I just realized that I never answered this question…

Two reasons: One, I was worried I’d get hooked on it like I did with UO — and that it would keep me from gaming, freelancing and doing all the other things I love to do.

Two, up until December my PC couldn’t handle it.

– Message Quests. These quests are common in WoW (Take this letter to X). These are also highly appropriate to any fantasy campaign and could easily be integrated. Tabletop PC groups are traveling all the time, and many NPCs would have reasons to ask them to carry letters. This could be a great way to get a disinterested player more involved in the game as their PC has a simple quest that involves interaction and that can lead to additional quests.

– Item Management. For me, D&D has always placed too much emphasis on items. One of the things that I like about WoW, though, is how you have to pay to maintain your items. However, this would be a pain to implement in tabletop.

– D&D Paradigm / Runequest Style. While much of the WoW structure comes from D&D (classes, leveling, etc.), much of the play style comes from Runequest (minor magics as special abilities akin to Bladesharp). With feats, D&D 3.x has moved much closer to this type of system, but there is probably more that could be done. Action points, certainly, are a mechanic that can provide some of this flair. Action points are also a tabletop mechanic that would be difficult to translate into an MMORPG. As Robin Laws has observed, players like the fiddelly bits. Blue Rose/True 20 and Conan d20 both have interesting, and very different, takes on how to add more player choices in character design and during play.

It’s definitely worthy of consideration, though — I think many players have been frustrated by random PC death in D&D, for example (although many players also enjoy knowing that random death could happen).

There are games that treat PC death in non-traditional ways, though — Primetime Adventures, for example, doesn’t have any mechanics for PC death (or hit points, etc.) at all.

If a player thinks their PC’s death works dramatically, they can include it in the game. So in PTA it’s not an inconvience, it just flat out doesn’t happen unless you want it to.

Consider how character death works in WoW. Contrast to your home game.

I’m not exactly advocating switching over to the WoW version of death, but I think it’s worth some consideration.

Actually, this is a perfectly valid play style — it’s not too far off from the core story of D&D, for example. It’s not my favorite way to game either, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s “wrong.”

(Wheeler) I think the point about travel being easy is wrong. Many of the great stories are about travel.

masterzora nailed it on this one: What I was getting at is that in a lot of games I’ve played travel has been a distraction — something the group (or even just the GM) felt that they “had to” play out, even though it wasn’t all that much fun.

Cassie: Having just died 8 times in Uldaman last night, I see what you mean about the dungeons getting tougher in WoW.

It’s good to hear that your interest hasn’t flagged after substantial post-60 play.

Waldo: Your points are all good ones — there are lots of ways to play. This article has a point of view, and it’s interesting to get feedback from folks (like yourself) who see things differently.

(Hawk) Everyone should leave every session jazzed about the game – Interesting, if your jazzed you should still be playing, not ending a session.

Why not do both? In my book, there’s no substitute for leaving the session pumped-up to play the next session — if that fails to happen a few times in a row, it’s usually a sign that there are problems with the game.

Thanks for the feedback.

Here’s a rather fascinating article on Less ons GMS can learn from WoW. I’m not sure I agree with all of them, but it’s an interesting slant on things….

Some of my players who veteran in WoW, have started managing their tactics accordingly. Suddenly, they give more thought to feats like Imp Disarm and Imp Grapple and not just the Specialization and it’s likings.

All in all, I think playing MMORPGs can help out your tabletop gaming (whether you’re a GM or a Player). The boost to running a successful campaign has always been through the sheer amount of experience you have in RPing, be it computer generated or completely inside your mind.

2. Details matter – Yea they do. But compairing EQ1 to WOW is like Pong to Frogger. 2 different lvl/generations of MMO. Now I agree with WOW even being more polished then EQ2. That is a good compair. But each learn from the other and correct/change things as they see fit.

3. Travel should be easy – Yes, but not boring. Long trips with nothing to do (i.e. EQ1 with that bloody boat trip) is not good.

4. Item management should be simple – YEP YEP!! If you can’t put it away quickly to go do more hunting, you might as well not even go.

5. Every class should have lots of things to do – It’s called balance, but mostly all games are not balanced even WOW. The dev’s will always have a soft spot for a certain class/race and do more for them then the others, or slack off and give the others basic quests instead of more detailed/enjoyable ones.

6. Style should shine through – depends on what your going for, and what you get. Some like ANime type toons, others like detailed/RL type toons. Each game I have played,(every many MMO’s in last 6 years), even Earth & Beyond was unified. I don’t see like drawn toons and real pics used often in MMO’s. They are mostly all unified with “thier” style.

7. Everyone should leave every session jazzed about the game – Interesting, if your jazzed you should still be playing, not ending a session. Feel good, that I would say. Not feeling like you just got beat up by a 3 year old.

8. It’s okay to make changes after the campaign begins – Yea, to a point. You keep changing then you beak things. All MMO’s change things after launch, it’s a never ending/changing world you log into.

9. Err on the side of being over-the-top – UM, why? Fantasy is fantasy, not larger than life. A true MMO for RPG is to be able to drop in, play your toon, and bounce out. Not sit there figuring out why your head is 14 times bigger than what is supposed to be, and why.

Is WOW one of the best MMO out there, sure. Will it be forever, nope. New genereations of games are being developed and made all the time. Yea, your points are valid, but other point could be added to it as well. But most are common sense to any playing MMO’s for a while. Will we all agree what is best, nope. There again, never come close, so for the FPS style player coming into MMO’s they will not even think of things you have listed. Great job on them though, well thought out.

But posting from tabletop to MUD to MMO, thing have come a long way since ZORK and the others.

So until next time,

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open gate
through gate
close gate
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I don’t think that’s what Martin meant. I think he means that, in an average campaign in which the travel adds nothing extraordinary to the game, feel free to make the travel easy and short. If your session centers around a bit of travel, you obviously don’t want to follow this one.