Do you play more for the story or the combat?

[FireLance]

Say Psion where is that test (assuming you got those scores from a online quiz), be interesting to see if what I view as my gaming style matches with the numbers.

There's a link to one of the tests in my sig. It might even be the same one that Psion got his scores from.

 

[Shroomy]

I didn't answer because I don't like the simple binary. I don't want to go around and kill things for no reason, but I do consistently want some action in my games. There doesn't have to be a combat session every time I play, but I wouldn't want to go more than 1-2 sessions without some combat (though I've found that skill challenges can sometimes take their place).

 

[Roman]

Emphasis mine. I think this may be why people have recommended other games for simulation. A game isn't actually simulating anything when it defines its own tropes.

I have to disagree, but our disagreement may be in what we understand under the term simulation or tropes. The tropes I like in D&D are the monsters, the spells, the races and similar things. I don't necessarily like the 'trope' that jumping from a 5-mile high tower has only a very limited impact on a high-level characters' health, but than again, I would not call that one a trope at all.

 

[FraserRonald]

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'm not pretending anything.

It does what I need it to do. It's a game people are willing to play, they are rules I know very well, and I can spend time working on the campaign rather than learning a new rules set. Even moving to True20 is a hit to rule knowledge.

I've heard it before--you can be having more fun if you play X--but I honestly don't want to invest in another game, both money and time, to find it doesn't do what I want it to. d20 is a known quantity.

Cheers.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I don't like the poll options, so I didn't vote.

Story and combat are inseparable for me. Combat is meaningless without a framework of a story to make it interesting, but a story without action and conflict is boring and contrary to what I want out of D&D. The story gives meaning to conflict and conflict gives structure to the story.

I really don't think it is appropriate to arbitrarily separate the two.

 

[Hussar]

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.

This.

So, how do I fall out on the poll? I think the phrasing of the question is totally loaded here. Most people want some sort of story. Hell, we all want a plot of some sort - as evidenced by every module produced in the past twenty years. Everything that's been published beyond about 1985 has a plot, even if it is tissue thin.

But, to me, I want a story that's got lots and lots of action. I want my game to be Pirates of the Carribean, not Master and Commander. Not that Master and Commander was a bad movie. It wasn't. It was a great movie. But, for my weekly dose of D&D? I'll go with Captain Jack thanks.

 

[Starglim]

Combat is story, or at the very least, makes some of the best stories, if you're doing it right.

Talking is not story. It's, at best, one form of exposition of the story. More often it's a soft, directionless period of floundering that takes away from the better means of conveying the story, that is, by action.

 

[Korgoth]

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.

Precisely!

I too did not vote because sadly there was no "Neither" option. My vote is for "Exploration". I want to see what's there. I want to be challenged by the riddles and also the very geography of the dungeon. Make me think of a creative use of that 50' rope! I don't care about "story" and "character development", and combat is fun for up to 10 minutes and then it becomes about as much fun as deleting junk mail from my inbox.

Story and combat? *flush* I'd rather have an adventure.

 

[Serendipity]

Without a context, a fight is just an abstract series of die rolls. If I want to play a wargame, I'll break one out.
Story.
But I do like a good fight.

 

[Mokona]

I care about story and 4th edition is perfect for me.