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<blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 6415434" data-attributes="member: 85555"><p>I don't think starting with the goal of RPG is a good definition though. That gets us right back into Wick territory. On the surface this sounds reasonable but plenty of people play RPGs as themselves and don't care at all about character. But more than that, this definition suggests that tables where the motives of the characters are not a driving force (and in some types of adventures or styles of play they might not be) are not RPGs. I think these kinds of reductionist definitions are not helpful. At best we can describe what RPGs include and what they look like (i.e. generally a group of players taking on the role of characters with a GM managing play and dealing with externals like setting, but there are exceptions so these need to be included in the definition as well). I think we need to start honestly describing what people are doing rather than what we'd like them to do (and I include my own sets of biases and assumptions in here as well).</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="Bedrockgames, post: 6415434, member: 85555"] I don't think starting with the goal of RPG is a good definition though. That gets us right back into Wick territory. On the surface this sounds reasonable but plenty of people play RPGs as themselves and don't care at all about character. But more than that, this definition suggests that tables where the motives of the characters are not a driving force (and in some types of adventures or styles of play they might not be) are not RPGs. I think these kinds of reductionist definitions are not helpful. At best we can describe what RPGs include and what they look like (i.e. generally a group of players taking on the role of characters with a GM managing play and dealing with externals like setting, but there are exceptions so these need to be included in the definition as well). I think we need to start honestly describing what people are doing rather than what we'd like them to do (and I include my own sets of biases and assumptions in here as well). [/QUOTE]

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