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<blockquote data-quote="phloog" data-source="post: 4250195" data-attributes="member: 59219"><p>Okay...now I'm a thread hog.</p><p></p><p>thoughts</p><p></p><p>It feels like some of my players now believe that extensive rules, lots of feats and options and powers, etc., are required...one main driver of this belief is that by sailing the vast sea of splat books and expansions, they are able to create very detailed characters who are unique - my fighter is unlike your fighter in almost every way. Awesome.</p><p></p><p>The problem is that this is a mechanical solution to the need for uniqueness. </p><p></p><p>If I think back to 1e games I ran, I can still describe in great detail how Stumpy the dwarf warrior was COMPLETELY different than Valdor the human paladin who was COMPLETELY different from Mermok the human paladin etc. etc. etc.</p><p></p><p>They had no feats. They had no long list of skill choices.</p><p></p><p>But they were played differently.</p><p></p><p>I would suggest that all roleplayers that are worth their salt want to create a unique character.</p><p></p><p>Given a system with few mechanical differentiators between Character A and B, two players can either:</p><p></p><p>1) Create a cookie cutter character and not have the differentiation they really want, or</p><p></p><p>2) Create differentiation in the only way left to them, via roleplaying (backstory, weapon of choice, alignment, religion, goals, attitude, etc.)</p><p></p><p>It is completely possible to roleplay well and have fun in a game with lots of options/feats/powers, but I believe the tendency is to express uniqueness via mechanics when that option is there.</p><p></p><p>And I have noticed (and might well be completely alone) that sometimes it is harder to remember the differences in 3E characters than it was to remember them in earlier characters....because with this mechanical crutch, we too often DON'T flesh them out in other ways. I can remember that Stumpy was swept up into adventure unwillingly, and was always looking to retire and return to his blacksmithing...but I can't always remember that Fighter 26 was really cool because he had Improved Overrun.</p><p></p><p>It sounds like I'm slamming 3e, but I do love it and it's what we're playing now...I just don't see any signs that the 'streamlining' that took place for 4E moved us away from stats and battle maps, and further made mechanical the differentiators.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="phloog, post: 4250195, member: 59219"] Okay...now I'm a thread hog. thoughts It feels like some of my players now believe that extensive rules, lots of feats and options and powers, etc., are required...one main driver of this belief is that by sailing the vast sea of splat books and expansions, they are able to create very detailed characters who are unique - my fighter is unlike your fighter in almost every way. Awesome. The problem is that this is a mechanical solution to the need for uniqueness. If I think back to 1e games I ran, I can still describe in great detail how Stumpy the dwarf warrior was COMPLETELY different than Valdor the human paladin who was COMPLETELY different from Mermok the human paladin etc. etc. etc. They had no feats. They had no long list of skill choices. But they were played differently. I would suggest that all roleplayers that are worth their salt want to create a unique character. Given a system with few mechanical differentiators between Character A and B, two players can either: 1) Create a cookie cutter character and not have the differentiation they really want, or 2) Create differentiation in the only way left to them, via roleplaying (backstory, weapon of choice, alignment, religion, goals, attitude, etc.) It is completely possible to roleplay well and have fun in a game with lots of options/feats/powers, but I believe the tendency is to express uniqueness via mechanics when that option is there. And I have noticed (and might well be completely alone) that sometimes it is harder to remember the differences in 3E characters than it was to remember them in earlier characters....because with this mechanical crutch, we too often DON'T flesh them out in other ways. I can remember that Stumpy was swept up into adventure unwillingly, and was always looking to retire and return to his blacksmithing...but I can't always remember that Fighter 26 was really cool because he had Improved Overrun. It sounds like I'm slamming 3e, but I do love it and it's what we're playing now...I just don't see any signs that the 'streamlining' that took place for 4E moved us away from stats and battle maps, and further made mechanical the differentiators. [/QUOTE]
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