Roleplaying in the Computer Age

Travos looked around him at his new surroundings. The small keep behind him was a strong stone structure and in good repair. On the other side of the road directly opposite the keep stood a small group of people. They were merchants. They stood next to a vending wagon that had been opened to display its wares. Beyond them, just where the forest began to thicken, Travos thought he saw the signs of a passing pack of wolves. The beasts appear to have been wandering far too close to the keep and its populace. Travos would have to do something about that. Just ahead of him one of the guardsmen was trying to get Travos’ attention. The guard seemed anxious about something. Something was wrong.

Jennifer moved her mouse pointer over the figure of the guard and clicked on him. The figure had a little exclamation point floating over his head that told Jennifer that the guard had something important to say to her character, Travos. She watched the computer screen as Travos quickly moved over to stand next to the guard.

Travos took a deep breath as he approached the man. Today would be the first day of a grand adventure.

“How do I use the games on this site?”

Many gamers today relate role-playing games to computer games. The computer role-playing game (abbreviated RPG) is actually a migration of a game that people can play together around a table. The migration from tabletop to computer is a popular trend in gaming. Many games have made this transition. When is the last time you saw someone playing solitaire at a table with a deck of playing cards? When is the last time you saw someone play solitaire at their computer?

Like solitaire, computer RPGs and MMORPGs began life at the tabletop. This site is full of various rules systems and mechanics for playing the tabletop version of an RPG. When you click on one of the game documents provided on this site, you receive a set of guideline for playing your own role-playing game at home with your friends.

Most of the game documents available here assume that you as “the reader” have some experience with this kind of RPG. This article is intended for those people who find their way to this site and have never played an RPG at the tabletop before.

Tabletop Role-playing Basics

“How does it work?”

Imagine that you are sitting around your dining room table with a few of your friends. One of your friends is describing a scene to you:

You are standing in front of a small keep. The keep is a strong looking stone structure in good repair. On the other side of the road opposite the keep is a wagon. The wagon is open and various items have been laid out on it for display. It looks like there may be some articles of clothing and also some basic weapons here. A few people stand near the wagon keeping an eye on it and its contents. Beyond the vender wagon there is a tree line, the beginnings of a forest. You think that you can see some kind of animal tracks in the ground near the trees. On the road ahead of you a man is approaching. He is dressed in chain armor and the heraldry on his surcoat indicates that he is affiliated with the keep behind you. You think that he might be a castle guard. He is heading your direction and appears to want to speak with you. What do you do?

GAME MASTER (GM) or DUNGEON MASTER (DM)

Most tabletop RPGs assume that one person will take the role of a special kind of player called the Game Master. This person will describe the game world to the other players, set the scene for them and help them to “visualize” in their imaginations where their characters are and what they are doing at the moment.

CHARACTERS or PLAYER CHARACTERS (PC)

The other players each adopt the role of a singular character within the game world. These players (generally from 2 to 4 in number) will listen to the descriptions provided by the GM and respond to the GM’s descriptions by answering the question, “What do you do?”

Jennifer responds to the GM’s description. “I want Travos to go look at the animal tracks to see what they are, but since this guy seems like he wants to talk to me, I’ll wait to do that for a minute and go up to him. Travos will walk up to the castle guard and say, *Greetings, sir. Are you a guard here at this keep?*” Jennifer speaks on behalf of her character, Travos and addresses the guard that the GM has described to her.

Other players around the table will each take a turn to describe the actions of their characters. This is how role-playing around a tabletop works.

The Game Master will have a set of “encounters” in mind before the game session begins. These encounters are meant to provide an impetus for the other players and to give their characters some motivation to take action. The string of encounters and player responses when taken together will work to tell a sort of adventure story.

“Interesting, but what makes this a game?”

RPGs are generally meant to simulate dramatic adventure stories. Adventure stories are often filled with perilous action sequences that endanger the heroes of the story in some manner. To simulate this sense of danger an element of uncertainty is introduced into the game play.

Before there were RPGs there were miniature battle games. War game simulations that used miniature figures to represent troops have been used by combat tacticians for centuries. These war simulations evolved over the years into battle games played by hobbyists. At first the intent of these games was to recreate historical battles. Then, thanks largely to the popularity of a fictional work of magical high fantasy called, “The Lord of the Rings” players began to introduce more fantastical elements into their battle simulations.

