Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Argyle King" data-source="post: 5421023" data-attributes="member: 58416">I can't speak for anyone else.  This is just how I see things, and how the game sometimes feels to me...  I 100% agree that D&D 4E cannot stop you from roleplaying.  I also agree that a rules light approach combined with GM fiat can produce results which work and are satisfying for many people.  I will thirdly say that I agree with the many people who claim rules are not needed for roleplaying. However, for me, while I do not need rules for roleplaying, it is nice to have rules as some sort of guideline for how to meaningfully quantify non-combat related rewards in a way that can interact with the rest of the game yet not break any assumptions the game has about what resources I should have available at certain levels.   "Ok, so what the heck does that mean?" If, at a given level, a game assumes I have X amount of resources, it stands to reason that having more resources by virtue of extra income (i.e. taxes from a plot of land, a business on the side; etc,) will allow me to break that assumption.  Since -in theory- the game is balanced around those assumptions, having one player who is able to break those assumptions also allows that player to interact differently with the intended balance.  This is what I mean when I say not breaking any assumptions the game has. What I mean when I say rewarding me in a meaningful way deals with the opposite end of the spectrum.  Some have suggestion that what a character does outside the dungeon should be seperate from the rest of the game.  You can make money, you can gain fame, you can do all manner of other things, but none of it has any significant impact on the adventuring facet of your character.  Having success in this way is very satisfying for many people.  For me, it often isn't.   D&D 4E has offered suggestions to try make such things more meaningful by granting Boons or offering alternative Utility powers or a +2 to a skill and a variety of other things.  All are excellent ideas.  All find a way to (more or less) stay without the bounds of the game's assumptions; most don't threaten the balance of the game any more than anything that is already there.  To some people -and to me sometimes- these rewards are meaningful too.  However, here too, the game can feel a little more shallow than I'd like. For me personally, what is most satisfying (when I want a game which strays away from Dungeon Fantasy, and the level/loot paradigm) is to have all facets of my character available at all times and place on equally balanced scales.  The costs and rewards of building a castle or writing a tell all book about the members of my party should (I feel) be able to be weighed and measured in a way which is consistant with the risks and rewards of dungeon delving.  Furthermore, I believe the two should be able to interact and both be equal parts of my character.   This does mean spending resources on one may risk meaning I have less available in the other, but it also means both are on equal footing.  I have all aspects of my character available to interact with the game world at all times.  The combat focused swordsman, the silver tongued diplomancer bard, and the snooty ivory tower lord have much different strengths and weaknesses, but they can coexist in the same party because there's no one way to solve problems which is given more default system support than others.</blockquote>

Verification