D&D 5th Editon Discussion: 6th thread and counting

[Craft (Cheese)]

Wait, what system has been "killed" by bad fluff

Eh... I can sortof half-buy this argument, in theory anyway. What really sells me on whether I want to try a new system/subsystem/splatbook is the kind of stories that pop into my head when I read it, moreso even than everything else put together. Interesting and innovative ideas will intrigue me, but to actually get it into play at the table the stories have to be there. Otherwise I'll just cannibalize the interesting bits and sprinkle it into my homebrew but the unmolested system itself will forever go unplayed.

It's the reason why I've still yet to try Dungeon World, Old School Hack, or Warrior/Rogue/Mage, I read through them and just think "...What am I supposed to do with this that I can't already do with D&D?" I mean they streamline the process and get you to those delicious nuggets faster and maybe even better than D&D does, but they don't evoke new nuggets that I want to dig up and chow down.

Now, I only half-buy the argument because fluff isn't really necessary to do this, though it helps. Oftentimes I'll come up with a story when reading a book through mechanics, just by saying to myself "Hey, I just came up with a great situation that these mechanics right here are just perfect for modeling/arbitrating." or "Hey, this mechanic sounds like it could do a great job of avoiding narrative structure problem X." Heck, the mechanics alone are what got me into Wushu and Ars Magica. Love Magica's spellcasting mechanic even though I can't stand Mythic Europe as a setting.