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Possibilities are endless
(lemmy.dbzer0.com)
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this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2025
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So adjusting the game slightly to suit what the group feels would enhance their experience makes it... not counting as the game somehow?
So my Rimworld isn't Rimworld anymore because i added some Mods?
I think this is gatekeeping, tbh.
No. These people are welcome to play however they want. They're having a good time and that's great for them.
Pitching this as "d&d is great" when the entire story hinges on multiple table specific rulings makes this both less relatable for players of d&d used to a different tone of play and can set unrealistic expectations for new players who might join a game that plays very differently.
I'm not saying they shouldn't play like this, or that this isn't d&d. It's just a very specific scenario that is quite likely to be non-representative of many games.
D&D is great because it allows for creative freedom and doesn't require that everything be explicitly permitted in the written rules. It is always the DM's prerogative to set a DC for any action and make the player roll for it, then roleplay the outcome, which is a lot more fun than just saying "no, you can't do that because it's not described in the rule book".
This isn't "homebrew", it's the right way to play.
This is not something unique to dnd! In fact, DND is not even especially good at this!
It's like people are saying "mayonnaise is great because you can add it to any meal", which is technically true, but meanwhile salt is right there being ignored on the shelf.
I think you're misinterpreting this discussion.
Of course creativity and flexibility are not exclusive to D&D. This discussion is not about D&D vs. other RPG systems, it's about the explicit permissiveness of D&D. Basically, some people consider the rules to be permissive (e.g. everything not explicitly forbidden is allowed) whereas others consider the rules to be restrictive (everything not explicitly allowed is forbidden).
My point is that the permissive interpretation is better for gameplay, and I think that argument would apply to any gaming system in general.
This whole conversation is at least using the words "DND" even if one could argue they're not actually talking about DND specifically. Thus, I was making the point that if you do want a system that rewards creative players DND is not a good one.
What system are you thinking of that stands in contrast to dnd's "explicit permissiveness"?
I'm not even sure what you mean by the "permissive interpretation". Is that the Calvinball mode? Games can definitely go badly when it turns into an inconsistent, unpredictable mess. Games have rules so we don't argue like children on the playground going "I hit you. No you didn't. Yes I did. I have a force field. Well I have an anti force field laser.."