D&D 5E Is D&D a Story or a Game? Discuss.

[Satyrn]

Aye, it's a game that intrinsically involves a story.

 

[robus]

Aye, it's a game that intrinsically involves a story.

The tricky bit is whether the story is emergent or prescribed.

 

[Satyrn]

The tricky bit is whether the story is emergent or prescribed.

It's emergent. (Assuming we understand that word the same)

At most, the prescription is in the set up. But the story comes from what the players do while playing.

 

[Lanefan]

It starts out as a story.

Then players arrive, a game takes over, dice are rolled, narration occurs and things happen.

It finishes up as a story which may or may not have anything at all to do with the story it started as.

 

[Morrus]

It’s a game.


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[Bardbarian]

Purple! Because snakes don't have armpits.

 

[robus]

It’s a game.

End of story!

 

[iserith]

It might be worth re-reading the Introduction on page 2 of the Basic Rules. It lays out everything quite clearly. It's a game with no real end and the goal of the game is for everyone to have fun and to create an exciting, memorable story - stories about bold adventurers confronting deadly perils. Those are the "win" conditions, regardless of whether the PCs succeed or fail.

 

[Shiroiken]

A good game will have a balance of both. Most games will have a greater degree of one or the other, depending on the preferences of the DM and group. I like a lot of story, but at the end of the day, this is a game to be played (but never won).

 

[SmokeyCriminal]

It's a themed game that mechanizes the conversation between players to create a narrative which becomes a story?
So it's a game about creating stories, but not actually a story-telling game?
But you can tell stories within it. So it's a game about creating a story with stories within it that eventually becomes a story itself?
But technically if you never think back on the session or tell anyone about it, it never actually becomes a story...so then what?
When does a conversation become a story? Is it only after the whole conversation is over, or maybe as soon as a sentence ends? Is the time different depending if your speaking, listening, or watching?

I've never noticed this weird 'story' thing before, and now I can't unsee it. It's making my brain hurt a little bit.