Is D&D stifling your creativity?
- Thread starter Stormonu
- Start date
Henry
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I found I got some of that back when I played 4E D&D, but 3E used to get me really badly in a tunnel vision, trying to fit everything to the rules because they were "complete", but since re-approaching the game with fresh eyes after 4E, I'm reminded of the plenty of places I can toss out the rules and make it fit the fun.
as somebody mentioned on page 2, all the chatter is about chargen, when the real stiflement is during game play.
Sure, chargen shapes the kinds of characters you can make.
But the rest of the rule book shapes what your PC does in the game. And that's the part that's analogous to what a kid is doing with his action figures and minis.
I played a sample game of 4e (3 combat encounters). While I liked the idea of having special 'attacks' I could do each round, my choices then became locked into "always do one of those special attacks so I get the bonus"
In 2e, because the combat rules were fuzzy, I used to do all sorts of crazy stuff to garner an in game bonus (rear attack, higher ground), etc. Once, I even had my elf hang from the roots in the ceiling to attack some kobolds so I could get the "higher ground" bonus to-hit. Never mind that he was 6' tall, and these were kobolds and likely the tunnel wasn't that high (I'm glad my DM didn't think of that either at the tiime).
I have gotten some of my best moves in the first game of an edition. The first time I played D&D (via a 1e PH and a 2e DMG), I thought I got saving throws from dieing. the GM bought my theory and it saved my life.
In 3e, in our first encounter with an 18th level sorcerer, I hit him so hard with my half-orc barbarian, that the GM described him as getting thrown back 10' into the wall and bouncing back at me. I then pulled the "he left my threated space and re-entered? Attack of Opportunity" and promptly killed him in 1 round with yet another crit.
I always found those to be funny mis-understandings of the rules, but the core is that the rules shapes what I can get away wiith trying.
To me, the chargen rules cause me to be creative to figure out how to do my character idea within the rules, or to create new rules to make it work.
Whereas the game play rules shape what is optimal to do within the game, and often discourage doing crazy stuff, as it is outside the rules and not codified to get a bonus.
I would like D&D combat to encourage moving (just as in real fighting), if only for a free 5' step every time.
I would like to see it encourage the user to do describe a plausible stunt attempt and get a bonus (to-hit, damage, AC) for doing more than just standing in your square. Stunts from Iron Heroes attempted this.
At the simplest:
If on your turn, you are not flanked by an ally or solid square, and you do not move, you get a -1 AC penalty until your next turn.
Thus, if you are holding off the enemy in a 5' wide corridor, no problem holding still. If you and a buddy form a line in a 10' corridor, no problem.
If you are toe-to-toe with an opponent and just standing still, and don't have buddies or walls by your side, you get are easier to hit. to avoid this, take a 5' step every round when you're out in the open.
Sure, chargen shapes the kinds of characters you can make.
But the rest of the rule book shapes what your PC does in the game. And that's the part that's analogous to what a kid is doing with his action figures and minis.
I played a sample game of 4e (3 combat encounters). While I liked the idea of having special 'attacks' I could do each round, my choices then became locked into "always do one of those special attacks so I get the bonus"
In 2e, because the combat rules were fuzzy, I used to do all sorts of crazy stuff to garner an in game bonus (rear attack, higher ground), etc. Once, I even had my elf hang from the roots in the ceiling to attack some kobolds so I could get the "higher ground" bonus to-hit. Never mind that he was 6' tall, and these were kobolds and likely the tunnel wasn't that high (I'm glad my DM didn't think of that either at the tiime).
I have gotten some of my best moves in the first game of an edition. The first time I played D&D (via a 1e PH and a 2e DMG), I thought I got saving throws from dieing. the GM bought my theory and it saved my life.
In 3e, in our first encounter with an 18th level sorcerer, I hit him so hard with my half-orc barbarian, that the GM described him as getting thrown back 10' into the wall and bouncing back at me. I then pulled the "he left my threated space and re-entered? Attack of Opportunity" and promptly killed him in 1 round with yet another crit.
I always found those to be funny mis-understandings of the rules, but the core is that the rules shapes what I can get away wiith trying.
To me, the chargen rules cause me to be creative to figure out how to do my character idea within the rules, or to create new rules to make it work.
Whereas the game play rules shape what is optimal to do within the game, and often discourage doing crazy stuff, as it is outside the rules and not codified to get a bonus.
I would like D&D combat to encourage moving (just as in real fighting), if only for a free 5' step every time.
I would like to see it encourage the user to do describe a plausible stunt attempt and get a bonus (to-hit, damage, AC) for doing more than just standing in your square. Stunts from Iron Heroes attempted this.
At the simplest:
If on your turn, you are not flanked by an ally or solid square, and you do not move, you get a -1 AC penalty until your next turn.
Thus, if you are holding off the enemy in a 5' wide corridor, no problem holding still. If you and a buddy form a line in a 10' corridor, no problem.
If you are toe-to-toe with an opponent and just standing still, and don't have buddies or walls by your side, you get are easier to hit. to avoid this, take a 5' step every round when you're out in the open.
I'm caught in this right now. I've been on a rules lite kick for awhile, but every so often I think "Maybe this could use a few more rules..."
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