Falling out of love with your game

[nightwyrm]

Sometimes you just played the game so much that you learn enough to know the best way to play the game and there's nothing new or interesting about the game anymore. It doesn't even have to be a RPG, this can apply to any game. Nothing about you or the game has changed, you just became familiar with it and the honeymoon is over.

It's like when you first go out with a girl and thinks she's a pretty cool gal, but after a few months you realize she's really a psycho bitch.

 

[Rel]

I own a lot of tools. Sometimes I get a new tool that does a job better than the old tool did. At that point I will probably never use the old tool again. It's not because I hate that tool or because it wasn't a good tool at the time I used it. The new tool just works better for the job I need it for.

The real question I ask myself is why the hell I keep all those old tools in my workshop if I'm not going to use them!?

 

[ExploderWizard]

I own a lot of tools. Sometimes I get a new tool that does a job better than the old tool did. At that point I will probably never use the old tool again. It's not because I hate that tool or because it wasn't a good tool at the time I used it. The new tool just works better for the job I need it for.

The real question I ask myself is why the hell I keep all those old tools in my workshop if I'm not going to use them!?

I will be happy to accept any old unwanted TSR brand tools. I will give them a good home in a new workshop and will pay for shipping.

 

[Umbran]

The real question I ask myself is why the hell I keep all those old tools in my workshop if I'm not going to use them!?

Because while you say you are probably not going to use the old tool again, the chance that what you want to do will change, so that the old tool may again be useful, isn't something you want to ignore.

I own a few hammers. One of them is clearly better at the usual tasks I do, but I do need the others on occasion.

 

[kilpatds]

You've solved it, or for some other reason the game no longer offers any novelty.

 

[Oryan77]

It's not because I hate that tool or because it wasn't a good tool at the time I used it.

Wait, are you calling me a tool? I did my best at the time. I know I'm not the best gamer, but you don't have to call me a tool.

 

[Garmorn]

My wife and I use to love Rolemaster. It has a clean combat system that we and our group used almost as fast as AD&D, critical and a working skill system.

Now 4e and 3x both have decent skill system. The have added away for your character to grow in abilities and have a working critical system that fits the system. The new higher is always better combat (d20) system makes them almost as easy to use as the Rolemaster combat system.

We are also after a lot simpler character system and want to be able to blend classes. Something Rolemaster can't do very well.

All this means some times a new approach is simpler better for you and/or your group.

 

[Oryan77]

if I grow tired of game/edition X, are you saying I don't like roleplay as much as you do?

That's why people need to relax & not be so quick to find insult in someones opinion. If a person knows that roleplay is important to him and that is not why he is switching games...then obviously I'm not talking about you. So a poster trying to bash me as if I'm being insulting is pretty silly. I gave an opinion about one type of persons thought process. I never said all of you gamers are just powergamers and don't like to roleplay like I do. I never even said "most" gamers.

I pointed out the suggestion because I was thinking about how a few friends I used to play with are. And sorry to say, but they would switch games for the new rules because they aren't all that invested in their PCs (and I'm sure they aren't the only gamers in the world like that). Not that they don't like their PC, but from my experience, when a player has built an entire life for their PC; married, dating, owns a business, a home that they mapped out & decorated, has NPC contacts that they established a relationship with, and are known by specific NPCs for saving their town or whatever; then they tend to not want to just give up playing that characters life just so they can use Skills instead of Proficiencies, or Powers instead of Vancian Spells.

The guys I know that are quick to change are the ones that might roleplay in character when an NPC talks to them, but they don't go out of there way to create a life for the PC other than killing, looting, and solving mysteries to gain XP. The guys I know that build a life for the PC that really isn't going to help complete an adventure or gain levels, usually don't care what game they are playing as long as they are able to roleplay the character they want to play in that campaign.

 

[Barastrondo]

I pointed out the suggestion because I was thinking about how a few friends I used to play with are. And sorry to say, but they would switch games for the new rules because they aren't all that invested in their PCs (and I'm sure they aren't the only gamers in the world like that). Not that they don't like their PC, but from my experience, when a player has built an entire life for their PC; married, dating, owns a business, a home that they mapped out & decorated, has NPC contacts that they established a relationship with, and are known by specific NPCs for saving their town or whatever; then they tend to not want to just give up playing that characters life just so they can use Skills instead of Proficiencies, or Powers instead of Vancian Spells.

Perhaps this is where the misunderstanding lies: changing editions does not necessarily mean changing characters. My wife, who's sworn never to play 3e again, has taken characters from 2e to 3e and on through to 4e. The mechanics change all the time, but the core of the character's unchanged. She is an excellent dancer, for instance, and it's generally unimportant whether that is represented with a non-weapon proficiency, sinking points into Perform: Dance or simply acknowledging that should it come up, a dance check can be made as a Dexterity test at +5 (as she's obviously trained). The only real difference is that the most elegant mechanic makes an argument for the system, and contributes to her falling "out of love" with a less elegant mechanic.

Frequently a change of edition or of game system is exciting precisely because you want to keep playing the same character. This is especially true if the core of the character isn't rooted in any one particular mechanic of any given system. I could probably convert my wife's character over to Fantasy HERO, or FantasyCraft, or GURPS, or all kinds of other games as well -- but right now, she likes the system she's got.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Frequently a change of edition or of game system is exciting precisely because you want to keep playing the same character. This is especially true if the core of the character isn't rooted in any one particular mechanic of any given system. I could probably convert my wife's character over to Fantasy HERO, or FantasyCraft, or GURPS, or all kinds of other games as well -- but right now, she likes the system she's got.

Yup. Ninja'd

The personal details of a PC's life are even less linked to mechanics than skills/abilities are. Individual characters can easily maintain thier identity through mechanical changes.

The way the rest of the world operates is more likely to be influenced by mechanics than a character.