I just read an interesting editorial from D&D Insider that claims that there are actually people out there in cyberspace that have been saying “There’s no room for roleplaying in Fourth Edition.” After a short search on the web, I found out that Chris Youngs was right! I couldn’t believe it, until I thought about my initial perceptions of the game.

I’ll admit it. I love D&D, always have. My group stopped playing 3.5 because we were tired of the number crunch. We were tired of the same old routine: I roll, I miss; I roll, I hit, I damage! I roll, I miss. Rinse, lather, repeat. During an initial foray into Deadlands, we (the then-current incarnation of the gaming group, with a few more along for the ride) were introduced to Savage Worlds, a.k.a. “Fast, Fun, Furious!” We were introduced to a brave new world of streamlined mechanics and open-ended descriptive fun.

There were new mechanics for using my Smarts to “trick” somebody and gain an advantage. I could do a similar trick by agilely outmaneuvering my opponent. The magic system allowed for characters that could cast whatever spells they knew as long as they still had some magical power left in their body. I had all kinds of perks and flaws to choose from. I had everything I needed to roleplay instead of just roll-play.

The group experienced some growing pains; people’s schedules changed, medical issues affected one member, family issues another, etc. We ended up shrinking to a core group of players led to battle by a gamemaster I’m sure readers of this blog are familiar with. For the better part of a year, we experienced much fun playing fantasy games using the Savage Worlds game system.

All honeymoons, no matter how sweet, eventually come to an end. Some of us found that the simplified mechanics of the game were very easy to roleplay around but, at higher levels, simply ended up making every fight seem the same. I knew being an archer that I was always rolling against the same target number and was able to easily tool my character to never miss with the bow. Our fighter was able to do the same for melee and the wizard, well that’s another story. Bedewah Emin Fernandez had become a power point god from his abilities and items. The mechanics for magic that we fell in love with didn’t mean anything any more when Bedewah would regain all of his power between encounters. There was a pattern forming here…

We were telling compelling stories about Bedewah, Rorrg the troll fighter, and Vhash the goblin tooth fairy. They were hot on the trail of some organization we ended up calling the Festering Eye (we could never remember their true name and our name was so much better!) There were wins and losses (We will miss you, Raff) and tragic stories, too; “Are the children alright?” Bedewah will never sleep again without setting a trap for stuffed zombies.

But then Wizards announces 4^th Edition… My DM hops on the bandwagon and starts buying all of their propaganda books and their web hype and forces us along for the ride. “Well, you better let me borrow your books because I’m not buying my own.” I demanded.

“Whatever it takes man, trust me, you’re gonna love it. They’re making a lot of changes that I think will make this game feel more like Savage Worlds, but definitely still be D&D.”

Okay, now I was intrigued. Then the books came out. I look through John’s copy and start looking through the classes and their so-called powers; I mean what is this, Marvel Super Heroes or Dungeons and Dragons man?!?!?! I read, “Tide of Iron, Inspiring War Cry, if I turn the page and see ‘Pikachu, I choose you,’ I’m so outta here.” Game day swiftly arrived. I had a warlord with his fancy powers and fancy cloak (you have to imagine his fancy accent – I’m a hack of an actor), everything I needed to head into battle.

As the round started and I looked at the initial layout, I found myself thinking, I already miss the simple mechanics for “tricks” that were my bread and butter in Savage Worlds. I was upset that my highly intelligent martial combatant didn’t have that simple method of outmaneuvering or outsmarting my opponent. Then I noticed these powers had the tricks built in; “Wolf Pack Tactics” let my Warlord not only outmaneuver his opponent, he could extend that trick to an ally. “Opening shove” would move one opponent and distract others so an ally could escape or gain an advantage. “Warlord’s Favor” would highlight an opponent’s weakness. My actions in combat made me feel like a leader of men.

Then I noticed that the Paladin sitting across the table felt like a martyr by virtue of her actions. The Wizard finally felt like someone that had a basic mastery of magic they could usefully use as opposed to a 4 hit point piece of paper, threatened by the nearest breeze. Our actions as players turned our minis into cinematic versions of their “class,” something I never experienced in Third Edition, Savage Worlds, Shadowrun, or any other game I’ve been exposed to. Shadowrun comes close, but for me, the mechanics leaves a lot to be desired.

But what of the compelling storytelling from my Savage Worlds days? There were no rules in 4^th Edition for roleplaying outside of combat. What kind of oversight was this? Here I am playing an eladrin warlord who has spent most of his life in the mortal realm because of his mother while his father lives in the Feywild. He led a failed expedition to found a settlement in a haunted area. He travels with a dragonborn paladin whose egg he recovered from that same settlement. She never knew her parents and was raised by the clergy in town. Another of his men lost his brother to a raid by the Iron Fang Goblins. He now accepts the responsibility for taking care of his former sister-in law and her 2 children by running his brother’s inn, “The Last Star.” With 3 other players and their compelling stories, I struggled to understand what people are complaining about.

Thinking about our last couple of gaming sessions with this in mind, it hit me. I recalled the last 2 sessions of our game. We were retaking Fort Griffon and fighting against impossible odds. Character personalities and flaws added much color to what would have otherwise been a bland running series of encounters. Sergeant Ungaro’s giving in to the rage over the predicament of his wife and kids. Jorgrim’s constant needling of his leader’s tactics. Lady Draco standing fast and stemming the tide while seeking guidance from Bahomet. Cini’s uncharacteristic bravery and cinematic flair scaring off a wereboar. Crux-tel rushing into battle, seeking glorious death to earn him the favor of the Raven Queen. In addition, there was much more storytelling that happened behind the scenes and between encounters.

Remembering this, I was armed with the knowledge that there is plenty of compelling roleplaying to be had in this game. I rushed to the bookshelf to grab my Player’s Handbook and seek out the section that gave us the rules that were responsible for the roleplaying I was enjoying. After pages and pages of fruitless searching, I came to a realization. The rules barely covered the concept or regulation of roleplaying because that’s our jobs as players to tell compelling stories and make vibrant, dynamic, and interesting characters.

The writers and editors at Wizards could have given us rules to “aid in making memorable D&D characters,” but they know that their job is to provide a consistent, useful ruleset governing the portion of the game affected by chance as much as by choice. I personally want a mechanic to streamline the part of the game that should be fair and equitable – combat. I don’t want the game doing the rest of my work for me. If you think that your game doesn’t allow for roleplaying, maybe you need to look at the room you are playing in as opposed to the game on the table.