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Roles in 4E D&D - Combat and Non-Combat Roles
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<blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 4707166" data-attributes="member: 54707"><p>Yeah, I think of class as the most obvious professional role in the game. It is the fundamental role. But the roles attached in 4E by class are at times logical given certain situations, but at times very restrictive given other situations. </p><p></p><p>What I'm saying is that if you de-couple certain role-assumptions directly from class then you can create role functions which are flexible, fluid, personal, and which allow the players to exploit their own natural capabilities.</p><p></p><p>So I'm not against defining roles at all, as long as those role definitions aren't a form of mummification or calcification of character and player capabilities.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I really like these ideas.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yeah, that was my point too. Roles shouldn't be so restrictive that they can't be immediately adaptable to the situational environment. And in many senses, they should be left up to the players and the characters, not the game designers. </p><p></p><p>The game designer can anticipate that roles will be useful. What they cannot do is imagine every kind of role possible, how that role will function in nay given situation, what good role-play will be in any particular set of circumstances, or what the demands of a role may entail.</p><p></p><p>Just as a soldier can be trained for everything from urban combat to equipment repair, but what he can't be trained for is what any particular urban encounter will demand of him, or what every instance of equipment failure will imply.</p><p></p><p>Therefore "roles" are player and character functions which sit atop or beneath other character attributes like race, class, etc, not necessarily determined by class or race, <em>but more an expression of "individual character and nature" in which matters like class and race inform, </em>rather than demand.</p><p></p><p>So roles are player functions, not game design functions. The game designer has no business assigning them based upon limited preconceptions of what might be possible, rather what the game designer(s) should do is say, "these are general possibilities and suggestions, now it is up to you to decide 'roles' among yourselves."</p><p></p><p>Because roles, by very definition are player and character matters, not class, DM, or matters for designers.</p><p></p><p>You've got to trust your players and that they will discover their best roles in any given situation for themselves. It's not up to someone else to tell them what their roles must be.</p><p></p><p>They are the players and the characters. They don't need Daddy Designer or Mommy DM telling them what they will grow up to be or what their roles must be. They are the role players. <em><strong>It's ultimately their business.</strong></em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jack7, post: 4707166, member: 54707"] Yeah, I think of class as the most obvious professional role in the game. It is the fundamental role. But the roles attached in 4E by class are at times logical given certain situations, but at times very restrictive given other situations. What I'm saying is that if you de-couple certain role-assumptions directly from class then you can create role functions which are flexible, fluid, personal, and which allow the players to exploit their own natural capabilities. So I'm not against defining roles at all, as long as those role definitions aren't a form of mummification or calcification of character and player capabilities. I really like these ideas. Yeah, that was my point too. Roles shouldn't be so restrictive that they can't be immediately adaptable to the situational environment. And in many senses, they should be left up to the players and the characters, not the game designers. The game designer can anticipate that roles will be useful. What they cannot do is imagine every kind of role possible, how that role will function in nay given situation, what good role-play will be in any particular set of circumstances, or what the demands of a role may entail. Just as a soldier can be trained for everything from urban combat to equipment repair, but what he can't be trained for is what any particular urban encounter will demand of him, or what every instance of equipment failure will imply. Therefore "roles" are player and character functions which sit atop or beneath other character attributes like race, class, etc, not necessarily determined by class or race, [I]but more an expression of "individual character and nature" in which matters like class and race inform, [/I]rather than demand. So roles are player functions, not game design functions. The game designer has no business assigning them based upon limited preconceptions of what might be possible, rather what the game designer(s) should do is say, "these are general possibilities and suggestions, now it is up to you to decide 'roles' among yourselves." Because roles, by very definition are player and character matters, not class, DM, or matters for designers. You've got to trust your players and that they will discover their best roles in any given situation for themselves. It's not up to someone else to tell them what their roles must be. They are the players and the characters. They don't need Daddy Designer or Mommy DM telling them what they will grow up to be or what their roles must be. They are the role players. [I][B]It's ultimately their business.[/B][/I] [/QUOTE]
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