D&D General What is an RPG and is D&D an RPG?

[pointofyou]

Seethe comment by @Kobold Stew above. That makes any game when someone decides to "play a role" into an RPG, despite the design intent of that game. This also suggests that the option to play D&D "like a board game" (or, to "roll play") makes D&D not an RPG.

This is most of why I'm willing to consider whether the author/publisher think they've made a TRPG. The option to play something intended as a TRPG in a way that arguably isn't TRPG play doesn't make it not a TRPG. The option to play something not intended as a TRPG in a way that at least looks like TRPG play doesn't make it a TRPG.

 

[Reynard]

This is most of why I'm willing to consider whether the author/publisher think they've made a TRPG. The option to play something intended as a TRPG in a way that arguably isn't TRPG play doesn't make it not a TRPG. The option to play something not intended as a TRPG in a way that at least looks like TRPG play doesn't make it a TRPG.

I generally agree, I was just fishing for clarity. I do think that if a particular group chooses to actively play a non-RPG like an RPG, it has become an RPG at least for that group in that instance, tho.

 

[pointofyou]

I generally agree, I was just fishing for clarity. I do think that if a particular group chooses to actively play a non-RPG like an RPG, it has become an RPG at least for that group in that instance, tho.

I am leery of this position because it leads to the idea that one can make Monopoly a TRPG by playing it as one. I am inclined to think design intent trumps play intent here but I am reluctant to say you must have both if only because different people and different tables will consider differing play to be TRPG play.

 

[jayoungr]

If D&D doesn't fit whatever definition of an RPG we come up with, then we need a new definition. IMVHO.

 

[Yora]

D&D is an RPG.

The actual question is what else is also an RPG?

 

[Dausuul]

Pretty straightforward two part question.

One: what is the definition of an RPG?

Two: does D&D fit that definition?

If the answer to #2 is "no," then the answer to #1 is wrong.

 

[Jack Daniel]

I define a roleplaying game as any game where (1) players control personal avatars existing in a fictional milieu and (2) said avatars enjoy some degree of tactical infinity, which is in turn defined as the capacity to attempt any conceivable action, constrained only by the fictional positioning and not by the game's mechanics.

Put another way, if the player can say, "My character does (reasonable thing x)" and there's a way to resolve (reasonable thing x) that isn't necessarily specifically covered by the rules, you've got an RPG on your hands.

D&D very obviously fits this definition, as the definition was constructed to include everything shy of a free Kriegsspiele that isn't also a Braunstein.

 

[Lanefan]

My point is that the fighter isn't Bob. Even if it's a game where the PC is explicitly modeled on the player the character isn't the player.

If nothing else, Bob-the-Fighter is going to have skills and abilities in the fiction that it's highly unlikely Bob-the-player has in real life; and the divergence starts right there.

 

[Lanefan]

I define a roleplaying game as any game where (1) players control personal avatars existing in a fictional milieu and (2) said avatars enjoy some degree of tactical infinity, which is in turn defined as the capacity to attempt any conceivable action, constrained only by the fictional positioning and not by the game's mechanics.

Put another way, if the player can say, "My character does (reasonable thing x)" and there's a way to resolve (reasonable thing x) that isn't necessarily specifically covered by the rules, you've got an RPG on your hands.

D&D very obviously fits this definition, as the definition was constructed to include everything shy of a free Kriegsspiele that isn't also a Braunstein.

I'd broaden this definition by one step to include games where the player IS the avatar, those being LARPs.

There's no denying that LARPs are RPGs all day long. Nothing in the definition says the game has to be played at a table (and if it did, all online play would immediately be excluded as well).

 

[Neonchameleon]

There are for me two parts to a tabletop RPG or LARP (cRPGs are a different category).

• The "players" (who are generally the majority of players) take on the role of one person at a time
• The rules are a user interface to the shared fiction rather than a physics model, and if the players wish to do something that is not forseen by the designer or covered by the rules you use guided human judgement to sort it out.