D&D 5E Grey beard culture question about critical role

[SakanaSensei]

No matter how good a plan is, it can still fall victim to bad luck.

I definitely understand WHY Matt handles this the way he does, but I think I generally lean toward "if the player tells me what they want to do and it makes sense in the fiction, I'm going to let them succeed and move on." I think that generally makes things more fun, and I think my players agree generally, though I have had once or twice where a player is doing well in a social situation and they'll ask me "so can I roll Persuasion or something?" and I'm just like, "my guy, you're already succeeding? Why bring dice into it?"

I think sometimes people just wanna roll dice because click clack makes brain go brr, which is totally valid.

 

[overgeeked]

No matter how good a plan is, it can still fall victim to bad luck.

Of course. But that's not really relevant. What's relevant is how much table time is necessary to deal with that potential. It's possible that a PC could die walking across the street, but because they don't find that kind of randomness satisfying, they skip over it. Likewise, unless they really find the whole "I failed my perception check, I guess I'm blind" meme super-funny, there's no reason to waste even 5-10 seconds calling for a roll to see things that are clearly out in the open. But, taking 10-20 seconds describing a character's actions increases immersion and pushes the players to interact with the environment through their character. So on one hand you have a pointless waste of time while on the other you have immersion and roleplaying.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think sometimes people just wanna roll dice because click clack makes brain go brr, which is totally valid.

This. The feel and sound of the physical dice is why many people prefer in person games. The outcome doesn't matter, so long as they get to roll them periodically.

I don't watch CR, but it sounds to me like Mercer is using the dice as a reward for role play. It's kind of like clicker training for animals.

 

[dave2008]

Okay, if you define "old-school" as "not story-focused," then I agree "old school story focused" is an odd construction. I also agree it's the way the OSR has defined it. If, on the other hand, the poster was referring to the more general meaning as "old-fashioned or traditional (in a positive way)," then I think it's fine.

I mainly inserted myself into the conversation because I feel like the OSR has led people to believe that their idea of "old-school" is the way most old people actually played, and this was not my experience. In terms of the setting and the way it's structured and developed (as opposed to the quality of the writing or voice-acting, etc.), Mercer's campaigns would fit just fine in the 80s IMO.

I agree. When we started with 1e/BECMI in the 80's it was definitely more story focused versus challenge based. We only engaged the rules when necessary and focused on the story. We did it poorly, but it was definitely old school story focused.

 

[jasper]

Ask them to share their three favorite anime, moives, tv series and books. Back before you could grow a beard you did this automatically because they were your peer group. Also "Just for Men" has hair and beard products. Just $8.98 at walmart. They will never know.
Jasper looks in mirror. Updates shopping list.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

This is a great suggestion (well, maybe not the Just for Men part...). I am frequently surprised and fascinated by the genre touchstones younger people have.

Ask them to share their three favorite anime, moives, tv series and books. Back before you could grow a beard you did this automatically because they were your peer group. Also "Just for Men" has hair and beard products. Just $8.98 at walmart. They will never know.
Jasper looks in mirror. Updates shopping list.

 

[Mort]

Ask them to share their three favorite anime, moives, tv series and books. Back before you could grow a beard you did this automatically because they were your peer group. Also "Just for Men" has hair and beard products. Just $8.98 at walmart. They will never know.
Jasper looks in mirror. Updates shopping list.

Yeah, it's different frame of reference!

I DM'd for my Son's group (14 year olds) and the first time, I could barely understand them. They kept referencing Anime. comics and video games that I just had no experience with. My son had to give me a boot camp/primer just so I could follow along!

 

[Mort]

It's like the language / cadence. Or maybe the things they "expect D&D to be". A few examples:

1. the interchange with merchants is not not something I'm accustomed to - this seems to be a big part of the experience

It's "somewhat" part of the CR cast's experience, though you can often tell not ALL of them (erm. Travis) are that into it. Primarily because Mercer has such colorful NPCs. How it plays in a home game? depends on the group, it certainly doesn't HAVE to take up much stage time. But if the rest of the group really is having fun? Why not.

1. the depth-of-character is really impressive, but again, I'm simply not accustomed to it - the group is "really in character" at the table

Again, that's a style of play - if the group likes it, why not?

1. the killing move, "how do you want to do this" is something new to me

I've seen variations of this since I started playing, so it's certainly been around.

As mentioned up thread, it's actually a relevant question in 5e because the person who delivers the blow gets to decide, at that time, if it's a kill or a KO.

1. the mechanics of the game seem to be less important than the story of the game

At least for the main CR game, I have to disagree. While the story is fun and important, Mercer seems to fairly strictly adhere to the mechanics of 5e. Sure, he'll homebrew (and is doing more of that) but the mechanics seem quite important; he will not let the players simply bypass them.

Now with Exandria Unlimited, particularly Aabria's game? That 100% seemed to be the case. She was not just willing but eager to completely ignore the mechanics to get the story where she wanted it to go. It was a hugely different style than Mercers!

 

[wicked cool]

I went searching for talk of recent campaign 3 talk but stumbled on this

For the original poster I’m going to go with an analogy you should embrace as we are maybe the same age

Tom Brady-he’s a quarterback in nfl football. He’s in his mid 40’s playing in a sport dominated by 20 year olds. Most people in their 30’s can’t play never mind 40. At this point he’s seen more football and the game is easier for him than younger players (hard to fool him). The rules have changed and he’s adapted
You need to do the same. There’s a whole new group of young people playing this game but you should/could know the rules better than them. The critical role cast especially Sam didn’t know the game but yet in many ways have mastered it. They solve difficult puzzles, take on powerful enemies and suffer just like I’d when one of my favorite 1st/2nd edition characters died in the classic modules which were deadlier then todays game

I often say back in my day a giant spider could wipe out a fighter just with webs.
Embrace it