The R in rpg

[Diamond Cross]

Are you saying my group is playing wrong because we game in the middle of a busy highway?

No, I'm saying that suicide is painless. It brings on many changes. And I can take or leave it if I please.

 

[Derren]

So when I think of a role/character, then translate this character into game rules, taking suboptimal abilities when they fit, and then act like the character would do but roll dice to resolve situations as the game rules require it, am I a roll- or role-player?

 

[Diamond Cross]

Why can't it be both?

Personally, I do not take it in a negative light if a person has to rollplay.

But if a person has an intense interest in following polls, can they be considered a pollplayer?

 

[The Shaman]

There's just this.. human characteristic or whatever you want to call it, that so many seem to have.. that when we really like something and obsess over it, or we have a preffered way of doing things.. that we expect others to see it the same way. Liking something on it's own isnt enough, you need to actually feel superior while liking it.

And that's not very positive but understandable when it comes to things like religion, politics, morality or things like that. But frivole, entertainment topics.. like what console do you game on? which bands do you like? Which D&D edition do you prefer, and how do you play it?
I find it both funny & sad at the same time these things get argued in the same way how religion or politics might be taken.. maybe it's an identity thing?

People tend to organize ourselves as tribes based on shared characteristics, but I think most of these discussions are less about taking sides or staking out territory than in identifying and sharing interests.

I like reading opinions from people who like different things than I do because it broadens my horizons. That doesn't mean I'm going to start liking what they like just because they like it, though; sometimes it reminds me why I don't like what they like, actually.

If it's all about role playing, you might as well do improv theatre, and if it's all about gaming, you can play warhammer. And even if one does prefer one thing over the other, if you like doing what you do, who cares as long as your fun doesnt counter other people's fun.?

One of the best reasons to share one's personal preferences and learn from others is to find ways to prevent one person's fun from running counter to another person's fun.

And wheter or not the R in RPG stands roll or role, the P and G stand for PLAYING GAME! Keep that in mind and it's fun, dont obsess over the method because 'Roll/Role Protocol Serious-bussiness' is just sad.

Mock all you want, but fun is serious business. Play is very important, for our mental, emotional, and physical (in the case of sports, frex) development and for creating and maintaining social networks.

It seems like some people feel the need to diminish gaming as a hobby, to dismiss play as something frivolous. I don't really understand why.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Even though "it's all good", the ends of the spectrum CAN clash. Usually, I see it from the proto-wargamers, who may have a "Who put their Oscar bid in my Action Flick?" mentality when encountering those who fancy themselves Olivier, Jr.

I suspect, though, that this is because "Master Thespians" seem to be far outnumbered by "Last Action Heroes."

The other problem is that roll players, who often are munchkins, can unbalance the game more and can make the game less fun for more people.

They skimp on social skills and feats then just sit their silent in every social situation, then combat comes and their min maxxed toon overshadows less optimized more rounded characters who feel useless as the lvl 6 half Orc barbarian with 23 strength easily crushes all opposition, or worse, the DM compensates for the half Orc and you find that your non optimized toon can barely hit in combat.

The balance of course is to create non combat situations that penalize the min maxxer for his 6 int, 7 wis, and 9 chr. But this is hard to do because the roll player just hides in the corner making very one else take on the social challenges. Even worse I have met several roll players who get downright hostile when a DM targets the glaring non-combat weaknesses of their character.

 

[Crothian]

I thought the R in RPG was for Rocket?

 

[Diamond Cross]

Random Party Girl.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Random Party Girl.

Clearly the old Harlot Table is more important in some games than others.

 

[Celebrim]

Honestly, I don't really enjoy the game until I hold an amateur theater production and a war game breaks out. Or, vica versa.

I don't get the dispargement of amateur theatrics or of war games, and honestly I also don't get what you are doing in your RPG if you have neither one.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Don't get me wrong: the guy who wants to RP every single second of every last transaction in the game can be every bit as much of a problem as Captain Killcrazy...he's just rarer, IME.