D&D General What do you actually like about D&D?

[Lanefan]

It’s funny. We ended up doing something similar in 1e. We called it spell points? And did it about 30 years ago.

We also went to spell points a long time ago...and for my current campaign I went back to slots (though without pre-memorization), as s.p. simply got bah-roken at levels above about 7th.

 

[cbwjm]

Oh, something else I enjoy which isn't specific to DnD but since that's the system I normally use it's kind of related. I really enjoy world building and coming up with places for my players to adventure in. Creating cultures, and dungeons, and maps. So much fun!

 

[Tony Vargas]

I actually like HP. If there's one sub-system detail in D&D that really captures a bit of fantasy genre, it's Hit Points. No, really. Hear me out.
I've played a lot of games, and I do find I like D&D-style hit points better than most alternatives. Sure, they're vague, dissociated, and completely unrealistic. Sometimes they even paint the game into self-contradictory-seaming corner. But, they're simple math, they require no extensive checks or tracking of individual injuries or severity, and perhaps best of all, come with no Death Spiral. That is, when you lose hp, you don't lose ability. You keep fighting on, heroically, at full strength to your last hp, if need be. And, that needn't be - you can seek help, run away, or switch tactics when you realize from your declining hp total that you're overmatched. That's actually something that happens in genre, heroes will be kicking ass with great efficiency, yet, tho none are visibly wounded, one of them will shout "there's too many of them" and they'll retreat, or pull out a new trick or whatever. How do they make that judgement, you're all fine, you're not obviously losing? They're low on mysterious ill-defined hp. Nor is that the only genre-faithful perk of the hp mechanic - there's also the Heroic Come-back. When the heroes get trounced by the obviously-too-powerful villain, only to find the courage rally and carry the day. OK, in D&D it also involves the Cleric casting a spell or something, but still you get that come-from-behind cadence that battles in genre (and action movies) so often have.

 

[reelo]

I like the "platonic ideal" of D&D.
Basocally, a version of the game that never existed exactly like that, where all the races, classes, rules, and setting exist the way I imagine them to be, AND the players are fully immersed.

Revised 2E but without the later bloat, a setting like a mix of Faerûn, Skyrim and Hârnworld, with generally low power-levels in terms of NPCs, and no metaplot.

 

[Oofta]

I actually like HP. If there's one sub-system detail in D&D that really captures a bit of fantasy genre, it's Hit Points. No, really. Hear me out.
I've played a lot of games, and I do find I like D&D-style hit points better than most alternatives. Sure, they're vague, dissociated, and completely unrealistic. Sometimes they even paint the game into self-contradictory-seaming corner. But, they're simple math, they require no extensive checks or tracking of individual injuries or severity, and perhaps best of all, come with no Death Spiral. That is, when you lose hp, you don't lose ability. You keep fighting on, heroically, at full strength to your last hp, if need be. And, that needn't be - you can seek help, run away, or switch tactics when you realize from your declining hp total that you're overmatched. That's actually something that happens in genre, heroes will be kicking ass with great efficiency, yet, tho none are visibly wounded, one of them will shout "there's too many of them" and they'll retreat, or pull out a new trick or whatever. How do they make that judgement, you're all fine, you're not obviously losing? They're low on mysterious ill-defined hp. Nor is that the only genre-faithful perk of the hp mechanic - there's also the Heroic Come-back. When the heroes get trounced by the obviously-too-powerful villain, only to find the courage rally and carry the day. OK, in D&D it also involves the Cleric casting a spell or something, but still you get that come-from-behind cadence that battles in genre (and action movies) so often have.

It's incredibly rare to see a scene where people are actually showing signs of reduced capability as a fight goes on. It's rare enough that when it does happen my wife and I tend to comment on it. It's usually more along the lines of people going full blast until one drops or, as you say, they beat a hasty retreat.

 

[Reynard]

All you need to do to understand hit points is watch Die Hard.

 

[Ayeffkay]

It's a lot easier to say "Wanna start a D&D game?" than "Wanna start a [any other TTRPG] game?" "What's [any other TTRPG]?" "It's D&D but ..."

5e is easy to learn, and I can at least try to add or change things to mold it into the game I want it to be. I wouldn't know where to begin making changes to a more mathematically rigorous system like [any other TTRPG]. Unfortunately, if I want to use my house rules I have to DM, so I never have an opportunity to be a player in the game I want it to be.

 

[Tony Vargas]

It's incredibly rare to see a scene where people are actually showing signs of reduced capability as a fight goes on. It's rare enough that when it does happen my wife and I tend to comment on it. It's usually more along the lines of people going full blast until one drops or, as you say, they beat a hasty retreat.

Exactly.
The other thing you'll see in genre, TV, action movies &c is the character who's dreadfully wounded, staggering around, in & out of consciously etc... but, when he finally has an opportunity to do something important, pulls it off in spades... then starts staggering again.

They do it with monsters/villains, too. Kill the monster. It pulls itself together just long enough to gank the secondary character you were there to save...

...it's all actually pretty narrativist...

..heck, you could design a whole TTRPG just from building mechanics to model

Spoiler

TV Tropes

 

[Oofta]

Exactly. The other thing you'll see in genre, TV, action movies &c is the character who's dreadfully wounded, staggering around, in & out of consciously etc... but, when he finally has an opportunity to do something important, pulls it off in spades... then starts staggering again.

They do it with monsters/villains, too. Kill the monster. It pulls itself together just long enough to gank the secondary character you were there to save...

...you could build a whole TTRPG just from building mechanics to model

Spoiler

TV Tropes

It's funny how people complain about healing in D&D as well. Someone gets shot? Just yank that bullet out and you're good as new! Broken arm? Either use that cast as a club or just take it off yourself because you don't have time for it. Arm in a sling? Throw that sucker away, wince a couple of times to remind people you just got out of the hospital and it's off to fight the bad guys.

At least in D&D we can blame the fast healing on magic.

 

[Stormonu]

Can we talk about all the missing arms, eyes, legs and noses in D&D? I mean, how do you even get kneecapped in this darn game?