What makes rpg's special to me has to be the sheer creativity is allows.

Combined with the social interaction it just rules.

I love a good game of risk, wargames, scrabble, monopoly, etc..but pen and paper rpg's beat all of them for my personal enjoyment.

I'll break down what makes an RPG unique. Actually, I'll just break down what makes an RPG different than a typical "game". These answers are set out as if RPGs were being described as "a game", and the question is "what makes RPGs different than a 'regular game'."

1) The ability to customize your playing piece in the game. A character might even be assigned, but you play them as you want, inject character into the playing piece, and get to guide that's playing piece's growth.

2) Rules are present (usually) to guide possibilities in play, rather than lay out the inherent flow of the game. In Monopoly, you proceed around the track laid out. In Descent, you move your tokens through a maze. In D&D, the environment is present, and you use rules to arbitrate the choices the player makes, which are infinite.

3) It assumes a common understanding of reality. The playing pieces are "real people in their world", the environment "works like it should", even where that's not laid out.

4) It requires one player to act as the game master, who presents the situation to the rest of the players, usually keeping "unknown" elements secret. This game master acts as referee, a story guide / director, and creative content manager all in one.

5) It's amateur. People engage in this at a hobby level, for the most part, unpaid. It is done for entertainment / fun value.

6) It is continuous. Most playing groups play the same pieces from game to game, engaging in a campaign that is like a story, continuing until some real life situation ends the coherency of the group or they choose to do something else. All role-playing games assume the players will play the game over a series of sessions, and do (at minimum) small campaigns.

7) It involves drama. In Fury of Dracula, the player running Dracula might insert bits of Dracula impersonations while having fun, but there is no need to. In an RPG, it is assumed that the game master is, at least, acting to characterize the fictional persons of the game world, and this is necessary. As well, players are taking on the role of their playing piece, be that as an invisible controller or deep immersion akin to method acting.

There is no scoring. While playing pieces grow, and this is part of the enjoyment, it is not "the point of the game". There is no winner. An RPG is there to gather a group of players together, share the game experience, and walk away having been entertained. A narrative of sorts, following lucky / amusing characters can also be generated from RPG (a story of sorts). At the end of a campaign, however, no one player is declared "winner", and praise if more often given for 'fun play' over 'amassing character progression' (ie: experience, treasure, power).

There's likely more I could add, but I think this covers it.

Quote from: Marleycat;755479They cause a bunch of 40-50 year old men to enter frothing at the mouth rages on the internet if they decide you're not playing pretend elves correctly?

This is absolute bullshit. I can't believe you would even say this. That is just so ignorant and honestly, I expect better of you.

I'm 30, thank you very much.

Quote from: Coffee Zombie;7556031) The ability to customize your playing piece in the game.

This is an important one for me. Your character isn't just a playing piece; they're a person, living in the world, with their own mannerisms, hopes, goals, opinions, etc.

You can pretend that in board games and computer games, but it's never quite the same, because there's nothing to back it up - the game mechanics make you the same as every other character of your type, and you can't go outside of those personality lines.

In an RPG? There are no lines.

To me it has long been the ability to try anything you want in the game. In a board game, I have to stay on the board withnin the confines of the rules. In a video game I can push more, but am still bound within whatever the programmers have put into place. In an RPG I can attempt anything my character could reasonably achieve. That is what makes me feel like I am there in a way I just never got with books or movies.

Uh Oh. The N word.

Narrative! Narrative! Narrative!


I find it interesting that the word's meaning shifts dramatically when applied as an intentional thing, as opposed to being viewed as a result.

But surely you can makeup a character in improv acting, you get continuity reading and episodic story in a comic or watching a TV show, you get to act in large freeform fictionalised universe if you write fan fic, you get to model real world physics using dice etc on a table top war game.

So what is the edge that RPGs have that say you can't get from writing shared fan fic on a Harry Potter forum. Or maybe that is an RPG as well.......

Quote from: Bill;755621Uh Oh. The N word.

Narrative! Narrative! Narrative!


I find it interesting that the word's meaning shifts dramatically when applied as an intentional thing, as opposed to being viewed as a result.

Well, I think there's a clear distinction that should be made to clarify the proper context.  Narrative can apply to several different things.  When I'm using it, I don't mean everyone sits around in a circle and tells a story about what they want to happen with each of their characters.  I mean the story is generated from the result of the game play and actions of the PCs and results of the die rolls.

That is, much less this:

"Hagar will venture into the Caves of Chaos, where he will slay the ogre with a lucky mighty blow, and rescue the prisoners from the evil bugbears!"

and more of this:

"Hagar ventured into the Caves of Chaos, where he got a critical hit at the right moment just as the ogre was wiping out the rest of his party, slaying him.  He then found himself in the bugear lair where he and his friends freed the slaves."

What is so unique about chairs?

Like Jibba said, what makes RPGs unique is the role playing.  You're expected to perform a personality shift and then interact with the rules of a game in concert with others who are also personality shifted.

So it isn't just "pretend to be someone else",  but closer to "pretend to be someone else and play poker the same way they would".

"I'm bluffing on this hand because that's what my character would do."

That actually sounds like an awesome poker night!

Have you ever watched a film or TV programme and said "Why did they do that?" or "I wouldn't do that"? Gave you ever wondered what it would be like to live in olden times, or on a moonbase? Have you every wanted to be Robin Hood, King Arthur or one of the Three Musketeers? If so, then play a RPG and see what you would do.

It's a way to explore a character, a world, a set of beliefs, a story within a framework that makes it challenging, exciting and fun. It can be a one-off experience or a series, with as much detail as you want, or don't want.

It's a fun way of spending 4 hours a week.

Quote from: mcbobbo;755639Like Jibba said, what makes RPGs unique is the role playing.  You're expected to perform a personality shift and then interact with the rules of a game in concert with others who are also personality shifted.

So it isn't just "pretend to be someone else",  but closer to "pretend to be someone else and play poker the same way they would".

"I'm bluffing on this hand because that's what my character would do."

That actually sounds like an awesome poker night!

But that is the way I do everything

Quote from: Ravenswing;755541...

It's in the continuity -- that whatever the improv troupe comes up with carries over to (and shapes) the next session, and the next one after that.

Fantastic point! I agree.

Quote from: Coffee Zombie;755603...

There's likely more I could add, but I think this covers it.

Awesome description. Well said.

Quote from: Emperor Norton;755605This is absolute bullshit. I can't believe you would even say this. That is just so ignorant and honestly, I expect better of you.

I'm 30, thank you very much.

*Badump bump spash*. The Emperor will be here all week folks, don't forget to tip the moderators!

Quote from: Sacrosanct;755631That is, much less this:

"Hagar will venture into the Caves of Chaos, where he will slay the ogre with a lucky mighty blow, and rescue the prisoners from the evil bugbears!"

and more of this:

"Hagar ventured into the Caves of Chaos, where he got a critical hit at the right moment just as the ogre was wiping out the rest of his party, slaying him.  He then found himself in the bugear lair where he and his friends freed the slaves."

Agreed.

Strangely, most "storygames" are far more the latter than the former.  The former is really the focus of 80s/90s railroad games (and, to a certain extent, modern "Adventure Path" or "Plot Point" style games).

Most of the stuff mentioned here is shared by the sessions of my friend's 6yr old and me playing dolls... and I don't mean that as a negative at all.