What is Roleplaying? Do readers need to know?

Submitted by Jeff Moore on Tue, 2007-11-20 11:24.

I originally posted this in my Five by Five RPG post, but I decided that the subject matter might be interesting enough on its own to warrant an individual post. It's about the addition of RPG Introductory type content to online RPG PDF's.

It started because I updated my game ... Five by Five.PDF

So, I added a little of the whole... "This is how to role-play..." kind of text and reorganized the document a bit to accommodate the new content. To be honest, I am on the fence about whether or not I really like the change.

The new text is fine. I do think it adds something ... but it just feels like the "flow" of the document is "off" now... I don't know.

I had a discussion with my girl friend the other night about why I always tend to use d6's in my games. I explained how access to a gaming store was non-existent where I grew up and that I wasn't able to get "real" dice when I was a kid, and how I had to play with d6's. So, I use d6's now because I want everyone to be able to play my games with minimal investment.

She was of the mind that anyone who would seek-out and find an RPG on the web and print it out to play it would already be a "gamer" by definition and would already have the various polyhedral dice that most RPG's use.

Maybe this is true. Maybe too, it is true that all that "What is Role-Playing" stuff isn't needed in most online RPG's.

What do you think? How important is this content to an online RPG? Does this material added to Five by Five corrupt the flow of information when compared to the original document?

I am of mixed feelings. It seems like plenty of people who stumble upon "RPG Lab" are computer gamers, not tabletop gamers. So they would benefit from the material. But, will they even bother to read it... or will they immediately move on the instant they realize that this wasn't the stuff they were looking for?

Any thoughts on the subject are Welcome.

Jeff Moore
http://www.1km1kt.net/Jeff-Moore.htm

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I think they are an important part of any RPG

Submitted by ErrinF on Wed, 2007-11-21 11:41.

When I was younger and first started getting into RPGs, I always learned something new each time i got my hands on a RPG and read the 'what is roleplaying?' section. No two are quite alike. I think a brief synopsis of roleplaying is essential for most RPGs, and a more detailed synopsis is beneficial for most RPGs and RPG players.

I don't know if I would remove such a synopsis just because a RPG is available for download online. You and I may have gone to the ol' game store when we were kids, but i bet there are a few kids today who might get their gaming material almost entirely online. Sure, they can 'google' what roleplaying is, but perhaps the way you explain it in your game ends up giving them a better picture of the concept. With the internet, you never know if your RPG will end up in the hands of a beginner or expert, child or adult. So I'd say have such a section if you can fit it in. It can only do good.

Peace, Errin : )

http://www.1km1kt.net/Errin-Famiglia.htm

Adventuria Online RPG

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Well

Submitted by Evil1 on Tue, 2007-11-20 22:41.

Generally, most people should and probably do know how to roleplay if they are at this site. (unless its the random people that google random words to find websites)

1km1kt seems to be a site that can only be found by those who want to find it. same with rpglab.

as for D6, same story. I was( and still is) poor when i was but a wee psychokiller. therefore i never could get the money to invest in these weird things like "rowl playin" and "wah hammah". and "vampire the masquerade" sounded like a good movie title. and thus never gettingt "real" roleplayin dice.

Of course since then i have researched and learnt what i was missing. (Me; huge fan of WoD Hunter and Vapire). a few monthes back i walked into the local "granpa's gaming" store and the clerk was talking to a man and woman. "Well, you mess with one tremere you mess with all of them. everybody thinks that as a brujah you can waste anybody, but not when your heart explodes in court for the magepires you murdered". I litterally knew what he was talking about seconds after i picked it up in my ears.

Roleplaying is simply not something thats taught, its learned by experiance. And the people who come here for roleplaying games may or may not know what to do.

My games use D6 to be as new player friendly as possible yet gritty enough to (hopefully) attract players that know what they are doing and want to try something different.

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Out of character discussion

Submitted by Chainsaw Aardvark on Tue, 2007-11-20 13:35.

Much of the time it seems to just be a variation of a standard boilerplate statement. As is, I rarely notice such since I'm already quite familiar.

If the text was different each time around, and operated in part as an introduction/design notes then I would find them more useful.

Theoretically, such a statement stands as an introduction to what the author intends for the game to be about. A claim that the game is about collaborative storytelling may be interpreted differently than noting its about being heroes and bashing in doors.

It should be less "what is role playing" and more of "what is this role playing"

Another part of the problem with including one is that its usually a different tone or style than the rest of the text. D&B has a short bit that gives 3 definitions, each a bit more irreverent than the last - and well separated from the horror theme. However, how can you explain an RPG from the inside out, rather than standing back and give a dictionary definition? (I've seen a comic strip by Dork Tower, admittedly, but thats at least partially a joke)

Now, I will say that I came across RPGs by a round-about fashion, and the text would have helped me then. But - I didn't really start searching out games on the internet until a few years after I had been playing. (This may also have been because I had a 2880 modem at home until I got to college. Unfortunately, I still have a 2880 modem at home...) so if people actually hunt down these games without prior knowledge is a good question.

A possible solution may be to include the statement on the website, so they can read what it is before downloading a file.

There is a fine line between hobby and obsession. I seem to have lost sight of it some time ago.

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I'd tend to agree

Submitted by Gentleman John on Tue, 2007-11-20 16:52.

None of us are writing games for beginners here, and I think that RPing has actually become widespread enough that most people know what is going on. However, it is definitely a good idea to give a guide as to exactly what the philosophy behing the game. In my opinion, there are more than enough games out there where the authors try to be different for the sake f being different and give no idea of what they expect players to do with their games.

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This is what was needed

Submitted by Relentless96 on Sun, 2007-11-25 00:42.

On an interesting note, in typing my own works recently, I hit the snag of describing what an RPG was. What should I include? Should there be a play example? How much detail should I go to?

Reading this topic has helped a lot, as I have realised I have been stressing over nothing. You guys are right in that only dedicated gamers find this kind of stuff. Plus, they probably already own professional publications that explain it better than I ever could.

This is good, because it means I can stop stressing about this part of the document and get back to typing the game. Another excellent topic by Jeff Moore.

http://www.1km1kt.net/Aaron-White.htm

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