[zedcuk]

Interesting comments. Can you RP or force RP in a MMORPG?

DnDO will attract two maybe 3 types of people. There will be the hard core DND players (moi - been playing regularly now for around 18 years!!) who will expect the game they love to be faithfully recreated. These people will RP to the limit of the game.

Then you have the XP l337 crowd who will try to reach lvl 20 in 1 week, call the game boring and whinge and whine that its too easy and move on after a month. (these will spoil dndo)

Then you will have those who are inbetween. Cutting teeth on mmorpgs, maybe some experience in dnd, theyll play for the fun of it with no expectations. These will be the easiest to please.

However the big problem with RPing is story. With a DM its easy. The DM assumes the role of the Merchant and throws some plot hooks in, maybe two or 3. The DM plays the role of the bad guy who just before he is defeated decides to switch sides and offers a carrot to the good guys in regards his boss. DM facilities the game and oft sets the RP mood. Sometimes in my games the players can and have sat the entire session roleplaying, discussing the current plots, their past experiences and just talking. IF the game provides a story set that is very detailed and full of background it might happen, but something inside me says it wont capture the fullest RP sense of the game.

Yes - maybe to gain EXP you must group and quest. Fine but imagine the RP DNDer grouping with the l337 item whore. The former rping his way through the quest, the latter wanting to rush it for the end result and the xp so he can move on and rinse repeat.

BTW forcing me to quest as the only way to gain exp is not true DND, what about random encounters? What about Story or RP exp? If im a fighter and wandering the streets of a city at night, I might get jumped by a group of the local thieves guild. Why shouldnt I earn exp? Id give my players exp for this, maybe reduce it - but i should gain it. ....

time will tell. Im looking forward to this and have ever since it was announced. I know itll be a major time sink when it comes. And it cant come soon enough