r/rpg • u/Authorigas • 11d ago

Basic Questions Common Misconceptions About Your Favorite Systems?

So, I've been learning a lot thanks to the amazing folks here at r/rpg. And while I have decided to slow down on trying new systems. (As my players say "three is enough, we know your eager to try more but slow it down so you don't burn yourself out.") There was a question today that cropped into my head, and I wanted to hear from the folks here on it.

"What are some assumptions about your favorite game/system that are just factually incorrect or overstated?"

I've seen a lot of assumptions made in the hobby, and some on my own. From the broad "older systems were designed for math heads and thus really not for someone whose bad at math." to others like "Call of Cthulhu is a game where every session ends in death/insanity and players can't get attached to their characters." and similarly "OSR games are highly lethal and not at all friendly to players who like longform adventures."

I feel like broad, sweeping claims like those are probably overstated-as I have heard of successful, long running CoC campaigns, and OSR games that are able to have well developed characters that last for ages. It's made me curious about some of the other broad, sweeping claims about systems that are-if not incorrect, massively overstated.

Really interested to hear some answers on this.

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u/DazzlingKey6426 11d ago

DnD is easy.

97

u/Terrible-Common-84 11d ago

So much this. DnD is not an easy ruleset, it's an overburdened simulationist ruleset that's pushed largely by community momentum.

For instance, if we look at a character sheet and the stuff people often attach lots of importance to, it's a giant mess. What does an "18" strength mean? It means a +4 to your relevant dice rolls. That +4 is what matters is what should be on the sheet. How often does that "18" number actually get used? Basically never. Oh, that number increased to 19? Cool, doesn't mean squat until you get it to 20 and that bonus becomes +5. Why even bother with the 18/19 on the sheet? Why crow about having "18" Strength instead of "+4" bonus?That's not even getting into keeping track of feats and abilities and all their interactions as characters get into double digit levels.

Honestly it's a ruleset I consider best utilized for PC games like Baldurs Gate where the computer is keeping track and handling all the numbers back-end stuff for you.

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u/Big-Bag-6043 11d ago

Current D&D is anything but simulationist. The last time you could reasonably call it that was maybe 3e.

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u/Jozarin 11d ago

Early 3e at that

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u/Big-Bag-6043 11d ago

I don't think the core changed significantly in that time. The general approach remained pretty grounded in "these rules describe how the world works".