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So What IS Happening to Tabletop Roleplaying Games? Dancey & Mearls Let You Know!
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<blockquote data-quote="lkj" data-source="post: 7653589" data-attributes="member: 18646"><p>I don't disagree exactly, but there are two points I think are worth making:</p><p></p><p>1) Mearls has pretty consistently indicated that the goal is to make a game that gives you the option to pick up and play quickly but also has enough depth to engage the 'gearheads' who really enjoy tweaking and designing and creating as it were. I really don't think these objectives are incompatible if the design of the game is done thoughtfully. And I see a lot of potential for this in the playtest. If they put it together right, I think this apparent conflict between the way you want to play the game and still making the game accessible to the market which wants to play but is unwilling/unable to put the prep time in will go away. We'll see.</p><p></p><p>2) I really like creating too. I enjoy the prep nearly as much as the game as well. It's why I'm nearly always the DM. However, there are two different kinds of (non-mutually exclusive) prep. There's what I'll loosely call 'narrative prep'-- You focus on creating a world and plot hooks and narratives that engage both you and your players. You populate that world with the various monsters, NPC's and bits and pieces you want. Then there's 'mechanical prep' where you spend a great deal of time designing the detailed characteristics of each NPC, monster, and set piece that you want to use. Both of those can be fun and go hand in hand. But these days I lean very, very heavily toward the former. Due to time constraints, I want my prep time to be primarily focused on what's the most fun for me-- filling out the narrative and story elements. When I come up with a cool idea for a villain or monster, I would like to be able to quickly slot in some mechanics to create the feel of that villain or monster. I can handle the rest at the table. I no longer have the time (and less of the inclination) to spend hours developing these pieces. Sure, I'd like the option to get detailed if I feel like it for some master villain. But I don't want it to be a necessity. I want to be able to quickly generate a villain and feel confident it will work pretty much how I envision it.</p><p></p><p>I loved 3rd edition. Still do in many ways. It reinvigorated my gaming group. But at some point, I was running a high level 3.5 game, and the prep time not only felt like work, it was stressful. I found myself spending so much time trying to get the mechanics right I could barely get a handle on creating the flavor and opportunities for narrative that had made the game so fun in the past. </p><p></p><p>What I hope for the new edition is that I can pick up and play a quick game based on a cool idea I have in fairly short order. But that I can also-- when the time and inclination arises-- create an intricate world with intricate NPC's. Sometimes the latter will happen because the former went so well.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, enough ramble from me.</p><p></p><p>AD</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="lkj, post: 7653589, member: 18646"] I don't disagree exactly, but there are two points I think are worth making: 1) Mearls has pretty consistently indicated that the goal is to make a game that gives you the option to pick up and play quickly but also has enough depth to engage the 'gearheads' who really enjoy tweaking and designing and creating as it were. I really don't think these objectives are incompatible if the design of the game is done thoughtfully. And I see a lot of potential for this in the playtest. If they put it together right, I think this apparent conflict between the way you want to play the game and still making the game accessible to the market which wants to play but is unwilling/unable to put the prep time in will go away. We'll see. 2) I really like creating too. I enjoy the prep nearly as much as the game as well. It's why I'm nearly always the DM. However, there are two different kinds of (non-mutually exclusive) prep. There's what I'll loosely call 'narrative prep'-- You focus on creating a world and plot hooks and narratives that engage both you and your players. You populate that world with the various monsters, NPC's and bits and pieces you want. Then there's 'mechanical prep' where you spend a great deal of time designing the detailed characteristics of each NPC, monster, and set piece that you want to use. Both of those can be fun and go hand in hand. But these days I lean very, very heavily toward the former. Due to time constraints, I want my prep time to be primarily focused on what's the most fun for me-- filling out the narrative and story elements. When I come up with a cool idea for a villain or monster, I would like to be able to quickly slot in some mechanics to create the feel of that villain or monster. I can handle the rest at the table. I no longer have the time (and less of the inclination) to spend hours developing these pieces. Sure, I'd like the option to get detailed if I feel like it for some master villain. But I don't want it to be a necessity. I want to be able to quickly generate a villain and feel confident it will work pretty much how I envision it. I loved 3rd edition. Still do in many ways. It reinvigorated my gaming group. But at some point, I was running a high level 3.5 game, and the prep time not only felt like work, it was stressful. I found myself spending so much time trying to get the mechanics right I could barely get a handle on creating the flavor and opportunities for narrative that had made the game so fun in the past. What I hope for the new edition is that I can pick up and play a quick game based on a cool idea I have in fairly short order. But that I can also-- when the time and inclination arises-- create an intricate world with intricate NPC's. Sometimes the latter will happen because the former went so well. Anyway, enough ramble from me. AD [/QUOTE]
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