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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 9240596" data-attributes="member: 50987">I want to agree with you, but I think we have to define what you meant by "supported by D&D" first.  Because it's not really a question of whether or not a playstyle is supported at all, but a question of how much it is supported.  It's not an on/off toggle switch; it's a dial that goes from 0 to 11.<img src="https://media2.giphy.com/media/lvlLuc2zhi39C/200.gif" alt="go to 11 spinal tap GIF" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hack & Slash: it varies by edition, but I'd say the "Support Dial" would be at least 7 or so.  Meaning at least 70% of the game's rules are dedicated to combat.  Seriously, I know people who play this game purely as a combat simulator.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Problem Solving: again, varies by edition.  With 5E pushing the rules minutiae back onto the DM (unlike 3.X, which tried to make rules for every situation), I'd say that the Support Dial would be on 2 or 3 for this kind of play--and that's a good thing.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Character Driven:  5E would put this dial right in the middle, around 5 or 6.  Backgrounds, multiclassing, Ideals/Flaws/Bonds, alignment, there are a lot of choices and options that deliberately put the player in "story mode."  I think that's one of the strengths of the system, but even so: I wouldn't want the dial any higher than that.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Historical Simulation: Yeah, this is all on the DM.  I agree completely; the Support Dial is firmly at zero and always has been.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Slapstick: Again, set that Support Dial to zero.  It's a valid style of play (and fun, besides!) but it's more of a "chosen by the players" situation...it isn't really something that gets "supported" by the rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monty Haul: say what you want about D&D, but if you enjoy this style of play, D&D has it in spades. It's actively encouraged at all tiers of play, starting at character creation (start with max hp!  Don't like your stats? just pick them instead!  Can't find the magic item you needed for your 'build'? buy it, or craft it yourself!)  This Support Dial has been steadily turning clockwise since the 1980s, and 5E puts it at 10 or 11.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tactical: earlier editions of D&D didn't really need much tactical stuff...BECM, B/X, 1E were all mostly "theater of the mind" stuff.  (Sure, there was Chainmail, the tactical wargame that started it all, but I think we all agree that is a different game entirely.) Then 3E came along and turned D&D into a weird board game, with 'moves' and everything, and we've been there ever since.  TSR-era?  Support dial at 2 or 3.  WotC-era? Dial at 8 or 9.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Political: If you enjoy this kind of game, you probably appreciate how 5E made Charisma more important, and gave us the optional Renown and Honor rules in the DMG.  The Support Dial starts out at 2 or 3, but it can go all the way to 10 or 11 with those optional rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mixing It Up: definitely on the high end, probably around 7 or 8.  5th Edition D&D was built with house-ruling in mind, especially since "just ask the DM" has been codified on friggin' page one of the rules.  I have borrowed (stolen) things from all kinds of games--Call of Cthulhu, Final Fantasy, Stardew Valley--and plugged them into my 5E D&D campaign with very little effort.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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