Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
How has D&D changed over the decades?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 8606918" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>[USER=6794067]@Baron Opal II[/USER] - all I can say is that in my experience, claims of "open world sandboxes" mean that the characters have pretty much no connection to the setting and are largely blank pages because there's no point in having anything else. As you said, that first level character has "family members, a mentor and a childhood friend". So, yes, as you say, nothing in my character's backstory is going to matter, so why bother having one?</p><p></p><p>After all, the odds that any of those three things will come up in game, when the only time I can specify any of them is at chargen, is so close to zero that it might as well be zero. And then we have [USER=6855114]@Helldritch[/USER] flat out saying that any NPC the players attempt to add to the game come with built in chances of being a hinderance rather than something that adds to the game, well, again, what's the point? Why would I bother? There's no upside there. I'm far better off simply engaging with the DM's puzzle box because at least there I have control. If adding a NPC just places me in a worse position 1/3 of the time, randomly, then no, I'm never going to do it because it's a fools bet. </p><p></p><p>But, at the tend of the day, [USER=6794067]@Baron Opal II[/USER], you absolutely are dictating to your players. They have zero control in your game other than what tiny little spotlight is shining around their characters. In order to got to the noble's party, they engaged with your puzzle box until you decided they succeeded and then they could go to the party. IOW, they have no actual control. </p><p></p><p>Control means that the player gets to tell the DM that X is true in the game. If the player cannot tell the DM that X is true in the game (obviously beyond simple actions by the character) then the player has no control over that game. Which is a perfectly fine way to play. Trad play generally follows this. But, it means that the player has zero incentive to take any ownership over the game and becomes a passive consumer of the game. </p><p></p><p>I don't want consumer players anymore. I want the game to be a collaborative effort. I want the players to tell ME that X is true and then I can incorporate that into the game, taking it in directions that I don't have control over. Fantastic.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 8606918, member: 22779"] [USER=6794067]@Baron Opal II[/USER] - all I can say is that in my experience, claims of "open world sandboxes" mean that the characters have pretty much no connection to the setting and are largely blank pages because there's no point in having anything else. As you said, that first level character has "family members, a mentor and a childhood friend". So, yes, as you say, nothing in my character's backstory is going to matter, so why bother having one? After all, the odds that any of those three things will come up in game, when the only time I can specify any of them is at chargen, is so close to zero that it might as well be zero. And then we have [USER=6855114]@Helldritch[/USER] flat out saying that any NPC the players attempt to add to the game come with built in chances of being a hinderance rather than something that adds to the game, well, again, what's the point? Why would I bother? There's no upside there. I'm far better off simply engaging with the DM's puzzle box because at least there I have control. If adding a NPC just places me in a worse position 1/3 of the time, randomly, then no, I'm never going to do it because it's a fools bet. But, at the tend of the day, [USER=6794067]@Baron Opal II[/USER], you absolutely are dictating to your players. They have zero control in your game other than what tiny little spotlight is shining around their characters. In order to got to the noble's party, they engaged with your puzzle box until you decided they succeeded and then they could go to the party. IOW, they have no actual control. Control means that the player gets to tell the DM that X is true in the game. If the player cannot tell the DM that X is true in the game (obviously beyond simple actions by the character) then the player has no control over that game. Which is a perfectly fine way to play. Trad play generally follows this. But, it means that the player has zero incentive to take any ownership over the game and becomes a passive consumer of the game. I don't want consumer players anymore. I want the game to be a collaborative effort. I want the players to tell ME that X is true and then I can incorporate that into the game, taking it in directions that I don't have control over. Fantastic. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
How has D&D changed over the decades?
Top