Hi Paul.
Well not everything! is decided by dice, indeed the better games I've played
are the ones were dice are a guide rather than being the strict rules. It's
odd though, I don't enjoy in character rp in online games, but I love doing
it off line with a human gm.
I think it's because a human gm is as adaptable as you are, and can run a
plot with your characters at the center.
for instance, each week I play a game of Mutants and masterminds, a
superhero themed game. my character uses a battle suit similar to Iron man,
but has the distadvantage of not knowing anything about it, ---- indeed he's
a professional pianist. So there is repeated bickering betwene him and the
suit's ai (played by the gm), with the gm occasionally doing things
including developing powers that are quite unexpected.
This is something that just wouldn't be possible online, but off line works
great, especially as the plot has involved my character finding out more and
more about his suit.
What's also fun, is the plot is adaptive. For instance, we went to the
alternative evil dimention and fought off our evil duplicate selves. Sinse
however for various confusing reasons my character is the only true and
natural born human, mine was the only evil duplicate not to be banished,
sent to hell or otherwise got rid off, sinse once out of his suit he was
pretty easy to deal with.
This back fired though sinse he's now come to normal earth, stolen a spare
copy of a suit in the same series to mine, and is threatening to enact a
ritual to make himself into a god.
fights are also great fun, sinse it's not just a matter of swing and hit,
but often a matter of how much we can literally out think our opponents.
For example, on one occasion we were fighting enemies who protected
themselves with a large domed force field. At first, we started firing
lasers through the field, but then they modified it to be impervious to
energy as well as physical attacks. so, my character flew into the air on
his jets and slammed into the ground, coming up under the bottom of the
domed field, ---- where I proceeded to use my explosive weapon (the field
also limited the blast).
that's the sort of thingI find fun in an rp fight, thinking adaptively, and
something which you really couldn't do without an actual human gm playing
the enemies.
Of course, rp is like antyhing else, and really good when done well, but not
so great when done badly, and played by a rules lawyer or someone who has no
sense of plot or drama.
But, i do appreciate it when it's done properly, and would highly recommend
finding a group and giving it a go, ---- not the least because all you need
is something to write your character sheet on, some way of rolling dice, (I
use a laptop, ms word and the gma dice program), and your imagination, and
optionally a copy of the rules, though I've certainly played games where I
found the rules from other players as I went along, rather than knowing them
before hand, because when done well in rp the rules and the dice should
serve the plot, not be the be all and end all of the game.
Beware the grue!
Dark.
---
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