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I'll give y'all my top 5! The things I think define #dnd - the things without which it would cease to be Dungeons and Dragons for me
Neither Dungeons Nor Dragons made the cut...
1. "Heroes" If the PCs aren't actual heroes then the dogged (and incorrect) belief that they are https://twitter.com/WebDMshow/status/1264919434499690505
Neither Dungeons Nor Dragons made the cut...
1. "Heroes" If the PCs aren't actual heroes then the dogged (and incorrect) belief that they are https://twitter.com/WebDMshow/status/1264919434499690505
2. Monsters - things you can feel a-ok about fighting and killing all day long
3. Spells as a known entity. You put x components in, and y is going to happen, unless you have done something to destabilize that balance
3. Spells as a known entity. You put x components in, and y is going to happen, unless you have done something to destabilize that balance
4. Abstract, Robust Combat - HP, AC, Feats, etc, and fighting-related activities being the most mechanically robust part of the game
5. Levels - a linear and, unless something terrible happens in some editions, unerring path to being more badass
5. Levels - a linear and, unless something terrible happens in some editions, unerring path to being more badass
I've got more. I might share them later.
My meeting is running late.
6. Classes - Flavors of heroes that are a fairly known entity but that can also have a varied interpretation (also why I think subclasses/too many main classes lead to less creativity but that's an unqualified rant for another day)
6. Classes - Flavors of heroes that are a fairly known entity but that can also have a varied interpretation (also why I think subclasses/too many main classes lead to less creativity but that's an unqualified rant for another day)
7. Backstory/Background exists but is not terribly important. The main thrust of focus is you, here, now
And the rest of these is where I get really spicy, sorry/not sorry
And the rest of these is where I get really spicy, sorry/not sorry
8. Gods that exist. Sorry Eberron. They exist, they can imbue you with power, reward you with stuff, and affect your lives (even if only by being absent), you may never understand what they're truly about and why they do what they do.
9. Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos. The eternal spectrum of where things lie on this cosmic continuum and how much they can change. IMO once something becomes playable, the full spectrum must be available. But a mind flayer is evil. Kill it and the world gets a bit better.
10. (the weird one) It adheres to Aristotle's Poetics as much as a TTRPG can. Time and action is a constant. The players account for their time and action all the time. This is less written in as it is common convention but except west marches, it's defacto (and I wish it wasn't)
