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Huh? Role
Playing?
Unfamiliar with
tabletop role playing games? Not to worry, as there is an
extensive body of literature on the subject just a mouse
click away on the internet. See links below for a few that
we recommend.
In
short, role playing games (RPGs) are just as the name
implies; players take on roles in a game. Frankly, in this
authors opinion, and depending on your group’s style of
play, an RPG can be more like a novel or a movie than a
game, and be akin to cooperative storytelling with random,
unknown ‘scenes’ and outcomes occurring which make it very
immersive. There is also no guarantee that the heroes will
succeed at their mission or even survive the adventure,
which makes for some very gritty, compelling and
occasionally nerve wracking sessions.
Another aspect of most role-playing games is the fact that
instead of competing with the other players sitting around
the table, you are normally on the same side and working
together to accomplish some sort of quest, with the game
master (GM) or referee usually serving as the primary
narrator and creator of the setting and all events, beings,
and circumstances outside of each player’s characters (PCs)
control. In The Mutant Epoch, which leans more towards being
a traditional RPG, the players are encouraged to share the
narrative on a limited scale, such as controlling specific
NPCs on behalf of the GM for example, especially if their
own character is not in the current scene where play is
currently taking place.
For
the most part, a tabletop RPG involves a group of players
sitting around a table, with between 2 and 4 players and one
game master the norm, however one GM and one player is
common, while true solo play gaming is also more wide spread
than most gamers admit to. Many gamers are busy with work
and family, or they are separated from their regular gaming
group and still like to tabletop RPG. The Multi-path
adventures published by Outland Arts, such as Blood Road or
Nuke Tower to name only two, are designed for both group
play or solo play as there are many options and possible
outcomes while playing these adventures.
There
are many sorts of RPGs from the old school traditional to
the ‘hippy’ story games style. Traditional games tend to
grant all event, setting and non-player character control
solely to the game master and can lead to a hack and slash
style play where players tend to avoid character to
character or character to non-player character dialogue.
Traditional games can lead to something called
‘railroading’, whereby the GM has a set list of encounters
and treasure, events and NPCs for the players to meet and
tries to coax or force the game session flow down one track,
like a railroad. Killing monsters and taking their stuff can
be enjoyable and a good way to release steam, however a
first person shooter computer game can handle this just as
well.
Story
games, at the opposite end, tend to be focused more on
interaction with NPCs and fellow player characters, instead
of outright killing them, plus, in many of these games the
players either share some degree of story narrative with the
game master, or there is no GM at all. For many new gamers,
the idea of having to dive into a theatrical role is
intimidating and they might find it easier to roll-play at
first instead of role-play. If a group of players are
experienced gamers, or actors, they can easily tackle a
story game, or even turn an old school game into a story
game without even tweaking the rules. For beginning players,
however the concepts of cooperative play, understanding the
game setting, rules and lingo, and differentiating the
various polyhedron dice is usually enough for the first
couple of sessions and so allowing the players to 'test
drive' their characters in the game world and rules
mechanics should suffice.
In
the Mutant Epoch RPG, it is up to the GM and players how
much narrative control, NPC assignment, and interaction with
NPCs to employ. A person new to RPGs might be wholly freaked
out and never shows up at another session to sit at a table
where the huge career gamer with a goatee is fully immersed
in his role as a petite, elf princess and speaking in a
shrill voice whenever uttering the PCs flowery dialogue. In
short, there is a dial setting to each game and each gamer,
a dial which can be adjusted to accommodate the players and
game master to regulate how much character dialogue and play
acting is appropriate. Often times somebody playing with
those he or she has gamed with for many sessions will relax
and get into character more readily, and allow a campaign to
switch over to something resembling a novel instead of a
mere dice game. It is just something that takes time,
allowing the new gamer to feel comfortable at his or her own
pace and get over ones innate, culturally imposed sense of
feeling silly at playing make belief, let alone talking as
his or her character in the 27th century as a
cyborg, mutant or synthetic human.
In
closing, role-playing games are among the most creative,
immersive, socially beneficial, imaginative, and affordable
entertainment mediums ever devised. All you really need is a
rules game book, some paper, polyhedron dice (or a digital
dice roller on a laptop), pencils, a couple of friends or
family members and your imagination to set out on a most
remarkable adventure.
WM
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