Just a thought...

[SonOfLilith]

Has anyone ever tried, or thought about taking the roleing out of DnD, or mabey cut down on it. It seems to me that this would be a great way to get rid of power characters and out the emphasis on role playing.
I don't know, mabey I am completly off here, but I remembered when my brother was first trying to teach me how to play the game, I didn't understand the rules. So he said screw it, and gave me situations, and I told him how I dealt with it. It was a different kind of game. When I battled the last guy, it wasn't a matter of wether or not I lived or died, it was to make the battle as epic as possible. I always trusted that my brother would always have a way out, no matter how desperate the situation seemed.
Mabey this would be a good way to start campains, let the players get confortable with there characters, and give the DM time to set the tone. Then, like two sessions later, introduce the dice.
Again, I might be way off here, but...just a thought.

 

[SableWyvern]

In general, I hate this concept. Certainly, it a legitimate way of playing, and I have no problems with people who enjoy that sort of thing. Its a whole different gaming experience, however.

In the short term (ie, using it for a couple of sessions as you suggest) won't have a dramatic effect on gameplay, although with the exception of introducing very young players I can't see it as being the best way of doing things.

My problem with diceless (read randomless) gaming is that it places a burden of arbitrary decisions on the DM that is simply far to heavy. When does a DM decide to allow something that would very rarely happen to occur, or vice versa. IE, when does the brilliant thief occasionally fail a relatively simple search check? When does a simple fight against kobolds do serious and unpredictable damage to the party?

This type of playing tend to emphasize "The Story" over all else. Unfortunately, that means that the players know that their characters actions will ultimately succeed or fail based on the DMs vision for "The Story". I would never take from my players the knowledge that brilliant rolls can throw the cunning machinations of my NPCs into dissarray, or the fear that a poor roll in a critical moment can turn guaranteed success into potential tragedy.

Dice are the ultimate tool for giving the players the feeling that they too control "The Story" and are not at the complete mercy of the DM.

I will iterate that diceless gaming is not a bad thing. Its just absolutely not my thing.

 

[Orclicker]

One thing that I tried once was to allow the characters to roll dice, but they never actually saw their character sheets, and never distributed skill points or chose feats (these were chosen based on what the PCs did, or had the chance to learn).