Post by Lin on May 24, 2008 14:26:33 GMT -5
1) Forget the game part. RPGs suck as games. RPGs as random event generators for your characters rock. No matter how interesting you try to make an encounter in an RPG using mechanics, its never going to really be that engaging an experience on the mechanical level. Slightly alternating the odds on whether you succeed or fail on a dice roll is pretty meaningless. What's important is whether or not you care if you succeed or fail. Worry about that and vary the mechanics once in a while for variety's sake. If you care about what you are doing, you won't mind how you are doing it.
2) Forget the rules. The rules are just kind of hanging out, doing their best to resolve your in game conflicts. But remember, this isn't some precariously balanced efficiency game that rewards precise calculations and can easily be upset by minor alteration. Most RPGs have been "solved" or at the very least "understood". They don't strive for balance and even if they did, most them throw so much luck into them that its relatively pointless anyway. Add on to this that different people play the same RPGs in entirely different manners, you can't even make claims about that the rules were even intended to support your manner of play. So, you really should change the rules whenever they get in the way of your vision of how the RPG should function thematically or mechanically.
3) You've got a lot of catching up to do. In a 4 hour RPG session, I could have busted out 6 games of Medici. That's a lot of fun to compete with! And, honestly, the average RPG session really doesn't have as much dramatic content as Lawrence of Arabia. So, the key is pacing. Give the people involved adequate time to digest the latest revelation before adding the next wrench. Let everyone add their piece to the puzzle instead expecting one person to provide it in one giant chunk. But, don't forget to keep the speed relative to the content. Fast things should happen fast and that means
4) Everything needs to be expressed. People know exactly what is happening in their RPG scene, which is good, if the people are all seeing the samething. You absolutely have to figure out some means to express what you are thinking in a matter they understand. Funny voices, props, pantemime, repitition, screaming, sarcasm, whatever. It doesn't matter. Figure out some way to express your thoughts so that the other people actually get what you're going for.
The End
2) Forget the rules. The rules are just kind of hanging out, doing their best to resolve your in game conflicts. But remember, this isn't some precariously balanced efficiency game that rewards precise calculations and can easily be upset by minor alteration. Most RPGs have been "solved" or at the very least "understood". They don't strive for balance and even if they did, most them throw so much luck into them that its relatively pointless anyway. Add on to this that different people play the same RPGs in entirely different manners, you can't even make claims about that the rules were even intended to support your manner of play. So, you really should change the rules whenever they get in the way of your vision of how the RPG should function thematically or mechanically.
3) You've got a lot of catching up to do. In a 4 hour RPG session, I could have busted out 6 games of Medici. That's a lot of fun to compete with! And, honestly, the average RPG session really doesn't have as much dramatic content as Lawrence of Arabia. So, the key is pacing. Give the people involved adequate time to digest the latest revelation before adding the next wrench. Let everyone add their piece to the puzzle instead expecting one person to provide it in one giant chunk. But, don't forget to keep the speed relative to the content. Fast things should happen fast and that means
4) Everything needs to be expressed. People know exactly what is happening in their RPG scene, which is good, if the people are all seeing the samething. You absolutely have to figure out some means to express what you are thinking in a matter they understand. Funny voices, props, pantemime, repitition, screaming, sarcasm, whatever. It doesn't matter. Figure out some way to express your thoughts so that the other people actually get what you're going for.
The End
