D&D General What do you want out of your D&D/RPG games?

[DarkCrisis]

I've been trying to get new players for my 5.5 meat space game and it's like pulling teeth. I've discussed this in other threads so not to rehash that but as a segway to another topic:

What do you want out of your D&D/RPG games?

Since starting at the tail end of 2E the games Ive played in and ran as a DM (most of them) has been more of a Roleplay is encouraged but not required.

Most people only talk in character when the DM directly talks to them in character. Most to the time the DM explains things and moves on.

"Jared the Wizard tells you about the Demon King. He asks you to venture to the next town of Townburgville and seek out more info." There isn't a long in character chat unless initiated by the players. As in the DM will RP when the player wishes to RP. Rarely do the players RP with each other unless something initiates it. Like "I want to rob the magic shop."

It's never really been an issue until just recently when I had a new player express that they were unhappy that there wasn't far more RP in the sessions. Which as the DM I can accommodate but I cant make other players RP. I wouldn't want to as that reeks of forcing people to move out of a bubble they might not be comfortable in.

By the by I found that young players are more apt to just RP and RP and RP it's the adults who just want to play out a story/adventure with minimal actual RP.

I wonder if this may be influence from online games like Critical Role. I know this has been discussed before but I've never actually experienced it.

So, what are you expecting out of a D&D game as a player? Me, I'm just happy to get to play. I'll happily RP or just roll dice or anything between. It seems odd to me to have a certain make or break expectation. IE if there isn't at least a session of all shopping and roleplay then why even be in the group?

Thoughts?

 

[aco175]

At this point I'm happy to play with friends and family. I would like to play more with another group and be a player again, but do not have the time. I like to make cool scenes for the players to enjoy and plot points to interact with, but those things are secondary.

 

[sevenbastard]

Yeah I don't want constant RP, some but not all the time. But I'm old.

I want entertainment, I want to have meaningful choice as a player. and I want it to be a game.

By game I mean one that I can lose.

 

[Lanefan]

Yeah, gotta go with @sevenbastard on this one: I first and foremost want entertainment and amusement (both of which can and often do come from RP), with relevant in-character choices and the ability for either us or our dice to completely mess it up.

 

[John R Davis]

Entertainment, and a tad bit of tension

 

[Zardnaar]

Basically good group dynamics and not excessive RP or combat eg 80-90%.

 

[Li Shenron]

What do you want out of your D&D/RPG games?

Problem solving, tactical challenges, mysteries to solve, investigations to do, locations to explore.

 

[payn]

RP occasionally as the scene calls for it. It’s ok to describe and go third person if you like. While I enjoy RP, I’m mostly after uncovering mysteries and advancing plots while interacting with factions in the setting.

 

[Horwath]

Yeah I don't want constant RP, some but not all the time. But I'm old.

I want entertainment, I want to have meaningful choice as a player. and I want it to be a game.

By game I mean one that I can lose.

if the RPing is getting boring, just pull out a hand crossbow and shoot the boring NPC in the face.
That will turn into an hour or two of dice rolling pretty fast.

 

[DEFCON 1]

For me it's almost entirely RP. Combat is fine if the story calls for it, but to do it all the time is just wasting time.

To me it's the difference between World of Warcraft and Red Dead Redemption. In WoW if you go out in the world to get to various locations in order to find the quests (IE stories) to do... you get stopped every 50 feet by some mob running up to you and attacking for no reason other than you cared to explore off the "safe zone" of the roads.

Whereas in RDR you can go wherever the hell you want, explore the land in every direction, and never once get harassed by randos out in the wild-- up until you purposefully either attack things because you choose to, or you accept quests that have a fight as part of that quest's narrative.

Given the two... I 100% prefer the latter. If I wanted to fight combats merely for the sake of fighting combats and because combat was the raison d'etre of the game, I'd play Warhammer or Axis & Allies-- not a roleplaying game. It's in the name after all. It's called a roleplaying game for a reason, and a tactical miniatures combat simulator with a bit of 'in-character' talking game.