This was the beginning of an evolution that was to become the modern RPG. It is important to note the origins of this hobby because it will help to explain the other primary focus of an RPG.

COMBAT

The guard steps up to you. He wears concern on his face and diverts his gaze over to the tree line and into the forest. “Greetings …” He addresses you. “I was told that help might be coming. The wolves have grown very active recently and people have grown afraid. Conflict with the kingdom to the north has the castle guard worn thin and we haven’t the manpower to deal with the problem. The baron has placed a bounty on wolf pelts in hopes that enterprising mercenaries and trappers might journey here and help to thin the population.”

Assuming the player characters decide to accept this challenge, the above encounter is meant to provide the PCs with a reason to venture out into the forest and do battle with wolves. In most role-playing games combat is very structured and played in turns just like any other game a group of people might play around a table. On their turn each PC could roll some dice and consult the rules of the game to determine if they were able to hit and injure the wolf. The GM would also take a turn on the wolf’s behalf rolling dice to try to hit and injure one of the PCs.

The rules about how combat works and what the numbers mean when you roll dice vary greatly from game to game. This is what the rules documents are about. There are different ideas for generating numbers and resolving conflicts. There are also many different settings and backgrounds. Maybe the PCs will pretend to be brave knights and warriors in a medieval world filled with dragons and magic. Maybe they are super powered vigilantes who don spandex costumes to patrol the streets of a modern city and fight to keep it free of crime. Maybe they are star faring pirates who travel in a space ship from planet to planet looking for treasure.

THE RULES IN PLAY:

Jennifer has told the GM that Travos would accept the guard’s suggestion and venture into the forest in search of wolves. She has told the GM that Travos is following the tracks he saw earlier and that he is keeping his eyes peeled for danger.

The GM tells Jennifer that a gigantic wolf has jumped out from the underbrush to attack her.

The GM tells Jennifer to roll to see who goes first.

The GM rolls for the wolf and Jennifer also rolls. Jennifer rolls higher so she gets to go first.

Jennifer explains that she wants Travos to try to hit the wolf with his sword. The GM tells Jennifer what she must roll in order to hit and she rolls her dice. The roll is high enough so Travos hits the wolf with his sword.

Jennifer rolls more dice to determine how much damage the sword blow does to the wolf and the GM reduces the wolf’s “life” by the damage amount.

Both the GM and Jennifer have note paper in front of them. On this paper are various pieces of information. Like how much damage Travos’ sword inflicts or how much “life” the wolf has.

It’s now the GM’s turn and he describes to Jennifer how the wolf lunges back at Travos and tries to bite him. The GM rolls the dice but doesn’t roll high enough for the wolf to hit Travos so Travos evades the attack and his able to take his turn again.

Jennifer rolls to hit the wolf again and rolls high enough to hit. She rolls damage again and the GM reduces this additional damage from the wolf’s remaining “life.” This new damage drops the wolf’s life total down to less than zero and the GM reports to Jennifer that the wolf falls to the ground lifeless and defeated.

“How does the GM know what number Jennifer needs to roll for Travos to hit?”

“How does the GM know how much “life” the wolf has? How much damage a sword does?”

That’s what the RPG rules are for. Rules will answer these questions and make it possible for the Player Characters and the Game Master to simulate all manner of physical conflicts.

If you can, find someone who has played a tabletop RPG before and ask them to be your GM. If not, review this introduction again, and read the rules presented in any one of the free game downloads. Once you think you have a good “feel” for how things should go in your head, give it a try. There is no teacher better than hands-on experience. Oh, and feel free to post questions in the forums here. We love questions!

“Why play this way… why not just play a computer game?”

The Game Master has the freedom to create any manner of story they can imagine. The Player Characters can respond to the situations presented by a living Game Master in ways a computer could never predict. Tabletop RPG’s are about creative freedom. This method of gaming also offers a level of social interaction unequalled by the computer world of instant messages.

There is nothing better than sitting down around the table with a few friends, ordering a pizza or two and losing yourself in a world of fantastic adventure. You will build memories together that will last the rest of your life.


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