tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post586198870363010083..comments2024-03-28T03:10:23.679-07:00Comments on Polemarch: Roleplaying EthicsThe Polemarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-54880510111758744612013-03-13T05:44:35.285-07:002013-03-13T05:44:35.285-07:00I guess that there is always a progression of play...I guess that there is always a progression of players from teenage power-groupies through to sophisticated role players. Where one stops depends on the group and the individual, as well as the game.<br /><br />My favorites landed up being Flashing Blades as a GM, and Toon as a player. I got banned from Toon eventually for being too good at it; the secret was to always do something, no matter how silly. <br /><br />But ethically, I agree, the narrative element is much stronger in RPG than in historical wargaming, and so the discomfort is greater when playing evil. This is solved, I suppose, either at the munchkin end, by not caring much, or at the am-dram end by drawing a stricter division between the player and character.The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-83377179983009946702013-03-12T13:01:45.877-07:002013-03-12T13:01:45.877-07:00Yes, it is munchkin. But, D&D, which I suppos...Yes, it is munchkin. But, D&D, which I suppose really started at all, is pretty much designed to be a munchkin game. As more complicated/involved/atmospheric games evolved, it isn't surprising that not all players evolved with it I guess. Maybe the situation resembles the difference between a film like Where Eagles Dare (where character is almost totally irrelevant) and Lawrence of Arabia (where the characterisation is what makes the film) - but both equally valid narrative forms?<br /><br />Regards<br /><br />JWHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637785437909299947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-67244498137922702822013-03-09T05:43:04.954-08:002013-03-09T05:43:04.954-08:00I think there used to be a specific word for the n...I think there used to be a specific word for the non-role playing RPG player - munchkin?<br /><br />Someene who maximised all possible characteristics, and was never anything except a large scale monster slayer and treasure grabber. <br /><br />In my umpiring days I managed to winkle them out by giving them ambiguous treasure, like golden skulls whose original owner would like it back (ever tried fighting a gold skeleton? They bend rather than break) or items which can burst into flames at a moments notice, but which can be taken over by someone else...<br /><br />ultimately, and I think the last campaign I ran, I found the answer was to make the PCs powerless, relatively, so they had to negotiate. More like real life, or, as you suggest, am-dram.The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-35615640303618606452013-03-09T00:02:43.198-08:002013-03-09T00:02:43.198-08:00What I was getting at is that RPGs are probably ev...What I was getting at is that RPGs are probably even more complicated than wargames when we look at them from a narrative point of view, as the expectations, abilities and attitudes determine how the game runs to an even greater extent.<br /><br />For instance, most RPGs I played when I was younger where entirely tactical in their challenges, regardless of the genre - or rather, the 'characters' had relatively little personality, they were more like a set of tools to help 'unlock' certain challenges. Later on, players tended to graft on more personality - but generally as an extension of their own personalities as allowed in the mythos. I think this is the point where the players would have had most difficulty with playing an 'evil' character. It was only later that actually the 'role-playing' came completeley to the fore, and at that point, players would have been happy to take on that - not entirely comfortable, but little different from playing Richard III in am-dram - kind of character.<br /><br />RegardsJWHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637785437909299947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-33797656807686924232013-02-26T00:28:43.574-08:002013-02-26T00:28:43.574-08:00I certainly remember one paranoia game where the p...I certainly remember one paranoia game where the party had to organize small unit tactics to get anywhere (it turned out that we were not supposed to get anywhere..), so the cross over between tactical combat and investigations can be a bit moot.<br /><br />On the other hand, role playing games are about creating narratives as a group; wouldn't it be a bit boring if all we were playing was ourselves?<br />The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-56551596435202754032013-02-25T11:17:16.182-08:002013-02-25T11:17:16.182-08:00In some more recent RPGs, one of the concepts used...In some more recent RPGs, one of the concepts used is to describe the party as 'a troupe' or something similar - to put emphasis on playing a role (rather than dress ourselves up as dwarves, if you see what I mean). I think that when we get those uncomfortable feelings in RPGs, we are in a sense, playing the wrong game - we want to play someone somewhat akin to ourselves, the game demands that we be actors or actresses and play someone genuinely different.<br /><br />On another tack, some RPGs I have played have really felt like a cross between a tactical wargame and Cluedo, where good or evil is scarcely relevant.JWHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637785437909299947noreply@blogger.com