Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 captainzifna Oct 09, 2008 23:10:26	...and I have to say, I'm more than a little disappointed. I went into a bit more detail in my blog here, but basically I really felt that the opportunity for creative roleplay that's usually one of the primary joys of DnD was totally omitted. If our actions weren't an "option" in the script, they just didn't do anything at all. Is that how these things usually go? If so, I can't see going to another. Maybe our DM was just unusually bad? Feel free to respond here or just comment on the post on my blog. I'll be back to check this thread tho.
#2 kinevon Oct 10, 2008 0:09:33	It sounds like you were hit with a combination of the limitations of a Living format game mixed with a less-than-capable GM. The Living format, as you noticed, has some limitations in that it is both time-limited and somewhat generic, each module designed to be played by people from all over the world, possibly multiple times. And, if you get a weak GM, who is not very RP-oriented, it just makes the RP options more limited. If you look around, you will see discussions on things like how to handle Skill Challenges, where folk discuss how to make them more RP-friendly, and less limited in skill choices. Please, do come back, and just try to play with a different GM before you just say no to the format entirely. After all, while I enjoy LG (the 3.5 Living campaign), there is one LG GM that I now refuse to play with, as all my experiences with him have lead to multiple PC deaths, with a TPK narrowly averted.
#3 howie23 Oct 10, 2008 0:48:37	Is that how these things usually go? No, it isn't. You've done your readers a disservice in attributing the nature of your play to the RPGA rather than to the DM. You don't indicate what campaign you were playing. LFR, the current standard, employs none of the straight jackets you suggest. LG, the past standard, while less enabling as a cultural standard, did not employ the role-play straight jackets you suggest; however it generally did not accomodate wild variances from the expected action or pulling in NPC resources to augment your party; even so, such a thing wasn't prohibited, merely culturally outside the norm. That said, there have been adventures that have effectively provided a single course of action in the face of what appears to be an opportunity for choice. If you ran into that, with a DM who was unable or unwilling to help you understand the situation, I can see it as frustrating. David
#4 captainzifna Oct 10, 2008 18:30:56	I forget the specific name of the module... It started out with us being provided a King's Writ to go check out what was happening in a town. The town was being attacked by shadow creatures, supposedly lead by "Dark Skull." There's a broken obelisk in the town and a bunch of suspicious townsfolk. It wasn't that we weren't given choices, it's just that our choices didn't seem meaningful. When I came up with creative strategies apparently not planned for by the scenario, they were more or less just ignored. For example, we talked to the mayor-type-guy and had him swearing to help us "in any way he could!" I suggested he have a townsperson or guard stand watch at each gate. We'd stay someplace central and they'd run to notify us when the shadow creatures were sighted. No dice, I was essentially told. You can't do that. Another example... Another (high-charisma) member of our party game tons of extremely intoxicating stuff to some construction workers and rolled well on diplomacy, but we got no information from these NPCs. We assumed at the time that we didn't know anything but later found out that this wasn't true. It's the crazy creative solutions that the people I play with (and myself) love best in DnD... it sounds like this may simply be a poor format for us, then?
#5 howie23 Oct 10, 2008 18:43:06	It's the crazy creative solutions that the people I play with (and myself) love best in DnD... it sounds like this may simply be a poor format for us, then? No, it sounds like its a poor fit with the DM. In LFR, the 4e campaign, the DM is empowered to let your interactions make sense if you step outside the framework of the module. That empowerment is in response to the kind of experience you had; it's exactly what the RPGA is trying to avoid. It is possible that your DM hasn't made the change stylistically. If you don't know the name of the adventure, what edition was it? 3.5 or 4e? David
#6 smerwin29 Oct 10, 2008 19:04:18	It is a currently active LFR adventure. The DM should have been able to accommodate both situations described above. As David says, RPGA adventures specifically give the DM permission (and indeed actively encourage the DM) to "go with the flow" in terms of player choices and actions. Some DMs are well-equipped to do this. Others not so much, either because they might be inexperienced or unsure of themselves or perhaps just ill-prepared. The adventure in question gives the DMs several scenes to work with, and those actions should have been workable. Shawn LFR Global Admin
#7 fiupntballr Oct 10, 2008 22:31:17	Yeah... to sum it up thats a crappy DM... I had that same mod... my DM was so bad we didnt even talk.. We were given the question "Who would you rather fight... Humans or Shades..." At that point the game stops being D&D and becomes D&D miniatures...