SHADOWTEXT'S PROFILE

I'd suggest trying it out sometime. I honestly think everyone who makes cRPGs ought to play some Pen and Paper every once and a while--they shows off design ideas that have been tweaked and picked at for decades now and can really change your way of looking at RPGs in general. True roleplaying in a video game isn't really possible yet, but the game part of RPGs can often be a big help in figuring out video game sorts of things.

That's part of what I like about 4e D&D. It's so elegant in terms of game design and there's so much video game makers could learn from it.

author=AeroGP link=topic=2574.msg49036#msg49036 date=1228367556
I'm leaning more towards Tri-Stat DX than d20, sorry. =P

I think all the major archetypes have been covered. I've rarely found a use for white mages that exclusively heal. I can get by just fine with a stable stock of curative items and just pouring out more damage output than my opponent most of the time. The healers that can also fight decently are most welcome. The ones that can fight and heal equally well, though, present a conflict of interest, such as in Dragon Quest. "So I got this hero character who deals the most damage, but he also heals the best, and I can't do both at the same time... errr...."

I was unaware there was anyone else who was familiar with Tri-Stat dX. And I mean on EARTH.

author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=2605.msg48984#msg48984 date=1228361005
The point I was trying to make, was that in my opinion, FF12 was one of the least character driven RPGs I've ever played, and it was mostly plotcentric, but without a focus on characters. It seemed the opposite of what you're saying, the characters just drove the plot.

As you may have picked up over the course of the conversation and my tenure on the internet, plot's not a big factor in how I feel about a game. If we were talking visual novels, it might be different, but game-wise? The best plots just serve to make me feel even better about kicking the ass off of a particularly nasty villain. Considering how hard it can be to pull off, I'd go crazy if I insisted every game had a plot good enough to do that.

author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=2605.msg48976#msg48976 date=1228360390
No offense Shadowtext, but I think that's absolutely false.

Even in a strictly narrative medium, plot is only there to serve the character arcs, so it's not THAT much more important in novels, film, television, what have you.

So whatever happened to the D&D game? I've been gone for a month or two and it looks like almost nothing has happened since I dropped out, unless you guys just stopped posting about it on the board.

Sorry for the Necropost, but I figured starting a new thread for the same subject would've been silly.