D&D (2024) Do you plan to adopt D&D5.5One2024Redux?

[Cadence]

I'm pondering if not being able to buy things a la carte on Beyond should change how I do this. If I stick with the old books then everything I already have will still match what I have in DDB.

 

[Faolyn]

What if the player just says "My background says I can find a ship, so now we have a ship. Let's go!".

Because as worded, the player has the backing of the rules in saying just this.

And don't get me wrong, I'm with you in that I'd want this role-played out. My point is that the rules themselves are in this case flat-out faulty, and give players unreasonable expectations that it's then on the DM to blunt or deny.

If you have players who refuse to roleplay, that's on them, not the feature.

 

[Oofta]

If you have players who refuse to roleplay, that's on them, not the feature.

There are no requirements for RP and honestly, why would they bother? They can RP a hungry chimpanzee and it will still work. That's a big part of why it's an issue.

 

[Faolyn]

I gotta admit, as a player that’s generally my reaction to DMs who do this. How do I do it? I don’t know. I don’t care either. I just do it, stop trying to monkey’s paw things and get to the results.

The how is completely uninteresting and only being done so you can say no/nerf the idea/throw roadblocks up so I have to faff about for the next X amount of time until I satisfy your sense of “challenge”.

My table has found that the how is often incredibly interesting and helps to develop the character enormously and make the scene more colorful.

To me, if you can't imagine how your character would do it, then clearly they can't either, which means they can't do it. If you can imagine your character doing something, then they can at least give it a try (within reason, of course--you can't imagine your fighter into being a wizard without actually multiclassing).

There are no requirements for RP and honestly, why would they bother? They can RP a hungry chimpanzee and it will still work. That's a big part of why it's an issue.

Why would they bother? Because it's a role-playing game. I find it incredibly boring to just say "I use my ability" when actually getting into a conversation at the table and describing my actions makes everything far more interesting. Do you have the PCs roll dice for everything and never actually describe how they're doing anything? Do they never interact with NPCs beyond rolling Charisma skills?

You know, you called me a rule's lawyer but you're the one who is insisting here on no roleplaying and with sticking so closely to the rules that you'd let a hungry chimpanzee on a ship when there is no logical reason for that.

 

[Cadence]

There are no requirements for RP and honestly, why would they bother? They can RP a hungry chimpanzee and it will still work. That's a big part of why it's an issue.

How much does it take to roleplay. Is "attack with my sword" roleplaying? Do they have to say how they search for traps, or can they just say "search for traps"? Do the other things in the game as written need much roleplaying?

 

[Cadence]

You know, you called me a rule's lawyer but you're the one who is insisting here on no roleplaying and with sticking so closely to the rules that you'd let a hungry chimpanzee on a ship when there is no logical reason for that.

I think @Oofta is bemoaning that there is no call to roleplay in the rule, and I think he would disregard the rule as being an I-win button and expect some roleplaying?

 

[Oofta]

How much does it take to roleplay. Is "attack with my sword" roleplaying? Do they have to say how they search for traps, or can they just say "search for traps"? Do the other things in the game as written need much roleplaying?

Exactly. You certainly can describe how you're flourishing your sword and occasionally I do. But it is not at all required or expected.

 

[Cadence]

Exactly. You certainly can describe how you're flourishing your sword and occasionally I do. But it is not at all required or expected.

So if it's bad about the background is it bad about the combat too?

Or did I misinterpret and you're ok with the background, or... ?

 

[Faolyn]

How much does it take to roleplay. Is "attack with my sword" roleplaying? Do they have to say how they search for traps, or can they just say "search for traps"? Do the other things in the game as written need much roleplaying?

Neither attacking nor searching for traps are social exchanges. Getting passage on a ship is. Even more so with the feature, because it's assumed (although not required) that you probably have some sort of a connection with the ship or its crew.

 

[Oofta]

I think @Oofta is bemoaning that there is no call to roleplay in the rule, and I think he would disregard the rule as being an I-win button and expect some roleplaying?

The issue I have, well one of them anyway, is that absolutely nothing is required other than the player declaring what they want. You can add all the fluff you want but if you strictly follow the rule it just happens. No muss, no fuss, just flip the switch with no chance of failure.