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<blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 8193015" data-attributes="member: 6778044">We're saying the same thing.Roleplaying is making decisions/taking actions as that character. There is no one thing to what a character would do, but there's a much smaller number of things this character would do. Bilbo isn't just a hobbit, nor is he 'special.' He is just Bilbo, and all of the things that led up to that moment also led to him choosing to set out on that adventure. So this character, Bilbo, chose to do what he, and possibly only he, would do. And that's kind of my point, too. The game currently puts the focus more and more on mechanics, class, race, special abilities, and the definition of &quot;character&quot; has shifted to a mechanically-based character build.What is lacking in the current thrust of rules and books is developing interesting characters. A lot of TV, movies, and books are described as being &quot;character-driven&quot; but the advice for RPGs has been more focused on creating exiting scenes and opportunities for them (for DMs) and interesting mechanically-based characters for PCs. I have a half-orc paladin/illusionist, etc. The focus is on the action and the special abilities that makes that action &quot;interesting.&quot;And you're right, what &quot;would&quot; a given character do is very subjective. Which is why at our table we think the person best suited to make decisions about a character is the player of that character. We encourage developing complex and interesting personalities, and play is centered around the players figuring out what those interesting characters would do. We extend that as far as critical hits/misses, and even death. The only place I might differ is asking, &quot;what's the coolest thing...&quot; Any given character will make cool decisions and mundane decisions. It's not always going to be the coolest thing. But it might be. And you, as the player, are the only one that will know what is right for that character at that point in time.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ilbranteloth, post: 8193015, member: 6778044"] We're saying the same thing. Roleplaying is making decisions/taking actions as [I]that[/I] character. There is no one thing to what [I]a[/I] character would do, but there's a much smaller number of things [I]this[/I] character would do. Bilbo isn't just a hobbit, nor is he 'special.' He is just Bilbo, and all of the things that led up to that moment also led to him choosing to set out on that adventure. So [I]this[/I] character, Bilbo, chose to do what he, and possibly only he, would do. And that's kind of my point, too. The game currently puts the focus more and more on mechanics, class, race, special abilities, and the definition of "character" has shifted to a mechanically-based character build. What is lacking in the current thrust of rules and books is developing interesting characters. A lot of TV, movies, and books are described as being "character-driven" but the advice for RPGs has been more focused on creating exiting scenes and opportunities for them (for DMs) and interesting mechanically-based characters for PCs. I have a half-orc paladin/illusionist, etc. The focus is on the action and the special abilities that makes that action "interesting." And you're right, what "would" a given character do is very subjective. Which is why at our table we think the person best suited to make decisions about a character is the player of that character. We encourage developing complex and interesting personalities, and play is centered around the players figuring out what those interesting characters would do. We extend that as far as critical hits/misses, and even death. The only place I might differ is asking, "what's the coolest thing..." Any given character will make cool decisions and mundane decisions. It's not always going to be the coolest thing. But it might be. And you, as the player, are the only one that will know what is right for that character at that point in time. [/QUOTE]

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