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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaro" data-source="post: 7426946" data-attributes="member: 48965">I'm curious do you think that D&D 5e's ideals, bonds and flaws can accomplish the same thing?  If not... I have to ask, why not?Again I have to ask, how is this different from the GM and a player establishing and fleshing out character backstory (or more specifically an ideal bond or flaw) in D&D 5e?  See my experience here is that not everyone enjoys this style.  There are players who really aren't interested in fleshing out the GM's world through their character's backstory and traits (they may not even be that interested in fleshing out their own character's traits and personality).  As someone who runs games (as opposed to playing them) near constantly I've been in this situation myself where I don't want to create a world... I want to play in someone else's world.  I see 1 major difference in how FATE (aspects) approaches this vs. D&D's (ideals, flaws and bonds)... the degree to which it is mandated as part of the game.  In FATE aspects are mandatory and are a fundamental part of the game mechanics in play, which means there is no opting out of them and every player has to engage with them to the same degree (fully).  D&D on the other hand treats it as an optional system which players can buy into fully or choose to ignore as they see fit.  FATE is great if you have a group with total buy in and your method of setting building is great for players who want the experience of building the world (though I think it's a big mistake to assume that this is desired by all players or even a universally positive thing).  However for a group that doesn't want to go deep into characterization and has no desire to build the world their stories take place in (or even a group that is mixed on the idea) FATE is pretty limiting and something like 5e, IMO, is a better fit since players can choose to buy in or not as much as they want.EDIT: Though this is purely conjecture, I think this is a major reason games like FATE don't have the widespread appeal of something like D&D or more traditional rpg's.  They require more from the players and IME, it's a requirement that makes it a less attractive option for some new players as well as casual players and even experienced players who don't necessarily fall into the Storytelling (and to a lesser extent the Actor) player types.</blockquote>

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