Falling down the rabbit whole - first glance at RPG.
Through my presentations I would like to share with you my
hobby and passion. All three will be dedicated to it and will discuss the
various aspects of it and some advice for people who would like to give it a
try.
But what am I talking about? Nothing else than RPG, which
stands for Role Playing Games. I'm sure that this topic makes a 100% on your
geek alert, but I shall not falter! Before I go on I would like to make it clear
I am not talking about computer games. RPG computer games, or cRPG have been
created to somehow create a possibility
of enjoying the regular Pen and Paper RPG's without being forced to make
appointments with other people.
Other people. This is something I think should be pointed
out. A real Role Playing Game, called pen and paper as I mentioned a moment
ago, is something you do with a group of friends. Basically the idea is to role
play characters, heroes of an adventure in a more or less realistic world,
surviving more or less fictional events. I like to think of a RPG session as
storytelling or better yet, story weaving, because the people taking part in it
weave a story together.
Apart from players, a RPG session requires a Game Master who
can be thought as the director of the story. Fundamentally, he describes a
situation to players, who then react to it. In other words, it is the game
master's responsibility to prepare a scenario, an adventure in which the player
shall set heroes, whom they will create themselves. Then the GM will guide the
heroes through the adventure, although that does not mean he will help them.
Usually the GM should be merely an observer and the motor of the imaginary
world in which the adventure is set, giving a reaction to every action the
players input through the means of their heroes.
RPGs can come in many different flavors. Many rulebooks have
been written, giving a reader a detailed description of a world, and some
mechanics and rules that help to decide the outcome of actions. From the most
commonly known I can point out the infamous Dungeons and Dragons, or Warhammer
and the World of Darkness. There are also many rulebooks that are almost not
known at all. But the truth is, you don't even need a rulebook to enjoy a good
RPG evening with your friends. You can come up with your own world, or even
simply play in the real one. You can have fun in a scenario placed in the
country where you live in, maybe only adding a few twists. If anybody read any
of the Jakub Wędrowycz series, they will know what I'm talking about. It can be
as fun to play the role of a medieval knight fighting dragons as it could be to
play a homeless guy in Warsaw. Seems stupid? What if the homeless guy is the
only witness of a crime? And now the villain is after him? Inspiration for an
adventure can be found everywhere around us, in the news, in movies, in books.
And through RPGs we can create our own stories, together with a group of
friends, which can be as good as any Spielberg movie. It just takes a bit of
imagination.
In the next publication I will talk about RPG's from the
players’ point of view and give some advice. In the mean time:
1. Have you ever played a pen and paper RPG? Did you like
it?
2. Do you think these games can be fun and creative or are
they just a waste of time?
Comments
I think those types of games are fun and create new bonds between friends. We can be creative, compete or cooperate at the same time with people we see everyday at work/school and talk about it later for hours.
Of course nowadays I don’t have so much time to do this but from time to time we try to continue our common hobby. This is a perfect way of staying in touch with each other. Of course those meetings can’t go one without couple of beers, and often we don’t really remember where we ended the story:)
As for the second question I definitely think that gaming (computer, paper or whatever you can think of) is not a waste of time. Of course it is not an entertainment for everybody. I generally think that whatever makes you happy and relaxed is not a waste of time, if you do it on some limited bases , and you don’t neglect your everyday duties (and you don’t brake law of course)
Last spring my friends organized a game called „Wedding”. The rules were quite simple. We were at an imaginary polish wedding in the 90ties. Everyone got his or her character and a challenge, and of course had to dress up. I don't know if it was RPG or just a special party but we had a lot of fun. If RPG looks like our game, I want to start playing.
Cheers.
I have played it and I still play. Being able to depict myself as a different person in certain situation/story is the feeling only a good book can bring you close to.
2. Do you think these games can be fun and creative or are they just a waste of time?
They can be fun. If you are playing with a good team and story teller it can be pretty creative (or at least creative to the point when you always come up with a way to put C4 into your plan). Is it a waste of time? I don't think so. It really helps your creativity and is a better way to chill out than a computer game.
Yes, it was fun. I played AD&D and some others too. I think this is much more interesting than computer games, but it all depends on game master and other players. It doesn't limit people as players and they can whatever they want.
2. Do you think these games can be fun and creative or are they just a waste of time?
Well, sure - it's waste of time, sessions I had were at least 4 hours long. But it's worth it, it's very creative, relaxing and interesting, playing with each others' minds only. I'd recommend it to everybody, to play it at least once and check what is it all about.