Why Do You Play D&D?

[mhacdebhandia]

I like roleplaying because of the stories that arise from the choices and actions of the characters.

I like D&D because it's a simple system which nevertheless rewards effort to understand its depths, and because its structures challenge creativity.

 

[woodelf]

I like D&D because it's a simple system which nevertheless rewards effort to understand its depths, and because its structures challenge creativity.

This is not an attack, just a question:
What other RPGs (or games in general, if that's what you're comparing to) have you played? I'm wondering what background you have to come from to find D&D3E a "simple system."

 

[fanboy2000]

This is not an attack, just a question:
What other RPGs (or games in general, if that's what you're comparing to) have you played? I'm wondering what background you have to come from to find D&D3E a "simple system."

I'd like to answer that question. One, I agree with mhacdebhandia, and two, I feel it has something to do with why I play D&D as opposed to Alternity or an other RPG that's actually in print.

I've played Vampire: The Masquerade, Legand of the Five Rings, Alternity, and Paranoia XP. I've read the rules for the old Traveller also, but I've yet to play it. Paranoia is the simplest of the games, as it runs of GM fiat. I'd say that L5R, V:tM and Alternity are the same in complexity to D&D 3e.

Traveller is more complex that D&D 3e, but it's more eloquent. Any system that uses hexadecimal numbers to briefly describe NPCs has achieved the lofty goal of being both obtuse and pithy, and I love it.

The system of roll 1d20 + mods compaire to DC and then roll a sepreat die to determain the degree of sucess (if successful) is quite elegant; elegance has a way of being mistaken for simplicity. Most subsystems modify either the d20 roll or the DC, and the DM has creative freedom to alter either. Some subsystmes modifiy the degree of sucess, and some determine which d20 rolls to make and in what order.

The DR system modifies the sucess roll, grapaling tells you which d20 rolls to make in which order, initiative is a standard d20 roll, etc.

Item creation and metamagic are two subsystems that don't work well. The artificer in Eberron goes a long way to helping with item creation, and Unearthed Arcana helps a lot with metamagic. Metamagic has a cetrtian metagame component to it that I don't like as a player. It never seems like my character would have a reason to use precious high level spell slots for low-level spells with out a metagame reason. If I were a wizard, I'd want to practice casting my most powerful spells so I could get better at it.

Item creation in 3e never sat right with me. I'm glad they have the rules, but I just can't picture any wizard spending life force and gold on a magic item, let a lone lots of magic items, when it interfiers with his growth as a spell caster.

Still, the rules for both subsystems are straight forward. Everything the player needs to know is in the PHB, and it's only in a few sentences. Base price should be controlled by the DM (in a low magic campaign, the DM my want to raise the base prices a bit, to discourage rampant item creation by the PCs.)

Monte Cook has a great artical on the subject.

The elegance of D&D makes it easy to learn, difficult to master. Exploring D&D potential is fun for me.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

This is not an attack, just a question:
What other RPGs (or games in general, if that's what you're comparing to) have you played? I'm wondering what background you have to come from to find D&D3E a "simple system."

Second Edition AD&D; Storyteller in various permutations; GURPS Third Edition; Palladium, briefly; and I've read the rules for Unisystem in All Flesh Must Be Eaten.

My meaning was unclear, though. Here I meant "simple" as opposed to "complicated", not as opposed to "complex".

Third Edition D&D is a complex system because it has many options, but it is an uncomplicated system because it turns on a simple and straightforward set of mechanics.

There are, of course, many not-complex and not-complicated systems out there.

 

[fba827]

I play because it is my creative outlet/escape from realtiy.

 

[JDJarvis]

I play D&D because i like spendingn hundreds of hours developing rich characters, complex plots, challenging puzzles, clever situations and a rich and well developed fictional world carefully built together from bits of real world cultures and beloved works of fiction. All to be ignored on a weekly basis by a bunch of guys with quetionable diets and washing habits that love nothing more then bashing orcs and counting gold pieces. ..... ahhh the bounless joys of Dming.

My girlfriends think i have a god complex and ussually ask me "so how was playing god" after a game.