Fucking Role-Playing Games
A friend of mine and I had a chat (email) about gaming. It started roughly two days ago, and since then, I have been thinking of little else.
Role-playing has been a very strange obsession of mine, for my entire life. At once I find role-playing the best possible use of one's creativity, the ultimate hobby, and a waste of time in the grand scheme of things: it never really meets expectations, too many things can go wrong.
I'm also an unusual person, with very (very) particular tastes. I want a role-playing game that's a compelling story, but not bogged down in either emotion or detail. I want epic combat, but not a risk of having my character killed. I want variety in setting, but setting that meet my particular preferences. I want a system that facilitates good story-telling, not "realism", but at the same time, bars people from taking actions that are clearly impossible.
Worse, I want the other players in the group to have similar goals. I want to play with a group of people who don't mind their characters being bested now and again, who realize that "character growth" can sometimes entail great loss (be that followers, favorite items, limbs or levels). I want a party that occasionally runs from danger. I want players to seriously consider the ramifications of attacking the duke because he's insulted them. I want players who aren't going to decide it's "in character" for them to leave the party because of a difference in opinion. I want players who are willing to try different gaming systems, to find their strengths and discover what kinds of different stories they are capable of telling.
Role-playing could be such an ideal activity. If I found the right group of people with the right attitude, I could easily do it three nights a week and not feel I were wasting my time. But as I've ever experienced it, it's like mediocre sex: while you're kinda glad you did it, you can't help but feel like it could have been so much better. ...And you feel a little guilty about it, too. : )
Role-playing has been a very strange obsession of mine, for my entire life. At once I find role-playing the best possible use of one's creativity, the ultimate hobby, and a waste of time in the grand scheme of things: it never really meets expectations, too many things can go wrong.
I'm also an unusual person, with very (very) particular tastes. I want a role-playing game that's a compelling story, but not bogged down in either emotion or detail. I want epic combat, but not a risk of having my character killed. I want variety in setting, but setting that meet my particular preferences. I want a system that facilitates good story-telling, not "realism", but at the same time, bars people from taking actions that are clearly impossible.
Worse, I want the other players in the group to have similar goals. I want to play with a group of people who don't mind their characters being bested now and again, who realize that "character growth" can sometimes entail great loss (be that followers, favorite items, limbs or levels). I want a party that occasionally runs from danger. I want players to seriously consider the ramifications of attacking the duke because he's insulted them. I want players who aren't going to decide it's "in character" for them to leave the party because of a difference in opinion. I want players who are willing to try different gaming systems, to find their strengths and discover what kinds of different stories they are capable of telling.
Role-playing could be such an ideal activity. If I found the right group of people with the right attitude, I could easily do it three nights a week and not feel I were wasting my time. But as I've ever experienced it, it's like mediocre sex: while you're kinda glad you did it, you can't help but feel like it could have been so much better. ...And you feel a little guilty about it, too. : )
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