Poll - Fantasy Role-Playing Games

[Gahbreeil]

What is the most important part of a Fantasy Role-Playing Game, according to you? You can post your ideas for what should be in the poll. You can change your mind, three votes per person.

 

[Old Hans]

It needs an engaging story to hold everything together.

 

[mondblut]

This:

Character system, RPG mechanics, call it what you will. The more numbers are there, the better.

 

[Fedora Master]

CHOICE
AND
CONSEQUENCE

 

[Gahbreeil]

Character system, RPG mechanics, call it what you will. The more numbers are there, the better.

This is outside of the poll, it is considered mandatory.

 

[Fedora Master]

The more numbers are there, the better.

By that definition Wrath of the Righteous would be Game of the Decade and that's unacceptable.

 

[mondblut]

The more numbers are there, the better.

By that definition Wrath of the Righteous would be Game of the Decade and that's unacceptable.

Feel free to present a contender with moar numbers. None? Tough.

 

[mondblut]

Character system, RPG mechanics, call it what you will. The more numbers are there, the better.

This is outside of the poll, it is considered mandatory.

Nowadays, having anything other than hitpoints is seen as good enough to pass. That's why my second phrase matters.

 

[Fedora Master]

The more numbers are there, the better.

By that definition Wrath of the Righteous would be Game of the Decade and that's unacceptable.

Feel free to present a contender with moar numbers. None? Tough.

The problem isn't the numbers, it's the indisputable fact that Wrath is dumb and gay

 

[__scribbles__]

Using "artefacts" which I assume means "cool shit to find" as a stand-in for exploration as a whole. RPGs are about worlds and settings, exploration is the most meaningful interaction with that world.

Choice and consequences or reactivity are important, the player is supposed to feel like a part of the world instead of a passive outsider.

Character creation is key, and if you disagree, go back to playing popamole. Combat is essential as well, these two tie in to the point above.

The setting can be whatever it wants to be, but if it feels artificial and unbelievable in practice who cares? Just write a book at that point.

 

[Abu Antar]

Build, and equipment faggotry. Preferably party-based. Turn-based (or rtwp). Magic, low or high doesn't matter. A sense of adventure.

 

[lukaszek]

This:

Character system, RPG mechanics, call it what you will. The more numbers are there, the better.

got a custom portrait for your next rpg session

Spoiler

 

[Gahbreeil]

A sense of adventure.

Can you go on? What do you understand by adventure if it isn't the plot?

 

[Abu Antar]

A sense of adventure.

Can you go on? What do you understand by adventure if it isn't the plot?

A long campaign, but it isn't worth it if there isn't fun exploration, interesting locales, and memorable encounters. Examples of games that evoke a sense of adventure for me would be Baldur's Gate II, Arcanum, and Ultima VII. Meet mythical creatures, wondrous locales, a sense of mystery.

 

[man_at_arms]

All those poll choices and you managed to miss the most important one: PROGRESSION i.e. the advancement of character statistics, equipment, relations or other quantifiable factors.

 

[Gahbreeil]

All those poll choices and you managed to miss the most important one: PROGRESSION i.e. the advancement of character statistics, equipment, relations or other quantifiable factors.

See post #5.

 

[man_at_arms]

All those poll choices and you managed to miss the most important one: PROGRESSION i.e. the advancement of character statistics, equipment, relations or other quantifiable factors.

See post #5.

It can exist and yet ruin a game by being terrible, such as in TES Oblivion. It is also different from "having lots of different stats". You can have fewer statistics, but if the character progression is well implemented, it can be very rewarding to play.

 

[Gahbreeil]

Right, so far the leaders are 1. Combat, 2. C&C, 3. Character Creation.

I need to ask, what makes C&C stand out? I mean, Witcher I was crap. You save someone or not and you get a different Fallout outro to the chapter you were in. The characters might not be present anymore. The only C&C that I remember that was different was the one with the elven weapons and the bank heist.

What are the best examples of Choice & Consequence in RPGs?

 

[NJClaw]

Atmosphere.

Everything else is secondary.

 

[TheSecondRanger]

Exploration is missing. Also the possibility of resolving encounters without combat, e.g. via stealth or speech.

 

[Gahbreeil]

Atmosphere.

That's either Low or High Fantasy.

Exploration is missing. Also the possibility of resolving encounters without combat, e.g. via stealth or speech.

Exploration is either the Established or Novel Setting.

I agree on the other point. I'd say Dialogues or Realism.

 

[NJClaw]

Atmosphere.

That's either Low or High Fantasy.

I failed my save against your Confusion spell.

 

[Gahbreeil]

Atmosphere.

That's either Low or High Fantasy.

I failed my save against your Confusion spell.

The atmosphere is either Good vs. Evil or Grimdark was my track of thought. Did you mean something like music?

 

[processdaemon]

C&C and plot are the most important for me in all RPGs, and being able to play as a mage or divine caster is pretty much essential to me in fantasy and most other genres. I can live with sci-fi settings only having psionics or biotics or whatever magic analogue suits the setting but whenever I play a fantasy game without a robust magic system it just feels like a wasted opportunity and I'll absolutely skip otherwise good looking games over it.

 

[__scribbles__]

The atmosphere is either Good vs. Evil or Grimdark was my track of thought. Did you mean something like music?

Atmosphere isn't about morality, it's about imposing a particular mood or ambiance on the player, to set the stage in their minds in order to immerse them in the world. Music, writing, art direction etc. all serve whatever mood the game is trying to imprint on you.

Generally speaking, when people like the atmosphere in a game, they like that the game actually *feels* like what it's trying to represent, it's not a function of the morality "systems" the characters operate by.

Exploration is either the Established or Novel Setting.

Exploration is a part of gameplay, and has nothing to with the flavor of the setting. It has to do with the player's traversal of the world and their discovery of its different elements. It's true that exploration can include elements of storytelling, such as finding a legendary sword you've heard about at the end of an option dungeon or something of the sort.

Generally speaking, when people like the exploration in a game they like that the world is rich, full of things to discover (often both in gameplay and story) and they enjoy experiencing and traversing the world the developers have crafted, not simply the setting itself (though exploration can often help legitimise a setting if the world is crafted with care and intent).