User talk:BenofZongo
--Edmiao 12:49, 21 January 2007 (MST) About the high fantasy complaint. The idea that it is impossible to suprise characters with monsters and that this is game killing does not hold true with me. Do characters need to be suprised or shocked by the form of their enemies? Take a modern cop drama like the one shot Ben did a few months ago. There were no suprises in the form of the enemies: mob goons, gang goons, governement goons. The interest arises from the drama in which said goons participate. In high fantasy, replace mob goons with goblins, gang goons with undead and govenment goons with dragons. In WHFRP Matt got some milage out of introducing Scaven and hiding magic, but at this point the only reason we would run from Scaven is if they outnumber us. The interest arises from the question "who is controlling the scaven and to what end?" Complaints regarding DnD are a separate issue, but i think as DnD is so dominant in the RPG Fantasy genre, that those complaints may taint the genre as a whole.
--Jason 13:51, 21 January 2007 (MST)Thats only one facet of what is so wrong with high fantasy as a genre. The examples you give are from games where the enemies were basically mundane. In the City of Tears, the enemy was just some normal doctor guy, of course what he was doing was a form of horror. Yet in a high fantasy genre, organ harvesting is still ho-hum. Wizards the world over use organs for spell foci. The skaven were a little unnerving, but in the end the characters shrugged it off as magic. The biggest problem with high fantasy is there is no consequence, its just a game of WoW. You die? No problem, we'll resurrect you. Gotta travel 10,000 miles today? We can teleport you. The thing I like least about all games is the monty haul aspect, which is utterly rampant. High fantasy at its core is about getting more gold and bigger magic items and then using those to go to the lair of bigger creatures to do it all again. It is basically a symphony of the ridiculous, and I cant suspend my disbelief for that. Whats left in the game is dice rolling, and the tactical aspect of roleplaying is lacking compared to games like clix or necromunda.
Its pretty clear that what I want from a game is almost diametrically opposed to what the rest of the group wants. I understand that, so I work within those confines so that we can all have a good time. I have considered taking a break from roleplaying for a while, and that would give you guys a good opportunity to play the high fantasy. Dont despair just yet. :-)
