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<blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 7476596" data-attributes="member: 85555"><p>This is the first thing anyone who plays a tabletop RPG usually notices. All you are saying is the unique thing about tabletop RPGs is that you can go beyond the normal constraints of a typical game (i.e. you can go off the map, off the planned scenario, off-script). The thing that immediately struck me when I first played, was I could try just about anything and the GM had to come up with a response (hopefully one that made sense and added to the experience). It was much different from a video game, because there you can only do what the programmers have accounted for. Different from a board game because you can go beyond the bounds of the board and examine things in whatever detail you wish. But this isn't about another step being added. It is about the fundamental difference between table top RPGs and other types of games: a human rendering a judgment in a way a computer or set of rules can't that expands the experience. In traditional play, the the player announces intentions and the GM makes the judgment (sometimes using the mechanics, sometimes deciding what the outcome is---all dependent on the kind of situation). With some games, that authority may be distributed between many players but human judgement and flexibility are still the thing setting them apart from boardgames. But again, this is just a feature of the game itself. It is something everyone understands&nbsp; about RPGs.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="Bedrockgames, post: 7476596, member: 85555"] This is the first thing anyone who plays a tabletop RPG usually notices. All you are saying is the unique thing about tabletop RPGs is that you can go beyond the normal constraints of a typical game (i.e. you can go off the map, off the planned scenario, off-script). The thing that immediately struck me when I first played, was I could try just about anything and the GM had to come up with a response (hopefully one that made sense and added to the experience). It was much different from a video game, because there you can only do what the programmers have accounted for. Different from a board game because you can go beyond the bounds of the board and examine things in whatever detail you wish. But this isn't about another step being added. It is about the fundamental difference between table top RPGs and other types of games: a human rendering a judgment in a way a computer or set of rules can't that expands the experience. In traditional play, the the player announces intentions and the GM makes the judgment (sometimes using the mechanics, sometimes deciding what the outcome is---all dependent on the kind of situation). With some games, that authority may be distributed between many players but human judgement and flexibility are still the thing setting them apart from boardgames. But again, this is just a feature of the game itself. It is something everyone understands about RPGs. [/QUOTE]

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