I think I’ve discovered my problem with D&D…
D&D (and many modern RPGs) are very rule-centric. There are tons and tons of rules, and these rules will weaken your character. Going by the rules alone, the average Joe is completely useless. But then… then you choose a race… and then a class! And then a bunch of features and perks – all things that allow you to bend the rules, or even break them!
For example, half-orcs get 2 boons… 1 that allows them to stay at 1hp if they ever take enough damage to reduce them below 0, but can only use it once. The other allows them to add another hit die should they ever crit on an attack roll. Haha! Look at me! I don’t have to die in one hit! And I also get to roll more dice for a hit! Hahahahah! (Note: I’m simplifying the rules a bit here for brevity).
I don’t really agree with this style of play. The “fun” had here is feeling like you no longer have to play by the stringent rules of this game. I know some people who will sit and strategize for the best possible character, based on all the perks and pluses they get that allow them to get around the rules. Creating a character feels more like an exercise in finding loopholes. It feels like you’re waiting to spring a trap on the DM, where the DM sets up a negative situation for you that he didn’t realize you had loopholes for that allow you to completely avoid the situation, or at the very least offer advantages to getting out.
It usually plays out like this: The DM says “you can’t do that” and the player says “oh yes I can! See? Right here in the book, it says (blahblahblah)” “ohhhh fine, go ahead. Damn it.” Or, it’s like the DM says “now you’re charmed, and must bow to the will of this warloc-“ “nuh-uh! I’m an elf, and elves are immune to charm effects! HAH!” “… damn.” Other times the DM will spring a trap on everyone, and ask “y’all got anything to nullify this one too? No? Heheheheh… finally!” This feels too competitive to me… It feels like us vs the DM… This isn’t fun to me.
With Microlite20, there aren’t really any stringent rules, and there are no “loopholes” to the rules. There are no traps to spring on the DM. The story and actions you choose are all fluid with each other. Because your character gets no loopholes, you instead get more freedom to bend the rules as you play, which to me makes for a far more interesting game.
For instance, we were in a situation where we’d pretty much already won a battle, but there was 1 bad guy left. Our rogue was atop some roofs, and was kinda far away from the last bad guy. The bad guy started to run away, and our rogue pointed out that he couldn’t move more than a couple squares, but wanted to hop a few roofs and jump off to land on the guy… could he bend the rules to allow this? The DM agreed, but only on a good roll.
The rogue rolled very well, and what the DM described next was beautiful. He hopped across 2 rooftops, then leapt off the last, doing a forward flip. The forward flip coincided with another swift movement of putting his bow away and pulling out his 2 daggers… all in one awesome mid-air movement. And as he landed on the enemy, he struck downward with his daggers, one going in the enemy’s back, and the other through the back of the enemy’s neck, so far that it pierced out the front, making the enemy spew out lots of blood, and his last words were nothing more than gurgling coughs before all went quiet.
This was a great moment in gaming, but let’s take a closer look. Here, the DM was in on the rule-bending, or the “loophole” as it were. The DM allowed it because he too wished to see how it would turn out. And when it turned out well, the DM took the creative idea of the player, and built on it to make an even more awesome moment that we’ll all remember. It wasn’t a competitive game… it was an inclusive game – a “yes, and“ game.
I don’t want to spend hours upon hours finding loopholes and ways to make the DM feel foolish or unprepared. That to me is just gonna piss him off. I’d rather let the DM nurture my creativity to make a more interesting game, not just for the players, but for his own enjoyment for the adventure he has created. Would you like to see your well-crafted story ripped apart by rules and semantics? Or would you like to see your story made ten times better by welcoming better ideas and moments brought together by the heads of smart, creative people who appreciate it?
Disclaimer: I know, some people really prefer the competitiveness of the D&D rules, and that’s fine… This is just an opinion piece. Play the game in the way that you enjoy best. My hobbies are writing and acting, and I think Microlite20 is a far better system to inspire those aspects than other RPGs.