What is it about TTRPGs for YOU?

[Omak Darkleaf]

I play to collaborate in the creation of long-form narratives with other “authors.” TTRPGs are a unique medium that inextricably intertwine imaginative expression with social interplay. Even though a GM has a greater say in the story than do the PCs, the creation of a TTRPG’s narrative is still more egalitarian than narrative vehicles like the novel, theatre, or film where creative control is held by writers, directors, and actors (not always themselves equal contributors) who “write” the narrative while passive viewers merely “read” it. Instead, TTRPG participants both “write” and “read” the stories they help create. Discounting the fact that these days it’s not unusual for a game to draw spectators (or listeners), a participant who plays the game is both audience and actor, reader and writer, cinephile and director. TTRPs are a form of fictional immersion that’s quite unlike any other.

And there’s combat too!

 

[KYRON45]

I like stories. With RPGs you are part of the story as it’s happening.

 

[aramis erak]

The game and the emergence of story.

 

[Deset Gled]

For me, it's about the open-ended game, with people who like open-ended games.

I've got friends I just hang with and tell stories. I've got video games I can play with randos on the internet. Lots of people think TTRPGs belong in the center of a Venn diagram to those, but in my experience it's more like an orthogonal axis.

 

[Pedantic]

For me, it's about the open-ended game, with people who like open-ended games.

This is the most important thing. It's a game that's unbounded in time and the changing goals are the product of collaborative storytelling. There's so many points of interaction that provide so many different lines of play, and no other medium can do the same.

 

[Deset Gled]

This is the most important thing. It's a game that's unbounded in time and the changing goals are the product of collaborative storytelling. There's so many points of interaction that provide so many different lines of play, and no other medium can do the same.

Well, to be pedantic about it... (pause for effect)... I will also note that I specifically called it out as a game and not storytelling.

 

[Pedantic]

Right. That's the bit I think everyone gets backwards. The storytelling foregrounds the game; I'm pretending to be an elf with a dead brother so I can derive the goal "find out who killed your brother" and then when that's resolved, pursue "get vengeance for your brother."

The roleplaying is a mechanism that allows for a variety of goals to arise, and makes the game more interesting than "collect 10 victory points," though, I should note I spend a lot of time collecting victory points when I'm not playing TTRPGs.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There are lots of ways that we can spend our time -- most of them requiring less effort than playing TTRPGs.

So, what is it that keeps you, personally, coming back to playing TTRPGs? What about TTRPGs makes you put the work in,compared to playing board games or video games, or doing any number of other things with your limited free time and disposable income?

Also, if you kind of gave up on TTRPGs (but still engage with the community, obviously) as a past time, why and what replaced them?

I enjoy the challenge and stimulation in making a new world, modeling all the various parts of it, filling it with interesting and exciting things to see and do, and then letting my players loose on it.

 

[dbm]

I think there are many factors in combination which TTRPGs as my primary hobby. I have also done quite a bit of wargaming over the years (though not actively at the moment) and we also do quite a lot of board gaming these days. But RPGs are the #1.

It gives a uniques set of opportunities, all mixed up in an exciting gumbo of enjoyment.

Spending time with friends of many years (some over 40 years) is a big part of it. My experience is that men tend to be poor at maintaining long-term friendships unless there is a shared activity, yet long term friends are really important for mental health and wellbeing. I could get that from the other hobbies, but it is in the mix.

RPGs encourage thinking about things in different ways. Approaching challenges from the perspective of a person other than yourself. Using the tools available to you in creative ways to solve problems, too. There are bits of that in the other hobbies I enjoy, but the GM aspect of RPGs just takes away all constraints as they can adjudicate the outcome of creative actions.

RPGs can also provide some of the specific enjoyment from table top battles, at least to a skirmish level. Big and complex combat with many combatants on both sides can be great fun in systems which make that practical. A couple of the guys in our group have big sets of painted minis too, so you can get the visual spectacle (one even has Dwarven Forge terrain).

RPGs can match some of the puzzle style gameplay you get in some boardgames - how do I get the outcome I want in the current game state? They can also present purely social challenges, and that is a pretty unique capability over other kinds of games. We played quite a bit of Call of Cthulhu and the investigative aspect of that is really great fun, and a way of learning real-world skills, too. Ars Magica is a bit similar in that it is another system with a strong social aspect including politics (small ‘p’) and negotiation between competing priorities from the magi.

I think in summary RPGs provide a unique and varying mix of fun, wrapped up in social connection. I honestly can’t imagine being without that - it is my way of recharging my emotional batteries. Even when I was very young my mum tells me when I came home from school, if it had been a challenging day I would go straight to play with my Lego. So, creative play has always been my way of recharging.

 

[Libertad]

The ability to create memorable stories in good company.