks fan since 1970"-efan

 

[Lanefan]

Stevie Y at the start of his career is definitely a striker, but at the tail end is definitely a leader.

Only may replace Chelios with Lidstrom, but you're right.

Not a Wings fan per se, but I respect them immensely (I'm right across the river)

Oh, and Bowman's definitely an Epic-level Leader

I think it's more like Ken Holland is an exceptional DM...

Lanefan

 

[Hussar]

I think that many player go through the "BBB" (Biggest, Baddest, Best) phase at some point. IME, it tends to be a fairly short time after they've gotten into the hobby - the whole sensawunda thing has worn off a bit and now they really want to prod some buttock.

I also think that a lot of players grow out of this after a while. Not everyone and I've met (and quite possibly have been) players in that rut who are quite happy there.

I really don't think this has changed much over the years.

 

[The Shaman]

D&D is Calvinball.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

My players don't go for the "most optimum set of numbers", but sometimes they seem to be competing for the "weirdest weirdo out there" prize.

They suffer from the Special Snowflake Syndrome, the poor little ones...

 

[jonesy]

D&D is Calvinball.

The DM plays Calvinball.

The players think they're in Shadows Over Camelot.

 

[S'mon]

4e is incredibly team-oriented, far moreso than any other RPG I can recall. And my 4e players always work very much as a team; whereas in 3e and earlier I've often seen screw-the-others play.

 

[nedjer]

It's sad to find RPG play comparable to two loser, win-mentality sports. RPGs were made to be played like Parkour or ice climbing, where self-competition/ discipline aimed at moving through the 'environment' as efficiently as you and yours can is the only concern.

Pandering to the Olympian world of everyone's a loser except for a tiny handful of genetically unusual, (largely middle-class), kids capable of performing a small repetoire of repetitive physical distortions is . . . basically not very ninja

For players who can't get past a 'crush the enemy' or 'crush everyone' mentality, there could at least be some selectivity. Bunch of gangly basketball players risking a pulled tendon in an air-conditioned hall . . . not very Boudicca

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B11g-NCwPmc"]YouTube - Horrible Histories - Boudicca[/ame]