What's an unpopular D&D/RPG opinion that you hold and won't

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Over on Twitter the OneCritWonder@OneCritWonder asked

"What's an unpopular D&D / RPG opinion that you hold and won't concede?".

originaldungeons-and-dragons.blogspot.com/2019/11/whats-unpopular-d-rpg-opinion-that-you.html

I posted in the Twiiter Thread and I also posted this question on my MeWe profile. I will be sharing somethings from both places. Please note that this is the way I do it, I am not saying you are bad for doing it your own way.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

First hear are some posts that I made on Twitter:

The original way to play was a game of exploration and combat was to be avoided when possible. Murderhobo's should be treated to the angry villager rule. Especially those who specialize in killing innocents.

Enough with the cannot handle more than 3-5 players. With OD&D you can run 12-15 players and on occasion even more, this is no sweat with experienced adult players. I have run 15 players where at least 7 of them were 10-12 years old.

Massive amounts of preparation are not necessary or IMO desirable. At any moment of the day you could tap me on the shoulder and I could sit down and run an 8 hour game with no prep. That is one of the beauties of a homebrew OD&D campaign that you have fully created.

There is no off the map, there are no worries about the players breaking your world and no NPC is untouchable. If the players want to topple a kingdom, go for it. There is no pre-written railroaded script of a story IMC. Story is what is told after the game play has occurred.

[mao]

I don't like the demons and devils. I find them unsettling, its why I use the Cthulhu Mythos instead

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Nov 5, 2019 6:45:39 GMT -5 mao said:

I don't like the demons and devils. I find them unsettling, its why I use the Cthulhu Mythos instead

I agree, I do not use demons and devils IMC either, I do not use anything that smacks of real world occultism. That is one reason that I do not use spell components or familars.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

One poster stated:

Wandering monsters are random junk that blow up world building. What farmer can really survive in D&D at the rate of Owl Bears that come to his fields and chase him around?

I replied:

In OD&D (at least) the areas around keeps and such are deemed cleared of monsters and this is where farmers hang out. Wandering monsters are for all non-cleared areas. At least that is the way it works IMC. YMMV

[hengest]

I like the opinions in the OP.

I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion is overall, but here goes:

Play-acting and pretending to be on television is not that fun. Crunching endless bonuses and penalties to manipulate a rigid system is not fun at all. Exploring a new world is fun.

[Hexenritter Verlag]

Nov 5, 2019 6:45:39 GMT -5 mao said:

I don't like the demons and devils. I find them unsettling, its why I use the Cthulhu Mythos instead

I don’t mind demons but I agree with not caring for the Occult based “demons” & “devils”, such as Asmodeous, Beelzebub, Orcus and Demogorgon. I do like Cthulhu inspired Elder Gods.

[El Borak]

Nov 6, 2019 22:37:51 GMT -5 Hexenritter Verlag said:

Nov 5, 2019 6:45:39 GMT -5 mao said:

I don't like the demons and devils. I find them unsettling, its why I use the Cthulhu Mythos instead

I don’t mind demons but I agree with not caring for the Occult based “demons” & “devils”, such as Asmodeous, Beelzebub, Orcus and Demogorgon. I do like Cthulhu inspired Elder Gods.

I am fine with the Cthulhu inspired Elder gods.

[ripx187]

I like the undead's power to 'Drain Level'. Many have abandoned it because they don't see it as fair or call it metagaming, but this is the monster's best and most feared weapon.

[ripx187]

Nov 5, 2019 6:45:39 GMT -5 mao said:

I don't like the demons and devils. I find them unsettling, its why I use the Cthulhu Mythos instead

I actually really love the fake D&D demons introduced in 2e. This, I find to be more useful than Christian dogma. I use them sparingly to preserve their impact. I always thought that it was stupid that named demons are out wandering around blindly attacking at random. Demons should be one of the most feared creatures in the game, not random encounters.

[randyb]

The closer the game is to its wargaming roots, the better.

[Hexenritter Verlag]

Nov 8, 2019 18:00:17 GMT -5 randyb said:

The closer the game is to its wargaming roots, the better.

I agree 100%

[hengest]

Wish this discussion had continued a bit longer.

I'll share another opinion that's probably not so abnormal around here. A character becomes rich (psychologically) through play, not through backstory written before play. Overinvestment in a character just leads to the death-avoidance cult that is too familiar these days.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Mar 14, 2021 8:00:22 GMT -5 hengest said:

Wish this discussion had continued a bit longer.

I'll share another opinion that's probably not so abnormal around here. A character becomes rich (psychologically) through play, not through backstory written before play. Over-investment in a character just leads to the death-avoidance cult that is too familiar these days.

We will continue this discussion, I think there is a lot more to say. I also agree with your assessment of death-avoidance cult, not in that it is wrong for characters to try to stay alive, but that it is wrong to wimpify the game world and fudge things so that death will not occur. If the players are too dense to have their characters to run on occasion or take actions other than fight and kill everything they meet, then those characters reap a well deserved death from which players should learn.

Some say, yeah but we only play once a month. That is why you should pay OD&D, spend an hour making 12 pregens for yourself and have at it. Don't spend time writing backstory and all that other time consuming stuff. Play until you have learned to survive, then you can put a little more investment into a character, once you have learned not to do stupid (i.e. anti-survival) stuff. The ref should adopt a fast play style to make good use of the time. Teach the players to focus and not waste time debating, act, reap the consequences and learn. YOu will have a lot of fun in the process.

