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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 9245688" data-attributes="member: 22779">See, I'm having a bit of trouble with this.&nbsp; As [USER=7023840]@Snarf Zagyg[/USER] and you both mention, there's a tension in game design between freeform and structured play.&nbsp; But, you're saying that even though you prefer freeform play, the existence of mechanics means that you will abandon your preferred playstyle in favor of structured play, the same way that we abandoned freeform play in favor of having thieves with skills in the game.After all, if I wanted to freeform AD&amp;D skills, I could certainly just ignore the thief, and then freeform exploration the way it was before the thief was added to the game.&nbsp; Nothing is lost.&nbsp; And I get to pursue my freeform goals.&nbsp; But, according to you, the existence of structured mechanics causes players to reject freeform play.&nbsp; Doesn't that kind of mean that players prefer structured play?&nbsp; That the only reason they are free forming is because of a lack of mechanics?&nbsp; My point being, if free form play is your prefered method of play, then why can't you simply continue to free form?&nbsp; One could certainly play 4e without skill challenges after all.&nbsp; There's nothing in the game that requires you to use skill challenges.&nbsp; The game works perfectly fine if you never run a skill challenge but instead free form all skill tasks.Why does a preference for free form play appear to be so fragile that the mere existence of different options results in abandoning free form play?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 9245688, member: 22779"] See, I'm having a bit of trouble with this. As [USER=7023840]@Snarf Zagyg[/USER] and you both mention, there's a tension in game design between freeform and structured play. But, you're saying that even though you prefer freeform play, the existence of mechanics means that you will abandon your preferred playstyle in favor of structured play, the same way that we abandoned freeform play in favor of having thieves with skills in the game. After all, if I wanted to freeform AD&D skills, I could certainly just ignore the thief, and then freeform exploration the way it was before the thief was added to the game. Nothing is lost. And I get to pursue my freeform goals. But, according to you, the existence of structured mechanics causes players to reject freeform play. Doesn't that kind of mean that players prefer structured play? That the only reason they are free forming is because of a lack of mechanics? My point being, if free form play is your prefered method of play, then why can't you simply continue to free form? One could certainly play 4e without skill challenges after all. There's nothing in the game that requires you to use skill challenges. The game works perfectly fine if you never run a skill challenge but instead free form all skill tasks. Why does a preference for free form play appear to be so fragile that the mere existence of different options results in abandoning free form play? [/QUOTE]

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