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How do you feel about a game with no weapons or armor? (self.rpg)

submitted 1 year ago by crbn to c/[email protected]

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Would you play a game with no combat items? There would still be items to bolster social interactions, stealth, and other out-of-combat activities.

Would this impede your sense of advancement, or are character feats and non-combat items enough?

I am working on a game with a magic system for combat. It is already complex enough that I prefer not to have combat items. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

It’s really all about context. If we’re all playing Harry Potter-esque mages, we’re not worried about swords and shields, generally. If I’m playing as Aragorn or Boromir, my expectations will be very different.

[–] crbn 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Harry Potter is a good analogy haaha. I guess the question in that case is do you expect to get to wand items? Say this is a game with at least some crunch to it. Or are you satisfied if only your character improves, but the wand itself is not mechanically specified?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

So the other element is player expectations. Me— I personally might because I tend to expect those things, having played many TTRPGs. My daughter, who has no such experiential baggage, might not.

Back to HP, I’m not an expert on the lore but, generally, all the wands are interchangeable, right? Other than the three master wands or whatever they’re called. So in that case, a wand, like a mundane tool, might not need stats/mechanics.

Ultimately, it’ll be on you to set up the context and sell the players on the concept to overcome any expectations.

[–] crbn 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah I'm worried that the expectation of many RPG players to find loot, especially for combat, may be problematic. I think you're right that setting the context is key to managing these expectations.

Couldn't tell you how wands actually work in Harry Potter...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think a lot of things in HP are only half-baked but that’s just me.

[–] crbn 2 points 1 year ago

Haha yup, I agree

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