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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 2894369" data-attributes="member: 40177">Well, there's certainly been a lot of comments regarding this.  Excellent. Just a few things I'd like to address.  For starters, I'm fairly comfortable with the D&D rules - I know how the mechanics work, and I have no problem pulling numbers out of the air.  The only time I ever get confused in the game is when I'm dealing with Grapple checks and such.  My big problem with the game is the GAP between the PCs when I run - I have about half the group that is optimized for combat, and the other half who can't do squat.  Poor communication between the players, I suppose.But, beyond that, I seem to feel that, with the level and complexity of D&D's mechanics, the players become less focused on WHO their character is.  While in our Iron Heroes game there was some character building (we had the son of a nobleman, a tattoed arcanist, and the like) the fact is, none of the characters had NAMES that anyone remembers.  Compare this to in our d6 game I ran.  My friend Squee was playing "Taint", a crazy knifefighter, while Shelley was playing Julianna, the hacker.  When Squee made a decision to abandon the group at a nightclub in search of a quick fix, Shelley was able to say something along the lines of "That sounds like something Taint would do".  In other words, not only were my players more aware of their own characters, but they were also more aware of the REST OF THE GROUP'S characters.  I definately noticed a difference in the role-playing quality.  How much of this is due to the system, and how much is due to my own decision to focus on role-playing, I don't know.Fairly well.  My brother is the main "optimizer" in our group, and when we switched to d6, he knew it was at least partially because much of the group wasn't having as much fun with his absolute focus on utilizing the rules.  So, he took control of a Hit Man template I had written up (I wrote about twelve templates up so that players could quickly jump into the game), making only a few quick changes.  He was pretty adamant about finding information on a sniper rifle he wanted ("how much ammo can it hold?  What is it's range?") until he realized that, well, it doesn't really matter too much.He enjoyed the game, I think, but I have a feeling he likes D&D a bit better.  But that might just be because he screwed up a fairly big scene involving a taxi service last session.The Rest of the group, on the other hand, was having a blast.  My quietest player, Shelley, who usually is one of those "Just glad to be here" players who isn't heavily into the game, was really getting involved.  Up to the point where, by the end of the session, she had become the group's unofficial leader.  So, the group has really enjoyed the switch to a lighter rules system.  1) I realize this, and I just think that D&D is getting in the way of MY role-playing.  I find it very hard to focus on characterization, funny voices, and setting evocative scenes when I'm also really busy worrying about spot checks, spell-effects, and balancing all my encounters.  And the rules-heavy nature of the game makes me feel more like I'm playing a strategy game than an RPG.  That's a personal hang-up, I realize.2)  I *do* know all of the rules of the D&D game - the only thing I have problems with are the grapple rules, pretty much.  I have the tables in the book memorized, so that if I need to know a modifier to an attack roll, I can open the PHB and be there in about two seconds.  3)  Even though I am comfortable with the system, and how it works, I find that the system impedes RP.  I've noticed a DRAMATIC shift in the level of role-playing around the table with a system change.  It's really quite amazing - I wish you could see the difference in my group.d6 is fairly hard to min/max at, in any case.  But, yes, they don't really know the system,so it would be hard to do.  However, a few players made their characters from scratch, and none of them took advantage when I said "pick whatever gear you want from the book, I don't care".  But, you're right, in terms of character generation, it's not a good measure of difference between systems.  But in terms of actual play, I saw a HUGE difference in how players approached the game itself.  .................................I guess my whole point here is this:  in every RPG, players and GMs have to pay conscious attention to the rules.  In D&D, this level of attention can get to the point where they become the main focus of the game.  In a game like the d6 system, these rules are so light that players are able to focus more on the story and role-playing;  they can pay attention to other players, set up their own scenes, and such. In my experience, a heavier game (such as D&D) takes a lot more attention to the rules, and, as such, characters become reflections of those same rules.</blockquote>

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