What way of playing D&D is completely incompatible with your way?

[Lwaxy]

- hack and slash. Especially with the mentality of evil monsters vs good races
- zombie games. Just, no...
- rules lawyers
- overly using miniatures
- railroading to a point that all the decisions you make are meaningless
- too much combat
- minmaxing and powergaming
- not enough story in the game. I need a story to be told unless it is one shot
- always being serious and taking yourself too seriously, no matter if as player of GM
- too many random encounters
- no change in weather. Had a GM like that once, the sun always shines on D&D it was

 

[Halivar]

Oh, so it's just that you have to give out XP as DM? You don't mind no XP as a player? Sorry if this seems nitpicky, but I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

When I reach a magic point where the DM says "ok, you level" it feels capricious. Did I really earn it, or is it being handwaved? When I end a session, I think, "how close am I?"

Usually, if I think I'm only an encounter away from leveling, I want to keep going. Not knowing my experience points just kills me because I feel like I have no control over my advancement.

 

[jodyjohnson]

DMs or players who use the game to display their knowledge or interest in non-game magical traditions.

DMs who use an established setting and then spend a ton of time displaying their distain for the canon (usually by slaying canon NPCs in various ways with the PCs as powerless bystanders).

Players who backstory themselves super-powers enabled by complicit and partial DMs (my best friend - the DM syndrome).

 

[Lwaxy]

A DM has to fight against an adventure in order to make it fit a group of players, which can be a problem.

Depends on the adventure, but generally it more of a slight grapple and subduing it to the player's actions

 

[Libramarian]

Oh, so it's just that you have to give out XP as DM? You don't mind no XP as a player? Sorry if this seems nitpicky, but I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

Nah I like it as both DM and player.

I don't make as big of a distinction between DM mode and player mode as others do I think.

As DM I like to have pretty much a player-type experience, just more diffuse and vicarious.

 

[grimslade]

Play styles

I am fairly laid back when it comes to play styles. I am game for pretty much anything. I guess the only problems I have are with interpersonal issues that are pretty game neutral.

However, one of my favorite games was running White Plume Mountain with a party of backstabbing thieves and assassins, chaotic evil to the core, the last rogue standing picked Black Razor from the dwarf fighter/thief's pocket and back stabbed him with it. It should have been incompatible with the majority of our play styles but we all had fun and remember it fondly. The next time we ran as an all St. Cuthbert Commando squad of LG players from the same abbey, through Temple of Elemental Evil as a palate cleanser.
If you can run a coherent story, and make me fall into that D&D world for a little while, I can play anything. Character Op synergized party slaying demigods and their minions? Let me get my slide rule. RP intensive investigative Eberron noir? Sounds great. Pre Time of Troubles Realms? Post Spellplague Realms? Any Greyhawk? Homebrew? Ok by me. Grim and Gritty, all spell casters are NPCs and you will most likely die forgotten of dysentery? Wow, that's a struggle but yup I'll try it.

I guess diceless LARP would not be my cup o' tea. So yeah diceless LARP is incompatible with my style of play. But, I don't know. I've never tried it.

 

[corwyn77]

God yes! Nothing kills excitement and tension like knowing my PC can't die.

Does this include easy access to Raise Dead and the like?

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

When I reach a magic point where the DM says "ok, you level" it feels capricious. Did I really earn it, or is it being handwaved? When I end a session, I think, "how close am I?"

Usually, if I think I'm only an encounter away from leveling, I want to keep going. Not knowing my experience points just kills me because I feel like I have no control over my advancement.

Fair enough.

Does this include easy access to Raise Dead and the like?

No, because getting raised involves costs -- at the very least, a significant chunk of cash.

When I say "can't die" I mean "My character is clearly outmatched, but the dragon isn't using its breath weapon or spells, and it mysteriously misses with its claw/claw/bite routine. Over and over again."