[TLD] Traits, Roleplaying vs Roll-playing, and some other thoughts

So, The Last Days is this great mod we have for M&B, as many of us know, and I've been playing it a fair bit for the last few months (to put it mildly).

One aspect of the design philosophy I applaud is the notion that perks and traits are "bonuses", and this is in aid of creating a more immersive experience in which failing a quest or even suffering a major setback is, contrary to the way we have been trained as gamers by the games we play, actually ok.

To some degree vanilla Warband can already be played this way, like the "ironman" playthroughs some players prefer to do.

The thing about the TLD traits and even some quest requirements, though, is that... the dev team strives to keep the requirements as opaque as possible - case in point, Oathkeeper/Oathbreaker. They have explained their case to various people many times, so I won't rehash the points here, but this can create frustration, because M&B - like most games today, arguably - is fundamentally different from a tabletop roleplaying collaborative storytelling experience. We play games partly because the mechanics of real life as we know it are partially suspended. Some would want clear, achievable goals with known parameters, as opposed to the kind of exploratory processes we engage in on a daily basis, navigating life's challenges, etc.

In addition, a cornerstone of the trait rationale is that you "do things" and acquire traits according to what you do. Well and good, for the most part: command mostly cavalry and you get a good chance of becoming a Cavalry Captain; make appropriate devotional gestures when opportunities arise and the Valar across the Sea take notice; make a habit of slaughtering Men and Dwarves for meat and you're bound to get better at the whole business, and so on.

With Berserker, however, this intuitive approach does fall short a little, in my opinion, because... honestly, under what circumstances would a player ever decide to play naked, in the natural course of things? Acquiring Berserker has, despite the best intentions of the dev team, almost invariably become a "gamey" move. Inevitably, TLD players will surf around and realise "hey there're all these cool traits", then they'll see "wow, Berserker sounds good, how do I get it", and then they'll go about it until the trait is granted, and then... they never do it again. If the trait was meant to be granted to a character who made a regular habit of fighting without armour, then in practice this isn't reflected by most players' experiences.

I would suggest this change: grant Berserker not for naked fighting, but for wearing specific armours that are for all intents and purposes "naked" apparel, anyway. Just off the top of my head: Variag slave garb; Rhun light and medium armours, which are topless; Beorning Berserker garb (I mean this in particular strikes one as being an intuitive choice for a prospective Berserker, won't it, in addition to being quite risible when put on Luevanna or Faniul); certain Orc light armours for the various Evil factions.

This would be more lore-friendly than absolute nakedness, which would make no real sense - I don't think even Turin Turambar fought naked, and he pretty much sets the benchmark in Middle-Earth for mental instability.

Submitted January 28, 2018 at 06:43AM by jtlannister http://ift.tt/2DGKEsM