Role Playing 101

Thanks to the members for posting these! If you're new to roleplaying, this page is a great place to start.

Welcome to RPG Laboratory!

Keeton

Perhaps these two definitions from Wikipedia will help clarify things for new arrivals here.

From the Wikipedia definition of a roleplaying game:

"A role-playing game (RPG, often roleplaying game) is a type of game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, players can improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.

A role-playing game rarely has winners or losers. That makes role-playing games fundamentally different from board games, card games, sports and most other types of games. Role-playing games are typically more collaborative and social than competitive.[1] A typical role-playing game unifies its participants into a single team, known as a "party", that plays as a group. Like serials or novel sequences, these episodic games are often played in weekly sessions over a period of months or even years, although some gamers prefer playing one session games.

Role-playing games are a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling. Like novels or films, role-playing games appeal because they engage the imagination. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player at a roleplaying game makes choices that propel the action. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story.

While simple forms of roleplaying exist in traditional children's games such as "cops and robbers", "cowboys and Indians" and "playing house", role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea. Instead, participants in a roleplaying game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief. The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge to full-blown simulations of real-world processes."

From the Wikipedia definition of a computer roleplaying game:

"A computer role-playing game (CRPG[1]) is a video game genre that has its origin rooted in personal computers (PCs) and other home computers, and includes game mechanics and settings derived from those of traditional role-playing games.

Gameplay elements strongly associated with CRPGs, such as statistical character development, have been widely adapted to other video game genres. For example, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, an action game, uses resource statistics (abbreviated as "stats") to define a wide range of attributes including stamina, weapon proficiency, driving, lung capacity, and muscle tone, and uses numerous cutscenes and quests to advance the story. Warcraft III, a real-time strategy game, features heroes that can complete quests, obtain new equipment, and learn new abilities as they advance in level. Some players might say that what separates these from games tradionally termed CRPGs is the inclusion of material not normally considered part of CRPGs, more than the absence of content which often is. However, many CRPG fans would say that the exclusion of these games from the genre stems from a lack of decision in character advancement, one of the key aspects in most CRPGs."

Peace, Errin : )

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

Adventuria Online RPG

I do not think that I could describe what a Role Playing Game (RPG) is better than any of the other comments posted. However, now that you have an idea of what an RPG is, you are probably wondering where you can get started. There are no programs for designing RPG's, no computer or picture tutorials. RPG Laboratory is about a community of like minded gamers who like to make games for its own sake. The so called "tools" is actually the support and feedback of several great RPG and game designers with several works posted on 1KM1KT (the sister site of RPG Lab).
What this means for you is that designing your own game about zombies, fantasy, sporting or mystery is now much easier. Use the Blog to post your idea's and recieve feedback. Create a Book for your game so you can organise the various rules you have developed (though keep in mind you cannot delete a Book once created). Browse through the work of other people on RPG Lab for inspiration, or even comment with your suggestions (others will do the same for you ^_^).
Finally, when it is all done, post it on 1KM1KT for everyone to see, giving your game great exposure and feedback (without the hassle of directing traffic to your webpage). So if you have an idea of a RPG or game you would like to play with your friends but don't know where to start, give RPG Lab a go! It just might be the catalyst you need to finish somthing special that you can share with everyone.

I hope the above is informative, if you have further questions, just post and the friendly RPG Lab crew will gladly help you out!

"The world is your arena now, Sagat, not the street!"
M. Bison, Street Fighter: The Animated Movie

The best way to describe role-playing is that it's a lot like acting. You are a character, and through this character you experience great adventures and perilous danger with the help of the director, know as a GM. But, you're not alone in this. You've got your friends along with you, experiencing these wild adventures and perilousesness (is that even a word? Well, it is now) that the GM can trow at you.
Role-playing also helps you develope logic skills and imaganitive experssions. Through gameplay you can overcome adversitiy, build strong, long-lasting friendship with fellow gamers, and, hey, even find out some things about yourself you never even knew about.
Role-playing games are the basis for most, if not all, forms of gaming out there today. The MMOs, the video games, various card games...these were created from the foundation of a bunch of people getting together and throwing some funky-sided dice around.
It's fun. That's the bottom line. It's free entertainment that you can have with a bunch of your friends and experience a world where anything's possible.

