I think the biggest problem with D&D is that there is no clearly defined goal(s) to playing it anymore. There is no standardized gameplay loop (or toolsets) of challenge and reward, which makes it:
A: incredibly difficult to GM, and
B: Fizzle out, because literally why are you playing?
Cont:
A: incredibly difficult to GM, and
B: Fizzle out, because literally why are you playing?
Cont:
Comments
Things don't need...a goal. You can just have fun, enjoy the moment, play a silly game with silly friends.
If that's not what you want, then it's not for you. I LOVE the stories I make with my friends!
But that's an assumption
You can do the exact same things, with a lot less admin and missing your turn and 30 minutes between your turn, in different games. They are trying to understand what people love about it. 😀
People like what they like and post hoc reasoning just entrenches them.
I do actually keep saying this but indie devs love trying to math their way to victory. *shrugs*
We've tried very, very hard to be fair, but honestly, they don't make it easy to be charitable.
https://Morrus.podbean.com
Setting my own objectives is what I find most beautiful about it as a player, as a dm I love homebreing rules to add my own twist to the game.
My players like new mechanics added to a system they already know when I homebrew stuff, I think that's why folks love d&d so much.
And that implies you don't play and you don't, and probably can't, understand the reasoning. Not everyone wants Storyteller or a Leveless Classless System, frameworks work.
I never said that you are bad for thinking this, but your words make me think you don't play the game.
We like playing adventurers who start small and become powerful. We like tactical wargame combat with miniatures.
We've played a ton of systems, but DND is comfy and works for us.
D&D has this vague idea of 'playing heroes slaying monsters and adhering to a 6-encounter adventuring day', but people don't play it like that
and if that game isn't fun then you can just play a different one that is fun
World of Darkness is a pretty good entry point, just pick your flavour of supernatural.
So what about DnD makes it the only medium that the stories you like can be told in? 🤔 is it the official setting or is that made by your GM?
B. Don't allow your players to subclass.
D&D has become too homogenised - i.e. if you want to have better definition and role in your characters then don't allow them to become ubiquitous by taking a subclass in sorcerer or a magic initiate feat.
The game is about your gang doing risky scores to rise your empire
You can do the classic "I brought just the thing" by using stress as a resource
Your reward is skills and assets that make you better criminals, all flavorful and character-building
But.
Do not play BITD
And that's the big thing! The game has one idea baked into its bones
Thats why its good
The only way you can handle every story is by essentially playing freeform
The game aspect exists to give a feeling of resistance that guides characters to certain paths
The video game equivalent is making a Roblox version of a popular game instead of playing that game.
Well, that, and the million baffling bad design choices with 5e.
4th edition is the best of DnD. You say DnD is a dungeon crawler and I genuinely feel like 4th delivers that board-gameyness it wants.
It becomes super obvious when newcomers with many followers ask for advice and get dozens of contradictory answers.
It also sounds like you must get really frustrated reading books/watching movies? 🤔
My expectations were exactly matched. I don't believe anything is being forced upon me, if that was the case I would indeed search for another system
It feels like you’re upset because you think the conversation is critiquing you as a person and why you love the game rather than a critique of the game itself.
I see where you're coming from, but I think design is supposed to serve enjoyment of the game, and that concerns particular players and GMs as well
The latter is kind of my point, though. D&D doesn’t actually serve players or the GM well anymore like it used to. Too many new players have AP’s as their guidance, & that’s a woefully bad way to demonstrating how the game actually works.
Grats though
I was trying to draw a parallel between how I view D&D and other media, but that does not excuse my behavior
I'm sorry
"Not every possible player character is going to fit at every level of the game"
I've talked about how modern players tend to use what historically would've been RP OCs as PCs
And that's fine but not all of them would wanna be king, you know?
Or have some system to switch PCs when the focus changes
Or just go "Alright we're doing Delve levels" at the start
No changes to rangers will fix this - D&D (and other ttrpgs) suffer heavily from this lack of gameplay identity, or at least the foresight for versatility (progress rules for TYPES of play)
As a DM, it is to provide a framework for my players to do the same, while maybe also developing plot threads for some of my own character ideas.
The progression is there to allow characters to grow and change, and to give new toys to the players every so often.
I do admit that D&D doesn't achieve this by its design but that's why other systems exist.
Fun can be enough
D&D REALLY wants to be about combat if you look at the mechanics - its just not in service of anything anymore.
to gain stronger abilities and get better powers, duh. that's the point in leveling up in pretty much every game. i don't even understand what your criticism is here.
As for the story goal, that changes per campaign and players
For instance for a horror story I use games that help with mechanics to build tension and anxiety.
D&D doesn't *do* anything is the point. So why that?