NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 8272194" data-attributes="member: 16586">Going to try a slightly different tact.The vast majority of the pushback you see in this thread (particularly from people like me) comes down to juxtaposing D&D (5e) against "bespoke genre games" which from my perspective is just a really cute way to say indie RPGs. This concept of the narrow focused indie RPG is a pernicious one that just will not seem to die despite never actually being backed up in any substantial way. Just because something is a cultural maxim does not make it true.It is true that indie games provide structure to areas more traditional games do not, but they also often lack structure in areas more traditional games provide it in. Things like parties, adventures, structured combat all commonly go out the window. Sure Masks cares about modeling the teenage experience and narrative tropes of superhero comics more than Champions, but Champions cares a lot (like a lot a lot a lot) about modeling the details of super powers and tactical combat. Is Masks more flexible because I don't have to deal with power charts? Masks also provides players with more freedom to emote and just play their characters than is typical of damn near any superhero game played in traditional ways.I know I am going to get raked over the coals for this, but a lot of this comes down to not knowing what we do not know. There's a lot about the way most groups play RPGs that gets taken for granted, cultural norms that have become so ingrained we do not see them as structure. Don't split the party. Bite the hooks. Niche protection. All of it.There's also an issue that sometimes happens because a lot of more traditional gamers only experience indie games in small chunks. They do not see the flexibility because they are still caught up in the novelty of the experience. Playing in a 1-3 session game of Monsterhearts is one thing. Experiencing a game that goes considerably longer is another thing entirely. Once the novelty wears off and you become proficient at the game it has a different feel altogether.I think telling someone to play another game when they are looking for feedback or advice on how to hack the game they are playing is rude regardless if the recommended game is "bespoke" or not. It's really not any better if I tell to you to go play Pathfinder Second Edition, GURPS, Exalted or Worlds Without Number instead of Blades.</blockquote>

Verification