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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8994769" data-attributes="member: 6785785">Some have at times, sure. But if you don't think that it's an assumed state of any and all games for a good number of folks, then I think you're not paying close enough attention. It's a preference. It's not a starting point. It's not foundational. No, I'm not. I'm saying explicitly that they are not the same. More control need not result in more consistency. So this is kind of an example of what I'm talking about. Many games are not intended to be run/played in a variety of styles. Some have a deliberate design meant to provide a specific experience. Some games are absolutely more predisposed toward preparation than others. I'd say most require at least a little. D&D requires more than many games. That there is a range within D&D (depending on edition and how much we want to consider house rules and the like) doesn't mean there is such a range in all games, or if there is, that it's as wide as it appears to be with D&D. I describe it as a preference because that's how I view it. If someone is not comfortable with something and they avoid it, that's their preference. If they are comfortable with something, but don't enjoy it, that's their preference. I don't want to cast it in a more negative light than that, like it's a shortcoming. The point though is that it's a quality of the person, not the game. I don't think that the big factor of what attracts people to D&D is it's play style. I think it's market presence and brand recognition. It's everywhere RPGs are, and is the most known name in the industry. I think there are people who enjoy that playstyle for sure... there are even those of us who enjoy it as well as other types of games. But I'd say that the way D&D does things is responsible for more people leaving D&D than it is for those coming back to D&D. There are many who start with D&D and never try other games, so I'd exclude them from the above. Well, "need" is the topic of the thread. And what you've described above again sounds more like preference. When I think of "need" I think of what is necessary at minimum. You've said you can run a 5-room dungeon with little to no prep. So it sounds to me like you're saying D&D requires little to no prep. Which is a bit different than DM control, but prep is a big part of how a DM controls the game.</blockquote>

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