Friday, March 02, 2007
While thinking about what exactly it is I want out of my RPG experiences, I think I have come to a conclusion -- that what I think I want and what I really want are two different things. Sure, there's some overlap there. I know I want a story and I know I want everyone around me to talk in character and not disrupt the game with a lot of out-of-character chatter, but I'm now pretty damn sure the rules of the game are more important to me than I would have admitted in the past.
Even though it was a few months ago now, I think the Wushu: The Dogs of War adventure I ran for my regular group was what paved the way for this epiphany. Wushu makes you focus on the narrative -- on the story, on the character interactions and especially on the combat descriptions -- while eliminating most of the rules roleplayers just assume will be there. The rules are so simple that their only purpose is to provide a framework that lets you know when the scene is over.
Wushu actually felt very freeform, which is a style I'm pretty sure is not for me. I don't understand the fun in freeform play-by-post games (using the word "game" loosely here), and sitting around a table doing something similar strikes me as an odd pastime to have.
Perhaps I'm simply not that good of an improv storyteller, but it seems to me that the rules are vastly more important than I've stated in the past. Granted, I've always been a believer that the rules are very important to the game, but I've always stressed story and character development over those rules. I'm starting to think that instead of a 75/25 split for story/rules, the way I enjoy roleplaying may actually be closer to a 60/40 or even a 50/50 split.
Food for thought.
Even though it was a few months ago now, I think the Wushu: The Dogs of War adventure I ran for my regular group was what paved the way for this epiphany. Wushu makes you focus on the narrative -- on the story, on the character interactions and especially on the combat descriptions -- while eliminating most of the rules roleplayers just assume will be there. The rules are so simple that their only purpose is to provide a framework that lets you know when the scene is over.
Wushu actually felt very freeform, which is a style I'm pretty sure is not for me. I don't understand the fun in freeform play-by-post games (using the word "game" loosely here), and sitting around a table doing something similar strikes me as an odd pastime to have.
Perhaps I'm simply not that good of an improv storyteller, but it seems to me that the rules are vastly more important than I've stated in the past. Granted, I've always been a believer that the rules are very important to the game, but I've always stressed story and character development over those rules. I'm starting to think that instead of a 75/25 split for story/rules, the way I enjoy roleplaying may actually be closer to a 60/40 or even a 50/50 split.
Food for thought.
// posted by Chris @ 10:22 AM 
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