Quote from: jeff37923;819999Vampire LARPing is what sucked the most about Vampire.

ba-dump-bump.

Quote from: RPGPundit;819914Let's say you had to teach a university-level course on RPGs.  You had to choose any three RPGs as examples that would be looked at in depth: which three would you use?  What would be your reasons for choosing them?

Would the answer be any different if it was a class of junior high students?

I would choose:

1) OD&D because this was the first RPG. I could use a few retro-clones like Swords & Wizardry along it, just to tell about the OSR movement and such.

2) Call of Cthulhu because this game was (is) entirely dedicated to bringing to life the literary universe of an author; it's also a game of ambiance, not just adventure and fun.

3) Eclipse Phase because it's so modern, both in its content (it's a sci-fi game well thought out) and the way it was released (through online with kickstarter, etc.). It's beautifully illustrated, thick, and free for download, which would also be a good thing for the students.

The same for both younger and older students, because it's a pastime, not something difficult to wrap one's brain around.

For a college-level course, I would totally take a historical approach, and use way more than three games. On the D&D side of things,  OD&D, Judges Guild supplements, the Red Box, AD&D 1e and several classic modules, the original Dragonlance modules and novels, AD&D 2e with novel-tie-in-centric Forgotten Realms stuff, D&D 3e, 4e and 5e; Pathfinder and at least one Adventure Path; a bunch of OSR stuff, probably OSRIC, LotFP and DCC at very least, and again a bunch of modules.

Outside the D&Dsphere, Runequest 1e and/or 2e, Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, Twilight: 2000, Champions (no idea which edition), Rolemaster, WFRP 1e, GURPS, MSH, something or other by Palladium (TMNT&OS, most likely), Vampire: the Masquerade 1e and/or 2e, Castle Falkenstein and/or Deadlands and/or Heavy Gear, FUDGE, Sorcerer, Dogs In The Vineyard, some heavy duty Forge storygames like Polaris or Grey Ranks or A Flower For Mara, FATE, Trail of Cthulhu, Eclipse Phase, Apocalypse World, WFRP 3e...

Yeah, it's a lot of games, I know. But I feel I'd have to reach far and wide, up to and including the storygame bin, to methodically paint a comprehensive picture of this crazy diverse hobby.

For a class of junior high students? I'd rather give them a 15-minute introduction to the hobby and then set up three game tables. A DCC game with classic fantasy sensibilities straight out of a hackneyed CRPG, spiced up with trademark DCC gonzo (think Forgotten Realms on LSD); a nWoD Hunter: the Vigil game pitting them against a slasher or a vampire for that classic late night horror movie feel, or maybe a self-contained zombie apocalypse scenario; and something sci-fi (Traveller is tempting but may be off mark unless I play it gritty hard SF, maybe milSF; Star Wars might be an easier sell but I'm not familiar with the FFG game; Eclipse Phase is too weird for junior high kids... I'm open to suggestions).

Quote from: TristramEvans;820040I mentioned it.

My bad. I was looking for bullet points.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition - might as well use the current version but describe and explain the history of the various editions.

Classic TRAVELLER (Maybe combined with Mongoose version) - As a contrast A sci Fi space based role playing game.

GURPS - because it is so noticeably different from D&D in its approach and style - but still a tabletop RPG.

- Ed C.

The last thing I would want to teach is an historical survey of the popular. I'd really want to push myself and the students into some really fun stuff. Like:

Theology > Christian Studies > Transitioning Perceptions of the Demonic in Personal Play Amid the Turn of the Millennium.

This class compares and contrasts the developing outlooks of the demonic within the Christian World during play. Survey material would explore the divided outlook across the Atlantic Ocean, the divided deference to religion or secularism, and how these aesthetic decisions shaped material from art to game mechanics. Material would cover AD&D 2e (established canon editing, Planescape setting), Kult, Aquelarre, Demon: the Fallen, INS/MV (& its INS SJG conversion), Little Fears (cardinal sins), Seventh Sign, Engel & Nephilim (& conversion), DragonRaid, Heaven & Earth, Warhammer (Chaos emphasis), and others.

Actual engagement with the material's mechanics & art will be expected of students during this course's survey.

Quote from: Beagle;820006Maybe. I associate vampire larps mostly with hanging round a bunch of girls in goth attire and heavy makeup, flirting with a bunch of insecure guys trying to look dignified in their vampire costumes (and usually failing at that). It's basically a very safe room for shy people trying to play dashing, romantic figures, where you can do - or wear - something outrageous without backfiring on yourself. The supposed character serves as an armor for the personal dignity: If everyone looks and acts like a buffoon, nobody truly does.

(shrugs) And a lot of people associate tabletop with pimply, misogynist, pasty-white fatsos spitting Doritos crumbs across the floor and babbling ad nauseam about how incomparably powerful and dangerous their Lawful Good 23rd level paladin-wizards are.

While we're talking about asinine stereotypes.

Quote from: Ravenswing;820224(shrugs) And a lot of people associate tabletop with pimply, misogynist, pasty-white fatsos spitting Doritos crumbs across the floor and babbling ad nauseam about how incomparably powerful and dangerous their Lawful Good 23rd level paladin-wizards are.

While we're talking about asinine stereotypes.

I'm sorry if you think I have misrepresented the LARP community, but that is my first hand experience from back in the day. The vampire LARP I participated in collapsed with the introduction of the nWoD and the resulting split in the player base, but until then, I was there, once a month, wearing apinstripe suit, a spiked dog collar and the 'freiwilliger Helfer der Volkspolizei' armband that identified me as one of the Sherriff's men. I'm pretty sure I looked utterly ridiculous (we all did, mostly by playing after sunset and wearing sunglasses) but it was honestly a great time before it was killed in a pointless edition war, and I sometimes remember it with genuine nostalgia.

Sometimes, these stereotypes have a true enough core, and sometimes it is just great to embrace that nonsense and enjoy it for what it is. I did, and I rather enjoy being an utter buffoon in the companion of other likealbe buffoons, but that doesn't mean one couldn't or shouldn't acknowledge how ridiculous that whole thing is.

Quote from: Beagle;820231I'm sorry if you think I have misrepresented the LARP community, but that is my first hand experience from back in the day. The vampire LARP I participated in collapsed with the introduction of the nWoD and the resulting split in the player base, but until then, I was there, once a month, wearing apinstripe suit, a spiked dog collar and the 'freiwilliger Helfer der Volkspolizei' armband that identified me as one of the Sherriff's men. I'm pretty sure I looked utterly ridiculous (we all did, mostly by playing after sunset and wearing sunglasses) but it was honestly a great time before it was killed in a pointless edition war, and I sometimes remember it with genuine nostalgia.

Sometimes, these stereotypes have a true enough core, and sometimes it is just great to embrace that nonsense and enjoy it for what it is. I did, and I rather enjoy being an utter buffoon in the companion of other likealbe buffoons, but that doesn't mean one couldn't or shouldn't acknowledge how ridiculous that whole thing is.

See, that doesn't seem so bad. It reads like it was harmless fun. My own experience was of a convention being shut down because members of the Cam decided that LARPing meant you should go out of your way to freak out people not involved in the LARP and be general nuisances to everyone else.