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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Novem5er" data-source="post: 4604435" data-attributes="member: 57859">I think it breaks down to this:Some people want to write stories, and other people want to play a game.D&D is a game. It has rules that define character actions as they progress towards a goal.  The vast majority of the D&D rule set focuses on combat. Combat has so many rules because, being still a game, combat must be fair. Players (of a game) don't want to play if they know the odds are against them. Obviously, D&D provides some variance and players will often take on a more challenging fight... but in general the rules are there to make sure that everyone is having fun.Fun, in modern video games, is typically defined by lots of little risks that do not prevent the player from moving forward. Ever play an original Nintendo game? Yeah, those were hard... game designers were focused on providing a challenge and didn't really care if players never got to level 8. Now, video games are "easier" in the sense that the designers WANT players to beat the game, and thus the risks provided are ones of little dings.* oops, you fell of a ledge... climb back up? (time risk)* oops, you got hit... use healing potion? (resource risk)* oops, you died... restart level? (time risk)BUT D&D ISN'T A VIDEO GAME!!!!!No, but many of the design elements are the same, and have been since 3e. WotC has designed a game system that presents a fair playing experience. What differentiates D&D from a video game is that WotC puts the whole thing into the hands of a DM, who uses that system as they see fit.Even I sometimes find myself in the trap of wanting to get lost in the wonder of RPing, like I did when I was 12. I can have a good time RPing, and 4e has definitely forced me into the unknown (I have to memorize a whole new Monster Manual)... but I can't escape the fact that D&D is a game system.Want to tell epic stories of great heroism that ACTUALLY feels fresh, new, bold, and completely mysterious? Write a novel. Seriously. While we can break down a piece of fiction into RP terms, we cannot reverse-engineer the same thing. Characters in a book are NOT living people sitting around a table waiting for their turn. As a writer, I can spend a chapter focusing on the littlest act of charity performed by an infamously selfish character... the act can be the climax of an entire chapter... but I can't waste that time as a DM. Books are not games, and games are not books.</blockquote>

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