Regarding the (supposed) lack of role-playing in 4E

[marune]

I don't think arguing about what "roleplaying" really means and whether or not somebody is doing it right is a totally fruitless discussion.

Lumpley Principle :

Roleplaying in a RPG can easily be defined as : Establishing facts in the Shared Imagined Space using the system.

system = "written rules" + fluff text in the books + some "table rules" (but not thing like bringing pizza/beer, that's social contract).

Now talking about how rules-mediated versus non rules-mediated situations are different in terms of how you roleplaying, there's some good discussion to be had there. But just saying "if it's a rules-mediated scene, it's not roleplaying" isn't very constructive.

Are you talking about "color" scenes or scenes where the resolution mechanic is Drama ? That's the first step.

FYI, Drama = DM/Players resolves the outcome by saying what happens without rolling or consulting numbers of any kind.

 

[Byronic]

I don't feel liek going through 9 pages of posts but, people have their non combat skills on their sheet (like profession or whatnot) because it provides structure, a good idea of what the character can and cannot do and reminds the player of that facet of the character.

It helps make sure that characters don't end up being the same. Each one of them with the same knowledges, the same abilities etc.