Do you play more for the story or the combat?

[Mallus]

I (usually) want a story with plenty of violence. I can forgo the violence if the non-violent parts are really, really good. I suppose what I really want is a campaign that reacts to whatever my characters do. Sad to say, most campaigns respond best to violence.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Story (which includes, in addition to plot, role-playing, PC-to-PC and PC-to-NPC interaction, investigation, and figuring things out). I love a good fight in D&D, but I want it to advance the plot, not happen "just because."

Combat in D&D is, to me, just one of many sorts of scenes and tools at the DM's disposal; it's a means, not an end unto itself.

I'd agree with this.

I think this is part of the reason 4e sticks in my craw at certain points, too. I want rules for my story. 4e tells me to make it up, and that's deeply unsatisfying. I want rules for thwarting villains like 4e has rules for bashing goblins.

Fortunately, FFZ is being engineered fully to respond to that purpose. It's a narrative game. It will give you rules to tell your story with.

 

[aurance]

FraserRonald, if you like story over combat, there are a lot of other games that do it better. D&D caters to one side of the coin. If you play D&D out of tradition, or because everyone else is playing it, that's fine. But don't pretend it's somehow an ideal option for you. There are tabletop games that do a better job of making story a more central aspect of the game than D&D.

I don't think D&D necessarily caters more to one side or the other.

1) Do you like lots of rules for story? vs. 2) Do you like lots of rules for combat?

Is not the same as:

1) Do you like story? vs. 2) Do you like combat?

 

[JRRNeiklot]

I didn't vote because there was no option for neither. The main thing that draws me to D&D is the exploration of a world, it's wilderness areas, dungeons, towns, etc. What lies over the next hill, etc. There must be some combat, and story plays a role, but I want to get out there and explore, find new things, explore new venues.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I'd agree with this.

I think this is part of the reason 4e sticks in my craw at certain points, too. I want rules for my story. 4e tells me to make it up, and that's deeply unsatisfying. I want rules for thwarting villains like 4e has rules for bashing goblins.

Ain't gonna post much on this, since don't want the focus of the thread to go which edition facilitates story more. But the ability to tell a story is actually one of the things that drew me more to 4e. Specifically Skill Challenges, lesser number of Skills and all Classes being generally equally able to participate out of combat.

But overall Skill Challenge allowing a simple mechanical base to build non-combat stuff is my biggest draw. Since it allows a nice simple way to build story with mechanical aspects.

Now to finish it off, having fun telling stories with all editions is awesome!

 

[I'm A Banana]

Now to finish it off, having fun telling stories with all editions is awesome!

Yep!

Where I might be a little weird is that I want the game to give me stories without me having to put things into the game to get them. Skill challenges have some balance issues that I'm not a fan of, but ditching a lot of "simulationist" aspects hurts my ability to pull a narrative out of a few dice rolls. 4e assumes I have a story all lined up and ready to tell and gets out of my way for it. I want more system than that, myself.

I'm a narrative DM who wants the game to tell me a story.

 

[jdrakeh]

For me, combat is usually part of the story (to wit, such epics as Beowulf, the Volsungasaga, The Illiad, etc all feature combat rather prominently but are no doubt stories all the same). If you're asking whether I prefer combat-intensive roleplay to non-combat-intensive roleplay, your question is worded poorly.

 

[diaglo]

neither. i play for fun and escapism.

 

[Cadfan]

I'll bite.

Can someone give me an example of something that would satisfy this: "I want rules for thwarting villains like 4e has rules for bashing goblins."

I assume its something other than a setting with pre existing conflicts. But beyond that I really don't get it.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

*Nods* Gotcha, so taking an assumption here. If stuff like Rituals either with same mechanics or simply same orientation in the game were prevalent throughout 4e that be more to your liking?

Yeah I am the narrative-oriented DM who likes to have the game let me craft a story and then apply a simple layer of mechanics overtop (like Skill Challenges).