Why do you play games other than D&D?

[thefutilist]

If you’re into more simulationist play then the Brindlewood method seems your best bet. The causality of the setting is brought into sharper relief and the epistemic uncertainty that @pemerton mentions gets you more into your characters head.

On the other hand, if you’re more into player skill then the Brindlewood method is just awful and destructive of the whole purpose of play.

 

[Micah Sweet]

You wouldn't? You probably should since it seems both true and factual. I'd be interested to read some examples of authored mysteries that aren't intended to be solvable though, maybe I'm just missing the boat and there's a whole other genre out there.

Like I said, it's unlikely. But there are several examples of mysteries where the idea is the answer is whatever you want it to be, or even no answer at all. A couple examples from D&D include the true nature of Ravenloft's Dark Powers and what really happened to Cyre in Eberron. And of course, real life is full of mysteries for which no one has the answers, and no means to find them is available. Now, in real life those mysteries do have answers, but there's no reason a GM couldn't create similar unsolvable mysteries that they nonetheless, as the stand-in for reality in their world, have the answer to. Heck, for all we know Keith Baker does have an answer for the Mourning and chose not to publish one because it works better as a product without one (don't know enough about Eberron to say).

 

[Nytmare]

First and foremost: because other games exist. That's like asking why I eat steak when apples exists.

Beyond that, in my particular world, I hit the point where I was spending more time wrestling D&D into the game that I wanted and there were other games that met my needs without me having to do more work.

In my youth, I had been very big on the idea of learning one game that was made up of interchangeable pieces, that would allow me to tell whatever kinds of stories I wanted. It took me till I was almost in my 40s to realize that even those kinds of toolsets were not only limited, but that role playing games didn't have to just be another iteration of the standard cookie cutter shape of attributes and hit points and combat abilities and skills.

It doesn't matter how much you twist and bend things, D&D will not let you play Dread. It won't give you Alice is Missing or The Fall of Magic. It might be able to tell the same story that you get out of a game of Torchbearer, but the way that it tells that story is going to be INFINITELY different and far less enjoyable.

 

[pemerton]

It doesn't matter how much you twist and bend things, D&D will not let you play Dread. It won't give you Alice is Missing or The Fall of Magic. It might be able to tell the same story that you get out of a game of Torchbearer, but the way that it tells that story is going to be INFINITELY different and far less enjoyable.

I've got doubts even about the first bit of that last sentence - there are elements of the "story" in Torchbearer, like driving off foes, and capturing them, that are pretty hard for D&D to replicate. I definitely agree with the second bit, about the difference in method and enjoyment.

 

[Micah Sweet]

First and foremost: because other games exist. That's like asking why I eat steak when apples exists.

Beyond that, in my particular world, I hit the point where I was spending more time wrestling D&D into the game that I wanted and there were other games that met my needs without me having to do more work.

In my youth, I had been very big on the idea of learning one game that was made up of interchangeable pieces, that would allow me to tell whatever kinds of stories I wanted. It took me till I was almost in my 40s to realize that even those kinds of toolsets were not only limited, but that role playing games didn't have to just be another iteration of the standard cookie cutter shape of attributes and hit points and combat abilities and skills.

It doesn't matter how much you twist and bend things, D&D will not let you play Dread. It won't give you Alice is Missing or The Fall of Magic. It might be able to tell the same story that you get out of a game of Torchbearer, but the way that it tells that story is going to be INFINITELY different and far less enjoyable.

What kinds of games are all of those? I've only heard of Torchbearer, and from what I know about it, it sounds like you don't play D&D because you don't really like D&D, and perhaps also other traditional TTRPGs.

 

[TwoSix]

What kinds of games are all of those?

Good ones.

 

[zarionofarabel]

What kinds of games are all of those? I've only heard of Torchbearer, and from what I know about it, it sounds like you don't play D&D because you don't really like D&D, and perhaps also other traditional TTRPGs.

Burning Wheel, Burning Empires, MouseGuard, Torchbearer, all very amazing games.

Download the Burning Wheel "Hub and Spokes" free pdf to get an idea of what they are all about.

 

[Esme_Bancroft]

I have trouble learning new systems. My disability makes it hard to do any math beyond the basics. But as long as I have a group the is compassionate and tolerant, I would rather play a game system for the experience of creating memories than spend more time passively engaging with my environment.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Good ones.

In no way is that helpful.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Burning Wheel, Burning Empires, MouseGuard, Torchbearer, all very amazing games.

Download the Burning Wheel "Hub and Spokes" free pdf to get an idea of what they are all about.

I am familiar with those games to some extent. None of them really fit my gaming interests.

If @pemerton is on this thread (he blocked me), he can tell you.