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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5761856" data-attributes="member: 22779">To be fair, I've never played Talisman, so I don't know how the mechanics work.&nbsp; However, let me ask a few questions.&nbsp; When you take a turn, do you have any control over the events that occur during that turn?&nbsp; In something like Monopoly, there is no control - it's entirely random, thus, no plot.&nbsp; In Talisman, is there any difference between your playing pieces?&nbsp; In other words, is there any actual character there or are you just moving a piece around the board?&nbsp; And, finally, in Talisman, does the setting have any impact on the story?&nbsp; If you were to completely change the board from it's original, to, say, spots on the board that look like mushrooms, would it change the way the game is played?Because, in an RPG all those things matter - character, setting AND plot -&nbsp; The holy triumvirate of any story.&nbsp; Take away any one of those three and you no longer have a story.&nbsp; At a guess, I'd say that there is no character in Talisman.&nbsp; While your choice of playing piece might have some mechanics tied to it, the choice of playing piece does not actually have any meaningful impact on what happens from turn to turn.&nbsp; Lots of boardgames have story elements, that's true.&nbsp; The Game of Life, for example, certainly has plot elements - the events that occur over the lifespan of your piece.&nbsp; However, there's no character there.&nbsp; It doesn't matter one whit whether you play a white car or a red car, male player, or female player or anything else.&nbsp; There's no character.&nbsp; And thus, no story.And, even if some board games do create a story, that doesn't really change what I said.&nbsp; Not all board games create a story.&nbsp; That's de facto truth.&nbsp; Bingo does not create a story.&nbsp; Poker does not create a story.&nbsp; Intent doesn't matter.&nbsp; No matter what, playing Bingo does not create a story whether you want to or not.OTOH, it is impossible to play an RPG without creating a story.&nbsp; Whether you want to create a story or not doesn't matter.&nbsp; The second you sit down with your players and begin play, you are creating a collaborative story.&nbsp; You simply have no choice in the matter.&nbsp; About the only way you could play an RPG without creating story would be to have a series of random charts with no actual link to each other.&nbsp; Since I doubt anyone actually plays that way, I'll stand by my claim that in order to play any RPG, you MUST create a story.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 5761856, member: 22779"] To be fair, I've never played Talisman, so I don't know how the mechanics work. However, let me ask a few questions. When you take a turn, do you have any control over the events that occur during that turn? In something like Monopoly, there is no control - it's entirely random, thus, no plot. In Talisman, is there any difference between your playing pieces? In other words, is there any actual character there or are you just moving a piece around the board? And, finally, in Talisman, does the setting have any impact on the story? If you were to completely change the board from it's original, to, say, spots on the board that look like mushrooms, would it change the way the game is played? Because, in an RPG all those things matter - character, setting AND plot - The holy triumvirate of any story. Take away any one of those three and you no longer have a story. At a guess, I'd say that there is no character in Talisman. While your choice of playing piece might have some mechanics tied to it, the choice of playing piece does not actually have any meaningful impact on what happens from turn to turn. Lots of boardgames have story elements, that's true. The Game of Life, for example, certainly has plot elements - the events that occur over the lifespan of your piece. However, there's no character there. It doesn't matter one whit whether you play a white car or a red car, male player, or female player or anything else. There's no character. And thus, no story. And, even if some board games do create a story, that doesn't really change what I said. Not all board games create a story. That's de facto truth. Bingo does not create a story. Poker does not create a story. Intent doesn't matter. No matter what, playing Bingo does not create a story whether you want to or not. OTOH, it is impossible to play an RPG without creating a story. Whether you want to create a story or not doesn't matter. The second you sit down with your players and begin play, you are creating a collaborative story. You simply have no choice in the matter. About the only way you could play an RPG without creating story would be to have a series of random charts with no actual link to each other. Since I doubt anyone actually plays that way, I'll stand by my claim that in order to play any RPG, you MUST create a story. [/QUOTE]

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