Tactile Role-Playing

I came into this thread thinking planespace was trying to encourage his players to "touch" each other...
Bad Randolpho! Bad!

Anyway, I think some sort of balance should be struck.

Our DnD group is big into miniatures and other props, and I think it helps the immersion quite a bit. We've always used miniatures on a battlemat for battle, and I don't think we'd find it possible to play the game comfortably without at least that. As we play more, we've brought in a variety of other objects that we use during our sessions. Some examples:

- Two halves of a coconut, which are clonked merrily together whenever the mace-wielding player gets a critical hit.
- Index cards for player inventory. Each significant item gets written up, with a sketch or printed picture when possible, and kept in a stack by the player who owns the item. Everyone seems to enjoy this so far. Among the benefits are the fact that it's fun to be able to physically page through your inventory, and the fact that it decisively quells arguments about who is carrying which piece of equipment.
- Use actual coins to represent gold which you hand out to the players. Our group uses 1 penny to represent 1 gold piece, so a quarter equals 25 gold. When the players find money in the game, I physically give them a handful of change, and when they pay for something, they hand it right back.

well, V-2 and Randolpho, I pride myself on being virile to a fault but am willing to risk my reputation as a poster-child of pure machismo in the name of embracing my more sensitive side.
alas, i fear that my fellow gamers would balk at my attempts and not truly understand that I'm trying to break down the walls that bar the way to my innermost feelings and free us all from the chains of stoic pride. Until I'm confident that they can handle me on a more emotional level, I'll have to stick to cards, dice and miniatures. but I'll keep you up to date on my progress.

moto jojo: that's pretty interesting. i particularly like the index card idea. that's one step away from actual cards...

planespace

I like to touch the players....ummm.... wait, I didn't mean to say that.

Good topic (but I thought the same thing as Randolpho, when I read it!)!

The main difference (related to the topic) between CCGs (or TCGs or whatever they're called, now) and role-playing games (even SAGA) is that, while both employ physical objects, the available actions of the player of a CCG is determined by the objects, while the actions of the player of an RPG is, at most, limited by the object.

Personally, I very much enjoy adding tactile elements to my RPGs. I've made incredibly realistic pipe-cleaner and cottonball giant (and colossal) spider minis before. They were great. In my current CoC game, the players just found a gun. They don't have any bullets, but when they get some, I'll be sure to give them physical representations for each and every one of them. They'll have a better idea of how little ammunition they have if they can hold it in one hand.

planespace said:

Question:
Do you think there's a place for more tactile game play in role-playing? -snip-

My Opinion:
I consider "Magic" to be a tactile game. You hold physical cards that are the key to winning the game. The setting of Magic, although fun to think about, really has little bearing on the game play itself. I love playing Magic for a lot of reasons but I do miss the immersive quality that role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons provides. Similarly, when playing Dungeons and Dragons I sometimes miss the rigid rules and visualizations that tactile games like Magic or DiskWars offer. Believe me, I love to imagine what's happening in the game while it's happening (in fact, sometimes I prefer that to seeing a picture or following rigid and seemingly arbitrary rules). But I think seeing a card with a picture that represents an element in the game or a miniature that represents me and is subject to rigid spatial rules would enhance game play.

Note: Now I realize that miniatures *are* used in DnD to bring spatial clarity to battle scenes and other situations, but I'm not sure if miniatures rules are all that well-defined (again, correct me if I'm wrong).

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I think that you are trying to mix apples and oranges in your question. CCGs, like chess, have a limited number of possible moves and combinations. With CCGs, this can be further limited by what you have in your hand at any particular time. Ultimately, the outcome of any single game in either (chess or CCGs) can be expressed as a mathematical equation. They are both exersizes in mathematical execution. Imagining a monster on a CCG card actually attacking an opponent is no different, really, than naming each of your chess pieces (and yelling "Whackaroo!" when moving them) based on whatever genre you wish to emulate and using that system to resolve the competition.

RPGs have a DM factor that cannot be expressed in such a way. There is no finite limit to what can be introduced into an RPG. IMO, there's really no comparison that can be made in this way between RPGs and other games also played by hobby gamers in general. *shrug*

I like using minis and props, to some degree, in my games. It adds a lot to the flavor and sure does help players get into the mood to role-play.

I have just what you are looking for. It's called TORG. It's a role playing game where the mechanics of the game include a deck of cards that (among other things) give bonuses to specific activities during combat and out of combat, dictate how many actions each person can take each round, create plot twists out of combat, and give the TORG equivalent of EPs at the end of an adventure. You can only have a limited number of cards in your hand. The cards change combat from "do the most effective monster killing thing same way each time" to "fight in such a way as to take advantage of the card influencing combat this round" I really like the system, despite two very real problems with it.
Problem one: The ninja-splat effect. Because of the way hitting and damage are linked, anyone with a high dodge can only be hit by something that also does a huge amount of damage. So ninja type characters are either untouched, or splattered across three city blocks.
Problem two: The game was put out by West End Games, now defunct so the game is out of print, and has been for quite some time. There was noise at one point about someone buying the rights, but I haven't seen anything.

However, adding an elements ushc as cards for some reason tends to detract, and make it more of a game, less of an "experience."

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The masterbook system back in the day used cards for events and even heroic plot manipulation. Despite being a terrible system machanically, my players truly enjoyed the whole cards thing.

As for miniatures, the new D&D 3e rules are set up to use miniatures. Its VERY hard to show areas that provoke AoO's, 5' steps, charging etc, without actally having miniatures standing on a sheet of 1" hex paper. Having the miniatures on this paper makes combat MUCH smoother.

-=grim=-