Are you a Roll-player or a Role-player? - Page 2

Ryo · 27th November 2007, 04:48 PM

Roll I guess - and thats probably why I never could get into PnP groups for very long. I noticed the DMs would call rolls when they didn't want X, ignore rolls on Y, etc. It became wonky, because basically the DM was just telling us a story and we were interacting a bit. Thats a story, not a "game" to me - and they were pretty thin, extemporaneous type things.

Maybe I just had wonk DMs, or was bad at suspending disbelief. But when a table of Texans get around a table and they all start trying to sound like dwarves and elves it sounds ridiculous, no way in hell to stay immersed. So for me, I'd have preferred someone who bought a module and guided us through it as an arbiter rather than acting the role of Q from Star Trek.

insmouth · 27th November 2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryo

...acting the role of Q from Star Trek.

I love that analogy! I might have to steal it.

Games dont have to be like that, but that certainly is the way they have evolved over the years.

logan9a · 27th November 2007, 06:46 PM

Definitely a role player. Unlike many 'role players' I make the time to continue to play. 20+ hours a week. And podcast it all...

Heinous · 28th November 2007, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryo

But when a table of Texans get around a table and they all start trying to sound like dwarves and elves it sounds ridiculous

LOL...I'm hearing that in my head and it's just too damn funny. You don't happen to have a podcast of a session?

Ryo · 28th November 2007, 05:12 AM

This was years ago, but wish I did.

I've slipped and tried to sound like a Scot or the like on vent a couple times when playing dwarves in mmos since then, and the channel just goes sorta quiet.

Some handicaps are better just accepted

BlackIce · 7th December 2007, 04:21 PM

I have never seen the distinction been made before, but I like the question.
Roll-player for me.
I have always been a fact & figures kind of guy (no surprise that I work in IT).
Although our group still gets together every fortnight to play something, it is mostly boardgames or strategy games now.
Our RPG effort, although enjoyable, never really managed to run for long durations. I think most of our problems is that we don't really have any of those story teller type people. That means that our GM/DM's tended to not end up being really good at running long campaigns. We either had one or the other extreme. They would overestimate how long something would take, only to find they ran out of planned content about half way through a session. Or the other extreme. You spend a full day only to find you had barely got beyond the first few rooms and the intro dungeon would take weeks. (problem with this is you can't always get the same people every time. makes it hard if people disapear while in the middle of a room)

logan9a · 7th December 2007, 04:56 PM

I've noticed that on these type of questions (roll vs role) on various boards it is rare you ever get someone on who says 'I'm a roll player - I like to roll lots of dice - story is unimportant'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackIce

I think most of our problems is that we don't really have any of those story teller type people. That means that our GM/DM's tended to not end up being really good at running long campaigns.

That sucks! IMO, long term campaigns are what make the game worth playing. Unfortunately, getting together once every two weeks does make that more difficult.

insmouth · 7th December 2007, 09:47 PM

I dont think a long game is the pinacle of the hobby. I think a short and to the point game is much better. Especially as we get older and our free time is shorter. No more time for 24 hour game sessions like in high school.

My opinion is probably coloured however by a disinterest in "epic" novels such as the Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones and more of an interest in short to the point stories such as that in the Sword and Sorcery. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and old school Conan for example.

Those stories (even though when you put them all together they are quire long) really hit hard and fast. Why not have that in a game?

logan9a · 8th December 2007, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by insmouth

I dont think a long game is the pinacle of the hobby. I think a short and to the point game is much better. Especially as we get older and our free time is shorter. No more time for 24 hour game sessions like in high school.

You misunderstood. Not long game, long campaign. Different drop bear entirely. You can have a series of four hour gaming sessions which have an ongoing campaign that lasts for months.

DaBang · 8th December 2007, 01:32 PM

We have a regular group who get together once a week for RPG and the previous campaign started in '99 and finished early this year. The players changed over the years as people moved away or lost interest or had other commitments. And new players joined and the DM continued with an epic campaign, modifying it to add different PC hooks as the characters changed. In the end a lot of the NPCs in the campaign were old PCs of players who had left the group.

So, I'd have to say that I'm a role rather than roll player. Sure, throwing some dice is fun, but that doesn't keep you coming back to the game, IMO. A fantastic DM helps too

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