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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 6112610" data-attributes="member: 82106">'Protagonism' is in some ways a good way to look at it. 4e is built to be a game about being a heroic (or maybe anti-heroic) adventurer, and it distinctly puts the characters at the center, and their actions are featured. Most monsters are interesting challenges but they are made to be elements of the PCs story, not more or less equal pawns of the DM pitted against players PCs. At the same time as creating this focus the game also made everything pretty close to independent of specific narrative explanation. The question "what's more narrative about Tide of Iron than about Charm Person" is that Tide of Iron can be used to construct many different narratives "I pushed the ogre back" to "I dived into his knees and threw him back, as we both rose I pressed the attack" to "brandishing my blade I simply scowl at the brute, causing him to reel back in terror!" where as classic AD&D Charm Person is pretty much locked into being one specific thing with one specific explanation. This illustrates that second characteristic of narrative flexibility. The combination of the two things, plus a VERY wide variety of character options provides the players with a great degree of agency by default. Combine that with the plot-coupon type nature of AP and many powers, plus the ease with which PCs were able to equip themselves as they desired and really it is a very player favoring game, and a very character-centered one.Honestly, its logical. I play RPGs to be able to fantasize about being an cool hero and doing cool things. The game is about and FOR the players. Many people are critical of this as being somehow "soft on players", but it absolutely need not be so. In fact I find that when the players are asked to step up and help define how, when, where and to what degree they will be challenged that they like to push it. Finally all this combines with the cinematic play feel and what 4e does really well is romps. Players romp around and do crazy stuff and fantastical things happen and they pull themselves out of the fire again and again in cool ways, and now and then, you kill them, in cool ways too! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Believe me, I'm a ruthless DM, I don't mind bodycount, but I like ELEGANT body count.</blockquote>

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