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Originally posted by Diffan

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Originally posted by sleyvas

I think one of the biggest questions to all of this comes down to "will the game be human created character sheets and human dice rolling/figuring out each step OR will the game have a program that helps create character sheet and a program that helps manage combat rounds".

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You're talking about something akin to D&D Beyond where the dice rolling and character options are digitally displayed and upkept on devices? So as someone who runs a weekly Discord game (I get a few ppl that come over in person, thankfully) and they all use D&D Beyond for their characters, I really don't think it's great. Yes, I do have D&D Beyond but I find that it's not all that helpful and I end jp just writing it down anyways. From loss of HP and resources spent to homebrewed content like spells and items. I just don't feel like basic-coding just to see my work fancy displayed on a screen.

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Originally posted by sleyvas

A lot of the problems come down to hours being spent managing a few rounds of combat. I've yet to play a game where the computer handle all the combat for an entire group (that being said, I have played MMORPG's... and that's very similar), but I know its available. Part of the problem with most MMORPGs is that they specifically hide the mechanics from most players AND they are typically built on a leveling scale that makes a character quickly become untouchable by lower level creatures.... and that revolves around the fact that they want to hook a person into playing this game nonstop. Not sure where the solution is here.

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Well, I think the first issue to deal with is the fact that games like that are entirely centered around combat. I think it's fair to say that there's zero shortage of RPGs (and MMORPGs) that cater to people who love delving into the think of combat. However, there should be more to that. I'm not suggesting it becomes like a SIMS, but centering stories and campaigns around people and struggles they're going though - that can be tackled a myriad of ways besides combat is a key component here and might attract people who want more balance to their games.

Think of D&D and how it evolved from 1e/2e from the player's perspective. In 3e, there were lots of rules for things like running and building keeps (Stronghold Builder's Guidebook) and running a war campaign (Heroes of Battle) but the VAST majority of best sellers for that system were books that amped up player power, player options, and combinations for combat. 4E simply kept that trend going. 5e took a small step back, but I still find that the biggest sellers of their catalogue are Xanathar's Guide and Tasha's Cauldron, which have the most player-driven material.

So if you were to take OUT the focus that is primarily on combat, put focus on player agency into other areas and make those other areas appealing, I think you'll see players stop treating every single obstacle as a nail to be beaten and their character as the hammer.

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