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Emperor Demonking
2007-11-20, 12:31 PM
What percentage amount do you like combat, puzzles, traps, searching and roleplaying.

Combat: 5%
Puzzles 5%
Traps: 5%
Discovering: 15 %
Roleplaying: 70 %

Fixer
2007-11-20, 12:42 PM
In terms of time:

20% combat (because one combat takes as much times as a LOT of traps and puzzles and RP)
30% exploration
30% roleplaying
10% traps
10% puzzles

(I like round numbers, sue me.)

malcolm
2007-11-20, 12:47 PM
Combat: 65%
Puzzles 5%
Traps: 0%
Discovering: 10 %
Roleplaying: 20 %

Combat is the most challenging and interesting thing in the game for me, I like the rules and the complexity, control, and flexibility that the system allows. Unfortunately it takes a huge amount of time and feels very bloated in the current iteration.

Traps are not very enjoyable for me, unless they are puzzle-like traps that aren't simply "Take 20 on a search check. Wait 2 minutes. Now take 20 on a disable device check. Yay!"

Hyozo
2007-11-20, 12:51 PM
40% Combat
30% Roleplaying
20% Exploration
6% Traps
4% Puzzles (I like puzzles, but I don't like D&D dungeons that belong in Legend of Zelda games)

However, these numbers are rather innaccurate, as my prefference is really 100% roleplaying, but with 70% of it being in the context of one of the other four categories.

Dervag
2007-11-20, 01:37 PM
Some of the best role-playing can occur when dealing with enemies in combat or when dealing with physical obstacles such as traps; see this (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html) for an example:

The samurai warrior swore to protect a child who has now been kidnapped. He is chasing the kidnappers down a trapped corridor, along with the rest of his party. After the first trap goes off, the rest of the party suggests that they slow down and take the time to search for and defuse the traps. Instead, the samurai runs down the corridor, convinced that there is no time to waste and that even if the traps kill him, his friends will have a better chance of reaching the kidnappers quickly because of this action of his.

That's great roleplaying and character exposition right there.

Altair_the_Vexed
2007-11-20, 04:15 PM
...snip...
Traps are not very enjoyable for me, unless they are puzzle-like traps that aren't simply "Take 20 on a search check. Wait 2 minutes. Now take 20 on a disable device check. Yay!"

Um, you can't take 20 searching for / disabling traps, cause you run the risk of setting them off. Taking 20 is only for when there are no consequences for failure.

Aside from that, I know what you mean. I only place traps where they'd be appropriate - but I do put them in. The skillmonkeys have to earn those extra XP, you know.

I reckon I'd like to run games:
Combat: 20%
Puzzles 10%
Traps: 10%
Discovering: 20%
Roleplaying: 25%
Banter: 15%

- but I find those lines blur a lot. RP is part of discovery and puzzles and combat and maybe even traps. Traps can be puzzles, and maybe the trap spawns monsters, so it's combat too...

Anyway, in reality, despite what I want, any game tends to end up heavy on the combat, because it takes longer to resolve. And banter is always there at the table. I tend to run games with stuff to figure out - plot lines and mysteries more than Tomb Raider type puzzles - but even those sessions are dominated by the combat. Maybe if I counted the game time rather than real time, I'd be much closer to ideal!