I am shocked and appalled... (role playing general conversation)

Schnevets

By the lack of roleplaying discussion. We should fix this:

I'm trying to start a Spirit of the Century game with my summer RP group. A couple of people are whining that it isn't fantasy (they're all DnD fans), and instead I only have 3 players. A little concerned, but hopefully having a faked-his-own-death Teddy Roosevelt NPC will show everyone how awesome the system can be.

Any other games about to happen? Going on? Fun news (How about that Burning Wheel announcement).

Discuss.

Omnutia

Well at least you're not saddened by the lack of board game discussion.

Apsup

(How about that Burning Wheel announcement)

I'm really hoping for new version of Burning Wheel that I can't get players for.

Xefas

So long as we're talking about roleplaying games, I'd just like to throw out there that I would murder a family member of Luke Crane's choice for a Burning [Exalted-but-with-the-names-filed-off]. Which is to say, a game of transhumanist shounen fighting greek tragedy.

KapitänTim

Well at least you're not saddened by the lack of board game discussion.

Badump bump.

Nuri

It's because every time we tried to talk about RPGs, it turned into a certain few members fellating Burning Wheel.

KapitänTim

I heard that Burning Wheel is really just a rip off of D&D.

Ruffas

It's because every time we tried to talk about RPGs, it turned into a certain few members fellating Burning Wheel.

I feel like that could be overcome with a little more danger.

Nuri

It's because every time we tried to talk about RPGs, it turned into a certain few members fellating Burning Wheel.

I feel like that could be overcome with a little more danger.

20% more?

KapitänTim

I'll roll for initiative.

KapitänTim

20!!! Sucess!

Has anyone ever played Scion?

Ruffas

20% more?

D-d-double the danger!

DevilUknow

I've been enjoying the blog Playing D&D with Porn Stars (its 99% punk D&D 1% bewbs) which has led me to enjoy ye olde fashioned D&D w/ Swords and Wizardry.

Churba

It's because every time we tried to talk about RPGs, it turned into a certain few members fellating Burning Wheel.

I'm not fond of BW myself, but I keep turning people onto it, and keep people trying it. I might not like it so much right now, but other people seem to, so it'd be doing them a disservice not to tell them to try it for themselves. Finding what system or game you like is the path to one's gaming pleasure, and who the fuck am I to divert people from the path because I'm not terribly fond of something? Unless it's powerful bad, might as well give it a shot.

TheWhaleShark

I still really want to play Old School Hack some time.

Stupid Burning Wheel getting in the way.

Apreche

The reason there is a lack of RPG talk is because the RPG world moves slowly. It is rare that new stuff comes out worth mentioning, just a few times a year. It also takes significantly more effort to play a tabletop RPG than a video or board game. They get made less often, and played less often, so talk about them is less frequent as well. Even people who have campaigns play just one game for a very long time. That's like the guy who plays tons and tons of Counter-Strike. He doesn't really have that much to say about video games.

Nuri

Even people who have campaigns play just one game for a very long time.

Let me tell you about my character...

TheWhaleShark

Going on?

My Burning Wheel group just got their second Deeds point - 20 sessions into the campaign - after defeating a gigantic frog/fish monster that was threatening a port city. It nearly killed two party members and an NPC.

It terrifies me that my party is within spitting distance of shade-shifting things. Like Sorcery. Or Faith. Or Persuasion.

Also, and I really can't emphasize this enough, you can't let sorcerers actually cast a spell in BW. It ends badly, with sustained natural effect White Fire getting thrown around.

I was doing write-ups regularly, but it became way too much work. There's just so much stuff going on in the games that I can't be bothered to write the stories down.

But to summarize the second arc of my game:

-The half-orc was accused of murder
-One party member got double-crossed by a spy contact and was kidnapped by the half-orc's full-orc brother (which he didn't know he had)
-An orc-held outpost was set on fire, killing countless orc babies inside
-...but not before an orc baby was rescued and carried with the party for a while
-A secret organization sent an elite mage hunter after the party's most powerful mage
-...and got his ass handed to him
-Said very powerful mage then proceeded to summon the ghost of the dead woman and find out stuff
-Two party members murdered the ever-loving shit out of another party member's lover
-There was a bar brawl
-The "paladin" in the group fought a greater god and won (well OK it was a dream, but whatever)
-That powerful mage? The one that summoned a ghost and has a hit squad after him? He leveled a temple in the next city
-And of course, giant frog/fish demon

I'm forgetting things, of course. But there you go. Murder, intrigue, murder, demons, murder, orc babies, murder, murder, GIANT LIGHTNING EXPLOSIONS.

Axel

And that, my friends, is why listening to my former roommate describe what his DM did on their D&D campaigns made me say "no way" to joining in. If that's the cool stuff that's supposed to happen in a Roleplay, I am not roleplaying until I find someone who can give me that kind of an experience. To a lesser degree, obviously, but still. His DM was terrible, and I can say that having never played a Tabletop.

chaosof99

Not trying to be the rules-stickler here or anything, but I find it quite annoying when people don't give their threads a title that is in any way indicative of what the thread is about. It also doesn't help when that person also fails to categorize the thread.

