Four types of Vin Diesel Movies

[GilesTheCleric]

I just read FiveThirtyEight's article (https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-four-types-of-vin-diesel-movies/) on Vin Diesel's filmmaking career from the perspective of D&D, and thought it was interesting. One of the key arguments of the article was that D&D is predicated on being character-driven rather than plot-driven. However, with pre-fab adventures seeming to be pretty popular (See: PF's APs, and 5e AL), I wonder how true it is.

Historically, there have been plenty of pre-fab adventures, but many of the early settings (eg Blackmoor) were based on the homebrew campaign worlds of the authors. And, of course it's very possible for folks to simply use pre-fab adventures as a scene to stage the characters in, rather than focus heavily upon.

Do you think D&D is primarily character-driven, or plot-driven? Or even both or neither?

[Azoth]

I feel it really varies by table.

I have played under DMs where the entire campaign was set up around the causality of the actions and choices of the characters. We shaped the world around us based on our pursuits and interests.

There have been a few where player agency was about as limited as deciding what quest do to first in an MMO. We were the actors on a stage and in the end all of our sound and fury signified nothing. The plot was set and we had our roles to fill in making storytime unfold properly.

Personally, I prefer the former. A living world where character actions can change the course of a game. If we don't care about stopping a corrupt merchant importing illegal goods, given a couple months time we now have to stop a coup de ta for the crown. Now, do we help the crown, the merchant, or say screw it and try to leave the war torn kingdom?