Rolling new D&D characters was one of the first non-trivial programs I ever wrote. It was on a VAX-VMS in basic, but hey that still counts as programming, no?
It sure does, and I'm sure it was a rite of passage for many budding programmers.
Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
41–50 of 63 posts
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#42Unfortunate they use D&D with its simple and rigid class system. A classless system like Runequest is much better to express the wide range of possible fantasy trope characters (trope=young boy knows nothing, explorers the world, becomes famous, has powerful enemies, and saves the world by defeating them) Even more interesting would be a career based system like Traveller, with the restriction of maximum homeworld te…
And rune quest is based of how real world cultures/religions/cults and how they develop
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#43> Dwarves are good at building things not because of some essential genetic racial qualities, but because they are raised in a culture that values building and passes on a certain set of traditional practices around it. Really? Let's say that the DM chose to run a game with mermaids in it. Would anyone question the (theoretically) superior swimming ability of mermaids? Let's see how a similar statement reads: Mermaid…
Paragraphs are written about "race" being racist, but Occam's Razor can apply to make it very simple.
Replace "race" with "species" and all is solved.
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#44> Dwarves are good at building things not because of some essential genetic racial qualities, but because they are raised in a culture that values building and passes on a certain set of traditional practices around it. Really? Let's say that the DM chose to run a game with mermaids in it. Would anyone question the (theoretically) superior swimming ability of mermaids? Let's see how a similar statement reads: Mermaid…
Note that women characters in D&D did, at certain points in the evolution of the rules, did have modifications so that their stats differed from male characters.
https://medium.com/@increment/the-first-female-gamers-c784fb... (this is a long but fascinating article)
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#45Where D&D’s race system is somewhat yucky, its alignment system is awesome. Once you learn it you’ll find yourself applying to real people. The alignment system consists of two axes: one ethical and one moral.
This author is, frankly, an idiot. To suggest that ethics and morals are orthogonal, or that each is well-described by a three-point linear system... is utterly absurd. It's such a ridiculously bad roleplaying mechanic that those roleplaying games that are more about roleplaying a character than incrementing a number have no such mechanism.
Given that the author seems to value not straitjacketing a character and celebrating individuality, it's very, very odd that the alignment system should be lauded.
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#46> Dwarves are good at building things not because of some essential genetic racial qualities, but because they are raised in a culture that values building and passes on a certain set of traditional practices around it. Really? Let's say that the DM chose to run a game with mermaids in it. Would anyone question the (theoretically) superior swimming ability of mermaids? Let's see how a similar statement reads: Mermaid…
Well, mermaids do have obvious genetic differences (the fish tail and ability to breathe in water) that would make them better swimmers than humans and humanoids.
But I'm struggling to come up with what genetic characteristics about D&D dwarves you assume would make them inherently good at building things. There's nothing obvious that I'm aware of.
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#47I'm not sure if the author of this page understands what "race" means in D&D terms. It's basically species. Dwarves aren't just little people. They're literally not inter-fertile with humans. Now, fair enough, much of the "race" difference manifests itself as differences in cultural background - cultural norms, language, etc. But it's not the same way people use the term "race" in the real world.
Then again, both Orcs and Elves can breed with humans. Playing up the racial part of fantasy settings can be very a very interesting avenue for discussing racism, apartheid etc. The mis-understood neutral good half-orc, the result of a war crime rape, or an illicit love affair? In other settings, where for instance orcs might prefer the succulent taste of human flesh: is it acceptable if you only eat the flesh of warriors defeated in honourable battle? Etc, etc.
It's just a game, but it can also be so much more than just a game...
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#48Rolling new D&D characters was one of the first non-trivial programs I ever wrote. It was on a VAX-VMS in basic, but hey that still counts as programming, no?
I wrote one for my TI-99/4a long ago and had most of my characters backed up on cassette decks :)
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#49Where D&D’s race system is somewhat yucky, its alignment system is awesome. Once you learn it you’ll find yourself applying to real people. The alignment system consists of two axes: one ethical and one moral. This author is, frankly, an idiot. To suggest that ethics and morals are orthogonal, or that each is well-described by a three-point linear system... is utterly absurd. It's such a ridiculously bad roleplaying…
I find the alignment system interesting and conducive to working on your role playing. But if you don't want to be role playing in a straight jacket I would pick chaotic neutral :)
Re: Assignment: Creating a D&D Character
#50Where D&D’s race system is somewhat yucky, its alignment system is awesome. Once you learn it you’ll find yourself applying to real people. The alignment system consists of two axes: one ethical and one moral. This author is, frankly, an idiot. To suggest that ethics and morals are orthogonal, or that each is well-described by a three-point linear system... is utterly absurd. It's such a ridiculously bad roleplaying…
I find the alignment system interesting and conducive to working on your role playing. But if you don't want to be role playing in a straight jacket I would pick chaotic neutral :)
heh :)
Seriously though, few role-playing games have an alignment system, especially the ones that promote themselves as being more about roleplay than levelling.
I remember one story about a guy whose group played 'evil' D&D characters, and one of them pointed out that what their characters were doing was 'naughty', but not actually 'evil'. So they tried out playing actual 'evil' characters. I can't remember all the examples he gave, but one of their plots was the kidnapping and raping of a princess. He said that campaign didn't last very long and his group found it pretty disturbing. I guess the point of this anecdote is that a lot of evil characters get played that aren't really 'evil' or close to it.
Alignment systems might help roleplaying neophytes, but if you've been around the block once or twice, they really are quite limiting. Is that noble warrior 'good' because he works tirelessly and selflessly to promote the cause of his kindred? Is he 'evil' because he knowingly and tirelessly oppresses others to do so? Is he 'neutral' because he can't be placed unequivocably in either camp? Why not just let him be a complex character on his own?