D&D General D&D 2024 does not deserve to succeed

[Cordwainer Fish]

Just FYI, Hasbro/WotC seem to be officially calling it the Revised 5th Edition now.

Did someone say "Judean People's Front"?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

13th Age also gets 2 outta 3 there as well!

When does 13th Age date from? I don’t recall it from the 80s

 

[Chaltab]

When does 13th Age date from? I don’t recall it from the 80s

The dark and dimly remembered year of 2013.

 

[Marandahir]

Did someone say "Judean People's Front"?

What does Life of Brian have to do with my comment?

 

[Imaro]

Superheroes are often captured instead of killed. It's part of the genre convention. Is that the genre you think D&D is emulating?

So are sword & sorcery protagonists...science fantasy epics and so on. I don't think D&D emulates a specific genre though I think it can be modded into fair approximations of many... IMO it's gameplay loop is very akin to zero to hero stories such as that of Luke Skywalker or Raymond E. Feist's Magician.

 

[Mannahnin]

So are sword & sorcery protagonists...science fantasy epics and so on. I don't think D&D emulates a specific genre though I think it can be modded into fair approximations of many... IMO it's gameplay loop is very akin to zero to hero stories such as that of Luke Skywalker or Raymond E. Feist's Magician.

Feist based his books off an RPG campaign, as I recall. That seemed pretty obvious to me when I first read Magician.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Superheroes are often captured instead of killed. It's part of the genre convention. Is that the genre you think D&D is emulating?

And your point is? So are fantasy heroes, science fiction heroes, spy heroes, swashbuckling archaeologist heroes, and every other type of adventurer ever.

 

[Remathilis]

That's my problem with it in D&D and it's relatives: it's a protagonist thing, which means it's a narrative thing, and in a game context that often means it happens for narrativist and gamist reasons (it makes a better story and/or it keeps the PCs alive no matter what they do) rather than diagetic/simulationist ones (it makes logical sense under the circumstances). That works for a lot of games, superhero stuff for example, but not for me in D&D-style games.

Tell me, do you take long breaks away from the PCs to fixate on things happening in other parts of the setting? Not in the "the PCs hear about a plague in Townsville" style rumors, but in the "meanwhile in the Court of the King..." Style events where the PCs play no role in the action?

Because I can't for the life of me figure out how you divorce the fact the PCs are the protagonists. They are always going to be the center of the narrative because they are always on screen. They might not be heroes (although I find all villain games tend to die quickly) but they are always going to end up in the center of all the interesting stuff because they are never not the focus of the game.

A novel like LoTR or ASoIaF can have a variety of people all over the place, some who never meet, doing interesting things because a novel has no requirement for the protagonists to be active at all times. Games do that, unless the players play multiple PCs or sit on their hands listening to you describe things going on that don't involve them. That takes a mighty good DM to do.

I get the whole "your character isn't special" is a tenant of OS gaming, but I fail to see how they can't be. The game revolves around them! Adventures happen in the town they go to, not some town 20 miles to the North the PCs will never go to. I mean, you don't have to do the whole prophesized Heros destined to save the world, but they're still protagonists.

 

[Micah Sweet]

And your point is? So are fantasy heroes, science fiction heroes, spy heroes, swashbuckling archaeologist heroes, and every other type of adventurer ever.

All of which are narrative tropes, not necessarily needed for D&D play.

 

[Remathilis]

they went out of business, not sure we can argue otherwise....

If I go to Vegas and party until dawn, I still had a great time until I woke up with a maxed credit cards and a hangover worse than death. I'm guessing Micah is likewise opting for yolo.