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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Badwe" data-source="post: 4820298" data-attributes="member: 61762">Interestingly, as a side-note to the conflicts of these two gameplay styles, it's worth noting a parallel in computer/videogames.  In the early days, the most common RPGs were "Rogue-Likes" on personal computers, where players navigated a single character through a randomly generated dungeon that got progressively harder as they descended floors.  There was no promise of success, and in fact there was often no real hope of being able to accrue enough experience to descend completely into the dungeon.Eventually, of course, as plot began to work it's way into  the mix, we saw the dawn of the "Console RPG" or the "JRPG", which was very much a story on rails, with very specific progression and growth of power and an understanding that you would eventually beat the game.Ironically, there has even been an age of harkening back to the old-school, as modern "Rogue-likes" like Etrian Odyssey have come into popularity, recreating that old-school danger.As for the Pen&Paper world, while some may be more satisfied by the premise of S&S and how it is unfailingly impartial, the reality is that the majority of people have drifted towards HF because it lends itself better to gaming.  Now, if you are looking for a simulation of sorts, a "let's see what happens when i do this" kind of vibe, you are likely to gain more satisfaction from doing things in an S&S manner, but honestly you would be hard pressed to make that genuinely work for a group of 4 or 5 PCs for more than a single day.  For people who are planning on playing consistently for several hours at a time every week, HF and all of it's trappings (plot protection, balanced encounters, gradual progression of power and magic) will create a more engaging event for everyone at the table while avoiding issues such as "i'm sitting around for 3 hours because my character died" or "oops, we've been playing for 3 months, the party wiped, and now we're done".Don't get me wrong, I absolutely see the appeal of S&S and it's "anything can happen" mentality, but just as the stories revolve around solitary characters it seems as though the experience is best left as a solitary rather than group one.  In fact i'd wager that playing something like a rogue-like would be more satisfying because then the "DM" can be truly impartial.  Perhaps we are all too caught up in the trappings of modern game design, but a lot of folks think a game should engage all the players at the table every session.</blockquote>

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