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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 3404713" data-attributes="member: 42582">Agreed.D&amp;D has no mechanics to handle the way in which players assign &quot;thematic hooks&quot; to their characters. But nor does it have any other group co-ordination mechanics - and thus is prone to misfire when one character builds a Paladin and another a Chaotic Neutral Bard.What counts as a good game depends on what the players want. Some groups are happy to play Dragonlance, where the play experience is mostly one of acting out someone else's story, with the thematic issues already largely resolved by the adventure's author. Such a game would preclude a character exploring the issue of treachery, for example, because any attempt to roleplay betrayal in a fundamental fashion would completely derail the game.Other groups want player input into the plot. This can be done via backstory (as KM suggests in his post). Some d20 games have mechanics to facilitate this during play (eg Fate Points in Mongoose's Conan).Yet other groups of players want to be able to determine the thematic resolution of the game. Such a group do not want their adventure scripted at all, whether by the GM or by the players. They want the story to be determined by the choices actually made by the players during play.You are running together the players (who cannot walk through walls, I imagine) and their characters. The game's character development and action resolution mechanics place constraints on the PCs. The question under discussion in this thread, I think, is what role the players have in determining the content and action of the game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 3404713, member: 42582"] Agreed. D&D has no mechanics to handle the way in which players assign "thematic hooks" to their characters. But nor does it have any other group co-ordination mechanics - and thus is prone to misfire when one character builds a Paladin and another a Chaotic Neutral Bard. What counts as a good game depends on what the players want. Some groups are happy to play Dragonlance, where the play experience is mostly one of acting out someone else's story, with the thematic issues already largely resolved by the adventure's author. Such a game would preclude a character exploring the issue of treachery, for example, because any attempt to roleplay betrayal in a fundamental fashion would completely derail the game. Other groups want player input into the plot. This can be done via backstory (as KM suggests in his post). Some d20 games have mechanics to facilitate this during play (eg Fate Points in Mongoose's Conan). Yet other groups of players want to be able to determine the thematic resolution of the game. Such a group do not want their adventure scripted at all, whether by the GM or by the players. They want the story to be determined by the choices actually made by the [i]players[/i] during play. You are running together the players (who cannot walk through walls, I imagine) and their characters. The game's character development and action resolution mechanics place constraints on the PCs. The question under discussion in this thread, I think, is what role the [i]players[/i] have in determining the content and action of the game. [/QUOTE]

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