Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="dd.stevenson" data-source="post: 6781524" data-attributes="member: 6683099">Yes; absolutely. I have a response, but feel I first ought to clarify what kind of D&amp;D players I'm talking about. I've DMed 2E, 3E/Pathfinder and 5E, and the players I've encountered over the years have overwhelmingly been of the same sort: surprisingly unaware of the game rules beyond (1) what character abilities they're really excited about, and (2) whatever character rules they've enjoyed interacting with in the past. Most of the time, for most of the players I've met*, the difference between a rule and a ruling is completely opaque.Are these players incapable of the kind of strategizing you describe? I would answer, absolutely not: judging by the kind of ideas they bounce around when confronted with an evolving problem, they are at any time fomenting seven or eight different plans each, balancing their own goals with their character's goals, demonstrating a strong awareness of what the likely consequences of their actions might be.I understand that there's a different &quot;mouth feel&quot; to this kind of strategizing, and the kind that happens when interacting directly with a rules system, but I'm asserting based on my experience with both that this is a difference of qualities, not degree.*Of course I'm sensible to the fact that this is a self-selected subset of players who can't be taken to represent even D&amp;D as a whole, but that's where my biases lie and anyhow their representativeness isn't germane to my point.Many thanks. I consider myself a playstyle pragmatist--different tools for different jobs, intellectual purity be damned--and I find it frustrating to get painted with other views.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="dd.stevenson, post: 6781524, member: 6683099"] Yes; absolutely. I have a response, but feel I first ought to clarify what kind of D&D players I'm talking about. I've DMed 2E, 3E/Pathfinder and 5E, and the players I've encountered over the years have overwhelmingly been of the same sort: surprisingly unaware of the game rules beyond (1) what character abilities they're really excited about, and (2) whatever character rules they've enjoyed interacting with in the past. Most of the time, for most of the players I've met*, the difference between a rule and a ruling is completely opaque. Are these players incapable of the kind of strategizing you describe? I would answer, absolutely not: judging by the kind of ideas they bounce around when confronted with an evolving problem, they are at any time fomenting seven or eight different plans each, balancing their own goals with their character's goals, demonstrating a strong awareness of what the likely consequences of their actions might be. I understand that there's a different "mouth feel" to this kind of strategizing, and the kind that happens when interacting directly with a rules system, but I'm asserting based on my experience with both that this is a difference of qualities, not degree. *[SIZE=1]Of course I'm sensible to the fact that this is a self-selected subset of players who can't be taken to represent even D&D as a whole, but that's where my biases lie and anyhow their representativeness isn't germane to my point.[/SIZE] Many thanks. I consider myself a playstyle pragmatist--different tools for different jobs, intellectual purity be damned--and I find it frustrating to get painted with other views. [/QUOTE]

Verification