Re: What is role playing on a computer?

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 20:31:28 GMT, James Stein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

>Wayne Shaw wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:01:40 -0500 (EST), Lena B Katz
>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> 
>> >of course I do.  but I don't like D&D's idea that most people put most
>> >points into combat (and so it does it automatically).  I know people whose
>> 
>> D&D is not an all purpose game tool.  It makes the assumption that any
>> higher level character exists in a world where, if he's actually
>> existed long enough and been active enough to be high level, he's
>> occasionally had to engage in combat, because that's the kinds of
>> worlds it assumes.
>> 
>> That isn't to all tastes or suited to all worlds of course, but it is
>> self consistent.
>
>The best sort of DnDism I've seen is Warcraft 3. Even the brainiac mage
>heros have combat ability; it might not be as good as the warrior heros
>sometimes, but they can still mop the floor with an average soldier or
>six. 

That's basically just as true of 3e.  A 10th level wizard with a staff
will thresh through a fair number of first level warriors.

>
>Which, really, just seems appropriate - they're the /heros/, and have to
>be able to mop the floor with anyone that isn't one. This would include
>in combat. 
>
>DnD, after all, models heros, not reality.

More to the point, it models certain sorts of heroes in certain sorts
of settings.