why oh why oh why

12 Dec 2009

I would challenge ANYONE who makes fun of role-playing and talks about the players being sad, boring, friendless, geeks and such like.
My son is a regular role player (less so now as he and his mates are at different unis) and I would sit in the lounge while they got down to work in the dining room. Prior to the session one of them (the nominated story master) would write a scenario of where they were, when (many were historically based), who was involved, secondary characters, what had led up to the events being played, and prepared a swathe of events and threats that would face the charcters during the session.
On arrival the players had prepared their characters - creating not only strengths and weaknesses but developing a back-story that would influence the way the characters would respond to the (as yet) unknown events as they unfolded.
The event begins and the leader sets the characters off on their journey. He describes events in vivid detail, adding in enough atmosphere to make Tolkien jealous. He also describes what terrors and threats face the characters and, using rolls of variously numbered dice, the players describe in great detail how the characters experience these events. With dialogue, sound effects and such like.
There are cries of victory, shouts, laughter, groans of pain and frustration a fair bit of swearing. Pronouncements of doom by the DM, pronouncements like "You cannot cage Nature" (whereupon I called out "No, but you can mow it!"). And at the end they emerge exhausted, happy and excitedly discussing the next session. One scenario carried on for months in real time, with the characters learning any number of new skills, dealing with injuries and some were killed - to the sadness of the creator.
Now, compare that with the 'preffered' way of spending a wet afternoon - which for most people I hear from, is for teenagers to sit alone in their bedroom reading a book.
Role-playing is not a sad, pathetic way for social outcasts to create a false sense of community (ok it CAN be but so can being in ANY club or group). It is far more of an intellectual and social occasion than most people give it credit for. And it's HARD to do it well.
/rant

12 Dec 2009

Quote by foxylady2209
I would challenge ANYONE who makes fun of role-playing and talks about the players being sad, boring, friendless, geeks and such like.
My son is a regular role player (less so now as he and his mates are at different unis) and I would sit in the lounge while they got down to work in the dining room. Prior to the session one of them (the nominated story master) would write a scenario of where they were, when (many were historically based), who was involved, secondary characters, what had led up to the events being played, and prepared a swathe of events and threats that would face the charcters during the session.
On arrival the players had prepared their characters - creating not only strengths and weaknesses but developing a back-story that would influence the way the characters would respond to the (as yet) unknown events as they unfolded.
The event begins and the leader sets the characters off on their journey. He describes events in vivid detail, adding in enough atmosphere to make Tolkien jealous. He also describes what terrors and threats face the characters and, using rolls of variously numbered dice, the players describe in great detail how the characters experience these events. With dialogue, sound effects and such like.
There are cries of victory, shouts, laughter, groans of pain and frustration a fair bit of swearing. Pronouncements of doom by the DM, pronouncements like "You cannot cage Nature" (whereupon I called out "No, but you can mow it!"). And at the end they emerge exhausted, happy and excitedly discussing the next session. One scenario carried on for months in real time, with the characters learning any number of new skills, dealing with injuries and some were killed - to the sadness of the creator.
Now, compare that with the 'preffered' way of spending a wet afternoon - which for most people I hear from, is for teenagers to sit alone in their bedroom reading a book.
Role-playing is not a sad, pathetic way for social outcasts to create a false sense of community (ok it CAN be but so can being in ANY club or group). It is far more of an intellectual and social occasion than most people give it credit for. And it's HARD to do it well.
/rant

That's what scares me- the in-depthness of it. My other other half "overwinters" with the type of thing you've just described- one look at how indepth it is sends me reaching for the panic pills.
He's been a LARP'er for years, and my bessie mate dabbles too. I would love to give it a go, but fear my imagination/brain cell would desert me when I least expected it. Yeah, I can do the dressing up, and am pretty quick witted- but quick witted whilst remembering reams of rules? And reams of realms too? :scared: