Reply To: D&D officially turning Forgotten Realms sights away from Euro inspired campaigns

[onlyonepinman 18060xp 0]

Personally I think you can run a game in any setting with any rules set (up to a point, D&D isn’t going to be handling sci-fi any time soon) without having to have mechanics specific to the setting.  A good RPG should be able to capture the ambience of a setting through the narrative, not through the rules.  My preference is to not have mechanics where mechanics aren’t needed – rules and freedom are inversely proportional in RPG terms.  Because of their complexity I also prefer rules sets that I can use in multiple settings without having to completely relearn a full set of rules (another reason why I like 2D20 and Savage Worlds).  I don’t want to much depth to the mechanics, I simply want a system that lets me know whether my character was successful or not with as few rolls as possible (despite its flaws, &D does this incredibly well) and as much flexibility given to players and GM as possible.  Good Role-play should be rewarded and that includes players who Role-play afflictions and mental conditions that are appropriate to the setting.  But that, in my opinion, should not be a hard and fast rule and can should really take the form of increased Role-play opportunities rather than actual character benefits such as more XP.