Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 9896664" data-attributes="member: 6785785">To RPGs. Role-Playing Games. If you’re not playing, then there is no game. One may be engaging in the hobby in some way, and that way may be totally satisfying to the person. I’m not arguing about preferences here. Yes. Like me setting up the goals for my soccer team. Engaging with soccer. Arguably essential for soccer to function. But not playing soccer. I think it kind of has to. I mean, let’s say I read an RPG sourcebook… something with a lot of setting detail. Even if I’m reading that material with no intention of using it in play, I’m still going to engage with it with some imagined game in mind. Because that’s the way it’s written. And I don’t just mean the obvious things like stat-blocks and the like, though those are certainly a part of it. But more importantly, how situations are presented but not resolved. A book for gaming is (most likely, one would hope) presented with gaming in mind. The conflicts introduced won’t be resolved in the book… because they’re meant to be resolved in play. So even if I’m reading such a book with no intention to actually play, I’m still going to imagine how it would go in play. I mean… how can you not? As for something even more active like making NPCs… I mean, if it’s not for play, then what would it be for? I mean… I’ve made up my fair share of fictional characters over the years. But what would make one an NPC as opposed to just a fictional character? I’m thinking of the difference between spectator and participant. I watch baseball. I enjoy it, I follow my team and the standings, I pay attention to how players are doing, I watch highlights. I don’t play baseball… but clearly I’m engaging with the hobby. For me to do that… for me to be able to enjoy the hobby, there needs to be a game that happens. There needs to be players and umpires and coaches and so on to facilitate play for me to enjoy.</blockquote>

Verification