GRZ 34 - Monster Roles Interview (Has new art, and various stat-boxes)

[Tervin]

The question, though, is whether or not D&D can model a character that does anything except fight well. The rules *do* have an effect on how you can tell a story through the game, and how you interact with the game via roleplaying. I can't answer that question because I haven't seen all the rules or played the game. We can see, though, that 4e's design philosophy follows that of 3e, which is "system first, characters and adventures second." This is certainly a step away from facilitating the type of game that earlier editions presented, which was a roleplaying game.

Having played and DMed all the earlier editions (apart from OD&D) quite a bit I would say that I do not agree with your assessment of the older editions. If I would keep it simple, it would be like this:

BE... D&D: Fighting game, where you were encouraged to free wheel in some roleplaying. (Might be more stuff here, the version I remember the least.)
AD&D 1: See above. A few hints about character backgrounds in the DMG, and (regrettably mostly pointless) secondary skills in crappy splatbooks.
AD&D 2: Secondary skills now meant to be primitive skills, in order to help you build a character for out of fighting gaming. In depth splat books for different classes to help build roles (mostly for fighting mind you...).
D&D 3: Ambitious lists of skills and feats. Prestige classes and splat books take this further. Weakness is that roleplaying can become technical as the free wheel improvisation is not needed as much. This changed the DM's role a bit from being "judge of free wheel" to "merger of system and free wheel".
D&D 4: Too early to tell, but seems to be simplifying a bit of what D&D 3 did and adding complexity to others (like skill challenges). DM as merger of system and imagination might become even more important.

What is different in the newer versions of D&D is that you can roleplay without roleplaying. Meaning, you can do out of combat things by using skills, instead of by describing them in detail. To me, this helps storytelling. This way it is possible to roll through less important scenes and play through the moments that matter. Also as a DM it means I can let the system decide sometimes instead of making all calls myself. And by doing that (and weaving the results into my roleplay) I actually usually get a lot more fun out of things, and the players feel more like what they choose to do matters.

Whoops. Didn't mean to start lecturing. Sorry.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I apologize for that episode being awkward, I was totally out of it. It was actually the second time we did that interview, which is why it might have sounded scripted and less like a conversation.

In the end, I really feel bad that the quality isn't there, or the banter seems off and I hope people understand that it's only a temporary thing. I'm sure it'll improve over the weeks and months. =)

I had no idea that this was the case - kudos to you for getting it done.

I work in Customer Services and we have an "Above and Beyond" scheme when a customer thinks one of us has done a particularly good job - if there was a way in which I could nominate you for it at WotC I would do so.

Great job and I hope that you get the resources to be able to continue it soon!

 

[pogminky]

Good for you Mike.....I'm really glad you decided to run with it rather than being put-off by those who said No.

 

[Ginnel]

Hey Mike, I think you did a pretty good job for having had to do it all by yourself! I think the awkwardness is fine, really. It shows us that you guys are all nerdy gamers just like us rather than soulless corporate hacks or whatever some of the haters say you all are.

Keep on plugging away and don't let the naysayers get you down.

Speak for yourself, I don't mind roleplayers describing themselves as nerdy but for that to automatically include social awkwardness I think is going a bit too far, true I know roleplayers who are awkward in situations like presenting to a camera and social ones but I also know a lot who aren't and interact quite nicely and go to clubs.

Encouraging this kind of thinking in my opinion is stopping new people joining the hobby its just lucky I don't happen to mind what other people think, so I can say to my friends who I go out to non rock clubs with I can't come out tonight I'm busy roleplaying and I can say to my roleplaying friends I can't make Fridays cause I like going out on the town.
It is one of the reasons I don't describe myself as a roleplayer just someone who roleplays every now and then.

Anyway brief rant aside good work on the videos keep em coming

 

[lutecius]

so the dryad is really a clawy tree, the lamia is a pile of bugs...
What's next? the succubus' true form is a giant bearded mollusc from hell?
Picking up random babes has always been dangerous in dnd, now it has to be creepy too.

 

[hong]

What's next? the succubus' true form is a giant bearded mollusc from hell?

That would be AWESOME.

 

[hong]

That would be AWESOME.

Even more so if it has TENTACLES.

 

[vagabundo]

Thirty years ago, when I was a kid, we had a chant when there was a fight:

A,G. A,G,R. A,G,R,O. AGRO!!

Ah good times, we'd all gather round two skinny young'fellas wrestling each other in the dirt and chanting, until some grown-up heard the chant and came to break it up

Most Dubliners know what Agro means ...

 

[lutecius]

Even more so if it has TENTACLES.

and teeth?
ouch.

 

[Rechan]

Aye, Kudos to Mike for braving Corporate Red Tape and putting in 130%! You get ad hoc experience awards, friend.