Schnevets

Not trying to be the rules-stickler here or anything, but I find it quite annoying when people don't give their threads a title that is in any way indicative of what the thread is about. It also doesn't help when that person also fails to categorize the thread.

Duly noted. Topic changed.

Well, the game didn't actually pan out because someone skipped and, well RPing with 2 players is just a bit sad. Might switch to Diaspora for some FATE-based fun with an easier to accept setting. Anyone try this system yet?

Nukerjsr

I've only played 3.5 D&D, but I've had loads of fun doing it for several months. It's just turned into an event, where three of us cook for the D&D Group, eat, and hang out for a few hours before we actually get D&D started. And the people I know DMing have fun, because we get to make funny characters and pull of really amazing tricks while role-playing. That's the trick to getting people into these games, having a cool leader who is understanding and is not anal over specific issues. Lots of joking, lots of fun, lots of crazy interaction and absurd skill checks.

Schnevets

I've only played 3.5 D&D;, but I've had loads of fun doing it for several months. It's just turned into an event, where three of us cook for the D&D; Group, eat, and hang out for a few hours before we actually get D&D; started. And the people I know DMing have fun, because we get to make funny characters and pull of really amazing tricks while role-playing. That's the trick to getting people into these games, having a cool leader who is understanding and is not anal over specific issues. Lots of joking, lots of fun, lots of crazy interaction and absurd skill checks.

Agreed. Humor and tolerance may be the two best weapons for hooking a new person to role playing. Of course, then there's the delicate procedure of trying to get them actually take things seriously...

jabrams007

One of these days, I really want to run a campaign of Eclipse Phase.

Apreche

Here is a list of tabletop RPGs that I own copies of, but have yet to play any significant number of times:

Mouse Guard
Blossoms are Falling
Burning Sands: Jihad
Burning Empires
Dogs in the Vineyard
Apocalypse World
Primetime Adventures
Don't Rest Your Head
Kill Puppies for Satan
Shock
Human Contact
My Life With Master
Kagematsu
Paranoia XP
Fiasco

I know, sounds crazy right? A lot of these games I've played once or less than once. Even Paranoia I actually only have played it once, and that was before buying it! Most of them I've played ZERO times! It's hard enough getting people together for a serious board game. An RPG requires additional preparation that makes it even more difficult. This is why there is a lack of RPG talk.

When a geekery requires such a large time investment like tabletop RPGs, it really has to be your primary geekery for you to be able to stay on top of it. If we were going to do lots of RPG talk we would need at minimum a weekly gaming group that played many games, but also did long campaigns. That really shoves out a lot of other geekeries when you give up 5+ hours a week to just one thing.

Matt

Scott, very well said. The barrier to entry just means that RPGs tend to get the short end of the stick.

Personally, I got a copy of Freemarket as a Christmas present and haven't been able to play it once in the six months that I've owned it. For RPGs, they are also so deoendent on having a high quality GM. I am a very inexperienced role-player, yet I am the de facto leader for my group of friends. Therefore I'm never going to wind up busting out an RPG, wind up having to be the one who runs it, and then deliver a shitty experience.

Apreche

I should theoretically be able to get a reliable RPG group together in NYC, but I don't even have time for it myself. How can a non-reliable person be the foundation?

magnusrex

Scott, very well said. The barrier to entry just means that RPGs tend to get the short end of the stick.

Personally, I got a copy of Freemarket as a Christmas present and haven't been able to play it once in the six months that I've owned it. For RPGs, they are also so deoendent on having a high quality GM. I am a very inexperienced role-player, yet I am the de facto leader for my group of friends. Therefore I'm never going to wind up busting out an RPG, wind up having to be the one who runs it, and then deliver a shitty experience.

In my own experience, for any tabletop game it's very hard to get a group to play a RPG or even many board games without an experienced person to mediate/explain/monitor the game. Otherwise, most of the time the games fall apart after a while to at least some degree. However that could have just been the people I have played with before.

Apreche

In my own experience, for any tabletop game it's very hard to get a group to play a RPG or even many board games without an experienced person to mediate/explain/monitor the game. Otherwise, most of the time the games fall apart after a while to at least some degree. However that could have just been the people I have played with before.

I can run the games if noone else. There is no GM shortage here. The problem is just getting enough people who are actually going to invest the necessary effort into every session to show up on a regular basis, self included.

KapitänTim

I am going to play this next month.

Apsup

Reading about Scotts troubles I think that I'm quite lucky for having weekly local RPG-club where I can get my weekly roleplaying going on. Also the clubs format of 5-6 weeks long campaigns means that I get to play and run lots of different games with lots of different people.

Also a little tip to Scott, Dogs in the Vineyard, Don't Rest Your Head and My Life With Master are all games that can be played in short campaigns, that is about 3 sessions. There might be other such games on that list too, but those are the ones I know something about.

Also because this is the thread where people talk about their games let me tell about the campaign I'm running. Space smugglers who'll get mixed in the games of bigger criminals than them. I'm using HeroQuest 2nd edition rules. Not huge fan of the rules, but at least they are fast and simple.