Want to learn more

[The Last Bean]

I noticed a point a while back about the FATE system being bad about specialists. I think I worked out a pretty good way to get around this. I just let my players buy "specialist" extras. Like, one of my gunman characters is a "pistol specialist".  I just have each level of the extra grant an extra +1 to the roll with that specific thing within the larger skillset. It has the potential to be abused, but I haven't had too much trouble so far.

[finarvyn]

Reply to: DM vs. GM vs. Storyteller

I personally prefer "Game Master," as it isn't proprietary like DM (D&D) and Storyteller (WoD) are.

I prefer "God, Who Art Thy Master."

This may be why I don't get to run games anymore.

My sister runs a Bunnies & Burrows campaign and she prefers the term "Bunny Master" (or BM for short).   

[Qualapec]

Okay, I know nothing about RPGs in general. But they sound interesting and a good way to build up storytelling and character developement. Not to mention something fun to do with friends.

But, I just don't understand it.

What's with the dice? What do you use them for?

How do storylines work? Do you plan everything out or make it up as you go along?

How do characters interact with each other and the story?

What are we even really waiting for to come out?

~She-Wolf

[Slayer]

alright. I know a little about RPG's, so I'll address each question individually.

1. Dice in RPG's are generally used to determine success or failure. When you attempt to do something that is not relatively easy, like score a hit with a weapon, you would make a roll to determine your success or failure. Trust me, sometimes the failures are more fun.

2. Generally, the storylines are planned out by the person running the game, called a GM, or Game Master. However he or she does their storyline is up to their own personal preference. Generally, the players only have to worry about the backstories of their characters, especially with the FATE system

3. Again, this is a generalization, but the characters are usually in some sort of a group, which can be for any number of reason. It can be as cliche as you happen to all be in a tavern or as complex as a tale of friendship over many years. Their interpersonal relationships, however, can be almost anything. As you role-play your character, try not to think what you think of this person, try and think of what your character does.

The characters should easily interact with the story if the GM tailors it to the goals of the character. I play a mercenary-like character in Dungeons and Dragons, so a quest to rid some dormant  evil from the world wouldn't be interesting to me unless said evil has a large pile of treasure or other goodies or the fellow characters offer me something. (which they generally do. Let's see the paladin open a lock)

4. We are waiting for a role-playing game designed and developed by Evil Hat Productions. The game system will be a new version of the Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment (or FATE) system which is based upon the fudge system. 

[Samldanach]

IMHO, the best way to think about RPG's is to remember your childhood on the playground...

You're playing Cops and Robbers (or whatever variant you like).  You're having fun.  One group is cops, another is robbers, and you're all running around going "bang, bang, you're dead!"

But, inevitably, a fight breaks out.  "I shot you!"  "No you didn't!  You missed me!"  "Did not!"  Did too!"  Etc., etc., etc.

The purpose of a role-playing game is, in essence, to determine whether or not you really did shoot him, or whether you missed.

So, you get a bunch of rules, about how good you are at shooting, how good they are at dodging, and how to introduce a little luck and chaos to keep things interesting.  (That's where the dice come in.  They represent all the stuff that neither character can really control.)

Now, there's a lot of stuff to do besides shooting.  There's running and jumping.  And talking and schmoozing.  And, of course, magic.  So, we get a bunch of rules for those things, too.

Bad rules are very complicated, unbalanced, and don't represent the story well.  Good rules make it so that your character does exactly the sorts of thing you think he ought to do.

We're waiting on Evil Hat to deliver unto us...the Good Rules.

[finarvyn]

Others have replied, but I thought I would toss in a few more ideas on the subject.

There are lots of Role-Playing Games (RPGs) out there. Some use lots of dice, others are totally without dice at all. Each game has its own rules which guide how the game is played.

In general there is a storyline being woven by a Game Master (GM), but instead of a single author telling the tale the players get in on the action and help make the story their own.

What the dice can do is add an element of unpredictability to the story. When dice are involved no one (not even the GM) really knows ahead of time what will happen. This makes the game a lot more fun than a book or movie, because even a "re-run" adventure may be different the next time because of the roll of the dice.

Characters are usually ones you create, but sometimes a player might run a character from a book or movie. (For example, perhaps in a Pirates of the Caribbean game someone wants to play the role of Jack Sparrow. This is okay, but players are usually encouraged to make up an interesting character from scratch and play that.)

How do characters interact? Well, the GM explains a situation and asks the players how they react to it. Perhaps you are walking down a sidewalk and suddenly hear an alarm ring, then a bank robber runs into you and knocks you over. What do you do? When you tell the GM what you do, he advances the story as the other characters react to your actions. Often this involves rolling dice. We bounce back and forth, giving each player an opportunity to act. In that way the story unfolds.

What we are waiting for is an RPG designed to specifically simulate the world of Harry Dresden. Some RPGs let you play Star Trek or Lord of the Rings or a even world of your own creation. This one will take the ideas of the Dresden universe and give guidelines as to how a GM can run some adventures and tell some stories of your own.

Hope this helps.

[newtinmpls]

"I happen to agree with you (except I like "Dungeon Master" better than "storyteller", but I'm an old guy) about the style of gaming that is my favorite."

I do try to use GM since I'm not ONLY gaming in dungeons, but storyteller is just too much.

dian