My internet provider is holding my sig hostage. Send help.

Roleplaying is fiction with each other for each other. It is a game for a group of people. You imagine and tell each other a common story by some rules. And why is it called "roleplaying"? Because the most known form of it is when all the players are acting as characters in a fictional world, and the Gamemaster makes up adventures for them to meet.

There are many such games with similar rules, like there are many tabletop games. And there are many fictional settings to be used in this kind of games. Here you will find people who want to make their own RPGs.

Role playing is just great for me, and it always has been a good experience when doing it with somebody who knows what they are doing. Near my house there are rarely any people that actually play rpgs, so its pretty dim a crowd. But online, there is plenty of adventure to be found and plenty of....excitement.

The trick is to find a very nice DM that is willing to let people have fun. the DM is important, and can change a experience. But players are also important. One loudmouth can be dangerous.

I think RPG's became my favorite pastitme ages ago when my cousin and I split the cost of the old Erol Otus redish/pink boxed D&D Basic Set. It brought my cousins and brothers together fighting out and experiencing the stories we all read constantly like Conan and the Lord of the Rings.

More than playing out versions of somebody else's stories it served as a vehicle for us to create our own stories of dungeons, evil wizards, dark elves, and nasty dragon's. Anything we could imagine...could be played out in some way thanks to an RPG. That free from ability to share your imagination with others in a gaming format is still unlike anything else you can experience today.

Now while I do not spend long weekends of slaying dragons and conquering kingdoms any longer, I still do play. The adventures are shorter, yet they still fill that need to create worlds and adventures,share them with friends and family, giving an experience tp all of us more than a movie or book or video game ever could. In a way each of us helped to write a shared story that we all experienced together at the same time. Sometimes we were brave, sometimes cowardly, sometimes victory was snatched from defeat and other times the bad guys win. Each is a small event that leaves a lasting impression. When was the last time Monopoly did that for you!

I hope you will experience some great tales of adventure, and better yest have a chance to share your own creations with your friends and family.

Cheers!

All children have imaginary friends at some point, and create fantastic adventures for their friends and themselves. It may be cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, or just plastic army men storming the beaches of the couch. All children also tend to dislike losing in their fantasy worlds, and sometimes arguments can arise.

Role playing is a way to get in touch with that inner child again, this time with some regulations to avoid the classic exchange:

"Bang! I shot you"
"no you didn't"
"Yes I did"
"No you didn't"
"OK, Bang! now I got you!"
"Hey it was time out..."

RPGs can cover many themes from the playful to the foreboding, but all fall back onto your innate skill to visualize and personify. Its a chance to be with friends, and to explore new worlds through improvisational acting and collective storytelling.

My first suggestion for how to create a game, is to read others. Figure out what type of rules you like and which genres appeal to you. Once your research is done, it becomes quite a bit like cartography. Chose a few benchmarks to outline the setting and system, the systematically fill in the blank areas.

Generally, I find there are two approaches for this mapping process. One can start with a set of rules that they like, and then write a setting that fits them. The other is just the reverse - create a setting, and then write the rules to underline what feats are appropriate in that world.

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

Asking 'how do you do roleplay?' is an incredibly awkward question. It's like asking, how do you write a novel or how do you come up with ideas? Roleplaying is simply the application of imagination to fun. Every system is different but the same skills apply to all. To be a good roleplayer you need to enjoy exploring new worlds, or this one under a new light. You need to be able to express yourself, just a little. You don't need a die, nor a pen or pencil. You need a friend or two (sometimes not even that) and a cohesion as to what it is you are doing. Of course, sometimes dice help.

Roleplaying is fun because it lets you be someone or something else, for just a little while. It gives you a world in which you can act out your desire exactly as they are, without fear of reprisal. It is fun as it allows you to connect with yourself and fellow gamers. Roleplaying is primarily a group activity and the socialising that comes with the games is often as fun as the game itself.

How to get started? Well you could email me and we could start a one on one game. Barring that you could grab some friends and head on over to 1KM1KT (link at top of page) there are some great games up there, all free and ready to play. It doesn't take much effort to create a story and with others to help, you will soon be playing through epics.

If you want to start making your own then you are in the right place. This is were the magic happens. Anything you need to help you can be found in at least one of the members here. Almost all queries will be answered and there is little to no chance of mockery!