How basic should basic attacks be?

[Libramarian]

That's a design philosophy that may appeal to you, but it doesn't appeal to many others, myself included. I'm not playing a game to be challenged, I'm playing a game to immerse myself in fantasy milieu to escape my own reality. The worst possible thing I could think of when playing such a game is to be pulled out of that blissful ignorance of the real world because *I* have to do something like solve a bloody riddle, or charm the king, etc.

Roleplaying is great, but it's my character that should be the star of the show, not 'me'.

That's a pretty extreme position, do you really feel it accurately captures what's fun for you about RPGs?

 

[Kzach]

That's a pretty extreme position, do you really feel it accurately captures what's fun for you about RPGs?

I'd be willing to bet it's the norm and not the extreme. And yes, roleplaying games are most definitely escapism for me.

 

[Libramarian]

I'd be willing to bet it's the norm and not the extreme. And yes, roleplaying games are most definitely escapism for me.

I highly doubt that's the norm. Keeping in mind that escapism is not even immersionism -- most immersionists like some degree of player-level challenge because it engages their imagination and puts them in a similar mindset to their characters. (e.g. if the player is challenged by the combat system, that gives them something of the same feeling that their character has being challenged by the battle in-world)

A player in my game recently praised its "immersiveness", and I try to engage and challenge them a lot. Good challenge leads to the psychological state of "flow" which I suspect is what they meant by immersion.

Escapism like you describe just seems sort of selfish to me. You want to come to the game and have everyone else distract you from reality for the session, without you having to contribute anything creatively. You sound like a dead weight in that scenario. Why not play a videogame?

 

[Sunseeker]

I'd be willing to bet it's the norm and not the extreme. And yes, roleplaying games are most definitely escapism for me.

There's good escapism and there's bad escapism, and it's difficult to pin down either one. Generally speaking, good escapism is something you enjoy doing and others enjoy doing with you. Hunting is escapism as much as gaming when you're doing so with a good attitude. Bad escapism is like internet hunting, where you watch a livestream of a helicopter flying over a forest and push a button when you want it to shoot. Bad escapism tends to be where you want others to entertain you.

I have to agree with Libramarian on the interpretation of your post, it sounds like you want to go to a game and be entertained by others, and that's generally not a good way to operate in a cooperative environment with real people.

 

[Mercule]

Basic attacks should be akin to 1e: "The pointy end goes into the other man."