Totally Guy
2010-03-14, 06:49 AM
I think I've figured out why I've been frustrated whilst playing D&D recently.
I tend to think of my character as a plaything rather than as someone who always makes decisions based on his own wants.
What I mean by this is that I want to use my character to bring about circumstances that I desire in the game as a player that will also aid with the larger party's problems. Although that character will act in a believable in-character persona, I feel that this is all I have to control the game with.
So lets say I want to find ancient artefacts that are hidden in a city that would contribute to the in-game situation. I'm pretty much dependent on the DM having written about it at some point. I feel powerless to affect the game fiction even if we're close to a sandbox.
What about preventing a war? I want to stop a war in a big dramatic diplomatic scene. But to prevent a war there has to be the threat of war. But I don't have the powers to bring that about. My character does not want a war so what action can I take to make it happen? It would look nonsensical to actually have this character cause the problems he's trying to prevent.
This is why I consider my characters to be playthings because I'd sacrifice the characters wants to facilitate my wants. But sacrificing the character's wants just seems silly, so I get frustrated.
I guess I'm dependent on communicating with the DM and taking whatever bones he throws my way. I spent a whole campaign as an unscrupulous collector of archaeology and every time I tried to direct the game that way my character ended up looking stupid.
I tend to think of my character as a plaything rather than as someone who always makes decisions based on his own wants.
What I mean by this is that I want to use my character to bring about circumstances that I desire in the game as a player that will also aid with the larger party's problems. Although that character will act in a believable in-character persona, I feel that this is all I have to control the game with.
So lets say I want to find ancient artefacts that are hidden in a city that would contribute to the in-game situation. I'm pretty much dependent on the DM having written about it at some point. I feel powerless to affect the game fiction even if we're close to a sandbox.
What about preventing a war? I want to stop a war in a big dramatic diplomatic scene. But to prevent a war there has to be the threat of war. But I don't have the powers to bring that about. My character does not want a war so what action can I take to make it happen? It would look nonsensical to actually have this character cause the problems he's trying to prevent.
This is why I consider my characters to be playthings because I'd sacrifice the characters wants to facilitate my wants. But sacrificing the character's wants just seems silly, so I get frustrated.
I guess I'm dependent on communicating with the DM and taking whatever bones he throws my way. I spent a whole campaign as an unscrupulous collector of archaeology and every time I tried to direct the game that way my character ended up looking stupid.