I totally agree with you, skywakler. ROLEPLAYING is about the choices we make, and the path we follow, and the consequences. And, it CAN be put into CRPGs (Ultima IV & V both penalized players for playing evil paths. The quest was the pursuit of virtue, and if you went against it, you could not complete the game)
There are hack-and-slash games, there are strategy games, there are FPS, there are CRPGs (RPGs are different). Many will argue that we can play them anyway we'd like, but the intent of the artist is for a singular purpose. I remember spending MONTHS preparing a world for the RPG I was DMing. The group I played with loved it. Several weeks into the adventure, one of the group brought in a friend. He ruined it. For the group. For me. I watched him ruin a creation I had spent months building, and when I told him he had to leave, he called me many a name that I won't type. He claimed that I was stopping his "creative flow". He purposedly, sysematically, tried to ruin everyone else's game, and he claimed he had the "right" to do it. I never played with him again, it wasn't worth the trouble.
In Ultima III, players found that they could kill Lord British. When Richard found out what people did, he
wept. (And took out the option in later games. Attacking LB in 4 or 5 got you dead.) A gaming magazine commented that he was taking away people's right to play the game the way they chose. (This was the
Quest of the Avatar a game where you were pursuing virtue) His comment was simple: "Don't buy the game."
This is a "copy-and-paste" of a rant I posted on the BGII board, about roleplaying in CRPGs... I think it fits in here...
*The grizzled, scarred, and battered elven ranger climbs up on his soapbox*
AHEM
I noticed a few people actually commending me for choosing to play solo, and within the self-imposed restrictions.
What surprised me was how surprised some were that I choose not to use certain weapons, because my CHARACTER wouldn't.
Quick recap: I'm playing a solo elven Archer (Ranger kit). GrandMastery in Longbows, single proficiency in long sword and katanas. In Tolkien's works, elves looked down on weapons besides these; including axes, hammers, maces, or flails. (I'm flubbing on the katanas, but I think elves would veiw them as masterwork swords) I refuse to use anything besides the longbows, long swords, and katanas in the game.
The most common comment was that I should use a blunt weapon for certain enemies (I'm trying not to spoil) I KNOW this, and agree, some weapons are better suited towards certain opponents. The coice I've made is that my character wouldn't use those weapons.
It's about the ROLEPLAYING, folks. I've read a complaint on these boards, that there are too many powerful weapons. I agree. There are limitations to this type of game, so the designers try to keep our interests by throwing HUGE rewards at us. They also do that because of the diversity of characters that will come waltzing through the game. I doubt that the designers ever believed that you would try to fight EVERY enemy, and find EVERY weapon.
We've all heard aout munchkin tactics, building up god-powerful characters and using the best weapons. Can you imagine a warrior wearing 3 swords, a hammer, a mace, a flail, and a ranged-weapon walking into battle? (In Saberhagen's "Books of Swords" there WAS a character who wore three swords for different uses, but that's another story)
ROLEPLAYING means acting out the role the way the character would. Using tactics the character would. Making choices the character would. This is the challenge. These choices will not always be easy, and will not always be easy to play.
Choose a character class to play because you WANT to try being a dwarven bard, or a gnome thief, or a human pladin. NOT because this character can use this weapons to fight this enemy.
ROLEPLAYING can be the best thing that happens to you, in terms of gaming, if you let it.
Try it. You may enjoy what you find out.
*The old ranger limps off the soapbox, favoring a fresh wound on his leg and grumbling to himself*
Thanks for letting me rant.
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The RudeDawg
Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes
and my girlfriends, Pamila and Pfil