[hengest]

Mar 14, 2021 18:27:26 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

We will continue this discussion, I think there is a lot more to say. I also agree with your assessment of death-avoidance cult, not in that it is wrong for characters to try to stay alive, but that it is wrong to wimpify the game world and fudge things so that death will not occur. If the players are too dense to have their characters to run on occasion or take actions other than fight and kill everything they meet, then those characters reap a well deserved death from which players should learn.

Some say, yeah but we only play once a month. That is why you should pay OD&D, spend an hour making 12 pregens for yourself and have at it. Don't spend time writing backstory and all that other time consuming stuff. Play until you have learned to survive, then you can put a little more investment into a character, once you have learned not to do stupid (i.e. anti-survival) stuff. The ref should adopt a fast play style to make good use of the time. Teach the players to focus and not waste time debating, act, reap the consequences and learn. YOu will have a lot of fun in the process.

Personally, I think of the character as part of the game world for which I am responsible.  It is another thing to explore along with the ruins, old well, abandoned staircase, whatever.  So to me, it makes as little sense to write intense backstory for a character as it would to make up a story about the ruins before we get there.  

It is almost easier for me in PbP, I see, despite the social limitations.  I can write the post and don't have to worry about pausing, let the character be explored a bit in the post, read it over, and send it all off at a click.  

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Mar 14, 2021 20:44:55 GMT -5 hengest said:

Mar 14, 2021 18:27:26 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

We will continue this discussion, I think there is a lot more to say. I also agree with your assessment of death-avoidance cult, not in that it is wrong for characters to try to stay alive, but that it is wrong to wimpify the game world and fudge things so that death will not occur. If the players are too dense to have their characters to run on occasion or take actions other than fight and kill everything they meet, then those characters reap a well deserved death from which players should learn.

Some say, yeah but we only play once a month. That is why you should pay OD&D, spend an hour making 12 pregens for yourself and have at it. Don't spend time writing backstory and all that other time consuming stuff. Play until you have learned to survive, then you can put a little more investment into a character, once you have learned not to do stupid (i.e. anti-survival) stuff. The ref should adopt a fast play style to make good use of the time. Teach the players to focus and not waste time debating, act, reap the consequences and learn. YOu will have a lot of fun in the process.

Personally, I think of the character as part of the game world for which I am responsible.  It is another thing to explore along with the ruins, old well, abandoned staircase, whatever.  So to me, it makes as little sense to write intense backstory for a character as it would to make up a story about the ruins before we get there.  

It is almost easier for me in PbP, I see, despite the social limitations.  I can write the post and don't have to worry about pausing, let the character be explored a bit in the post, read it over, and send it all off at a click.  

I agree with you, that is why I don't use modules, it makes (IMO) the referee a passenger in someone else's story, instead of a participant in some unique.

[hengest]

Mar 15, 2021 0:12:55 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

I agree with you, that is why I don't use modules, it makes (IMO) the referee a passenger in someone else's story, instead of a participant in some unique.

I am seeing this more and more clearly, especially as your PbP and mao's get started.  It is so much more engaging to feel that you are in the world that someone (you know) made up.  Of course, someone made up a module, too, but it was bought in a box and wasn't made by the person reffing it.  It almost feels like I can do it.  Maybe I have the imagination, although I think the hard part for me would be shaping and marshalling what I come up with for presentation to the players.

[hengest]

I am actually not sure how unpopular this opinion is, probably not really unpopular around here, but I think in some circles it would be unpopular: I think some use of randomizers (dice, coin, whatever) is great and far better than constant use of them (extreme focus on mechanics) or no use of them (pure collaborative storytelling).  I have basically no interest in either of those extremes (though no problem with people who have fun that way) and very high interest in the middle where there is a lot of intent and then also a randomizer that is outside everyone's control (even the ref's).  

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Mar 20, 2021 19:32:14 GMT -5 hengest said:

Mar 15, 2021 0:12:55 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

I agree with you, that is why I don't use modules, it makes (IMO) the referee a passenger in someone else's story, instead of a participant in some unique.

I am seeing this more and more clearly, especially as your PbP and mao 's get started.  It is so much more engaging to feel that you are in the world that someone (you know) made up.  Of course, someone made up a module, too, but it was bought in a box and wasn't made by the person reffing it.  It almost feels like I can do it.  Maybe I have the imagination, although I think the hard part for me would be shaping and marshaling what I come up with for presentation to the players.

You absolutely have the imagination, but I will admit refereeing is a lot different from writing. I work to write, but I live to referee. When I sit down at the table everything opens up for me and I seem to have access to unlimited ideas, but sitting here writing I have to work for the ideas because without players it does not come easy. While it is not the same as face to face, even with the Play by Post game, I get into an entirely different mindset than I do just writing. I wish I could have recorded and transcribed all the games I have reffed.

I think you could referee, but I don't have any idea what you are like face to face, so I wish I could game with you live and in person. 

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Mar 20, 2021 19:38:59 GMT -5 hengest said:

I am actually not sure how unpopular this opinion is, probably not really unpopular around here, but I think in some circles it would be unpopular: I think some use of randomizers (dice, coin, whatever) is great and far better than constant use of them (extreme focus on mechanics) or no use of them (pure collaborative storytelling).  I have basically no interest in either of those extremes (though no problem with people who have fun that way) and very high interest in the middle where there is a lot of intent and then also a randomizer that is outside everyone's control (even the ref's).  

This is probably the only place this opinion is not unpopular. These days it seems like the vast majority of gamers live at one of those two extremes. You and I are part of an extremely rare group outside this forum in D&D circles. But we have quite a bit of company here at least among active posters.