chasing my own tail

"I like it when the rules get out of the way of roleplaying" well I don't. I like it when the rules get in the way of roleplaying. They have to actively impede roleplaying. If the rules are allowing for any roleplaying at all, they are bad rules.

No but seriously the thing in quotes is such a puzzling statement to me, because like obviously I don't adhere to a reductive definition of roleplaying where it's like "roleplaying is when dice are not being rolled," but like... the rules can actually facilitate roleplaying! In fact, many good rules do! If you find that rules are impeding roleplaying you may be using the wrong rules and should perhaps consider different rules!

(and no I don't think D&D's rules in any way get in the way of roleplaying because they're combat-focused because combat and roleplaying are not mutually exclusive. In fact, D&D has a lot of mechanics that facilitate roleplaying in combat.)

I mean, idk. It feels like such an empty statement. No one actually enjoys rules that get in the way of roleplaying. What that statement is actually trying to say is that the speaker finds certain rules detrimental to their enjoyment in a roleplaying game. The rules are not actually detrimental to the actual act of roleplaying (no, seriously, they aren't!), you've just misidentified "not liking the outcomes certain rules produce" as "the rules getting in the way of roleplaying."

The solution is not necessarily getting rid of rules, but either a) accepting that there is value in the types of outcomes and narratives that the rules actually produced or b) looking for a game with rules that produce the types of outcomes you want.

Anyway I'm killing you all with my mind powers

I think this stems from the fact that a lot of people - especially people who only play D&D have a small reference pool of systems - don't seem to understand that rules and mechanics actually can support different kinds of storytelling, even within the same genre.

Like, let's take Masks and Sentinel Comics, for example. Both are comic book inspired superhero RPGs. But Mask's rules have mechanics that directly relate to relationships and power dynamics, as well as the way people see your character - including your character themselves. Meanwhile, it has almost no actual mechanics that are actually about the characters' superpowers.

Sentinels, on the other hand, is all about the powers. It has a system that makes it so that more potent powers can only be used when the situation gets dire during a fight. This immediately creates a different play dynamic wherein the focus is put on the characters using their cool powers to beat up bad guys.

So, if you wanted to play a superhero game in order to explore the way having superpowers impacts someone's life and relationships, you should play Masks. If you want to emulate a bombastic popcorn action flick, you'd go for Sentinels. If you try the other way round, you're doing the equivalent of shoveling snow with a soup ladle - yeah, it's technically possible, but the thing you're using was not designed for this activity.

#this is accurate altho i don’t co-sign the 5e defense#5e has a lot of rules that inhibit non-combat actions [not all rp just like. non combat modes of dealing with shit]#imo#no hate tho op lol this is a great post

Roleplaying and non-combat activities are not synonyms. Roleplaying doesn't end when combat happens. A game that is purely combat but where players get to express character through combat will still have roleplaying in it. That's why I'm saying that there's nothing in D&D's rules that get in the way of roleplaying. In fact, as I've said multiple times, D&D actually has hella mechanics that enhance roleplaying in the context of its main gameplay activity, which is combat. Classes in D&D can express a lot of character in combat.

Combat ≠ not-roleplaying. Non-combat ≠ roleplaying. I know people use "roleplaying" to often mean "non-combat play" or "free play," but this is wildly inaccurate. Rules-mediated play, including combat, can be perfectly in line with roleplaying.

all vampire movies are inherently faggy. sometimes they try to make vampire movies that aren’t faggy and they end up lesbicious

There was a lot wrong with the 80s, but we should bring back the trend where every fictional antagonist was a rich guy trying to make money extra money by covering up health and safety related deaths.

everything i like about people's behavior is human nature and everything i don't like about people's behavior is capitalist brainwashing. this political economy shit is easy

The future will be so beautiful.

just realized if you want your life to change you have to do some stuff differently. much to think about.

my first favorite hobby is yapping. second is being extremely quiet and not talking ever at all ever.

Heartbreaking: This person is making great points but they're being a huge fucking asshole about it so you can't reblog any of it

Heartbreaking: This person is making great points but they're saying you're a bad person if you don't reblog so you can't reblog any of it

bassethounds are something you spawn in and they look around for a few seconds before taking ambient damage and dying

happy 420 and day i reserve a spot in hell

its that time again folks

@shubbabang

(Source)

happy 8 years to this post

Watch out bro... next thing you know I’m gonna be peeling an orange and sharing it slice by slice with you

I'm full of love and a desire for violence or whatever

I cannot stress enough how important it is to do silly, frivolous things that serve no other purpose than making you happy.

talking to people while holding a beverage is awesome because you don't have to know what to do with your hands and when you don't know what to do with your face you can just take a sip