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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6400880" data-attributes="member: 37579">I have a huge love/hate relationship with this article. I agree with so much of it. If you're not roleplaying then you're just not playing an RPG. And if the game doesn't encourage roleplaying, then it's also not an RPG. My go-to examples are Chess and Battletech, as you can freely roleplay in both. RPing during the battles of Battletech does not mean it's not a tactical miniatures board game. And balance is arguably overrated. However, I think the author goes a bit too far to the other extreme. Rules and mechanics have a place. If you jettison everything, you're also not playing a roleplaying game, you're just doing some shared storytelling. If Fiasco is crunchy compared to what you're playing, you might also not be playing an RPG.The part that really stood out was this:That passage just irked me. See, the mechanics are there to let you play something you're not. You can play the genius and the mechanics will pick up the slack in terms of knowledge. You can play a gun nut and the mechanics will enable you. And you can play a charming smooth talking quick-witted James Bond type character and the mechanics will have your back. I can roleplay a social character, but only so far. It's not my skill as a roleplayer that's lacking, but my social skills in general. Hey, unsurprisingly, I'm a nerd. I also not entirely neurotypical and have some problems with social cues. I find being around people tiring. Exhausting. I can't always be social, I can't always give my A-game. And it's nice for the mechanics to be able to help me out when I'm just not able. I've played with a LOT of people. Years of public play. Weekly games at a local game store. And not everyone is great at being social or quick witted with the verbal responses. It's unfair to just deny them the opportunity to even play that type of character because they're lacking. That's like telling someone they can't play the fighter because they can't swing a sword. Half of roleplaying is being something you're not, being someone you can't be. If you can only roleplay to your strengths then that aspect is lost.</blockquote>

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