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Reply: General Role-Playing:: Re: Are there any Fantasy RPGs that Assigns a Functional Niche for the Group?
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:48:03
I always felt that even in a generic fantasy setting, the players forming an adventuring party was already a specific niche in itself. You could play many types of people in a fantasy world, but the function of the group always seems to be a roaming band of adventurers, sort of a guns-for-hire team. That has always been the basic starting assumption.
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:48:03
by philip.dutre
I guess it depends how narrow you want to define things.I always felt that even in a generic fantasy setting, the players forming an adventuring party was already a specific niche in itself. You could play many types of people in a fantasy world, but the function of the group always seems to be a roaming band of adventurers, sort of a guns-for-hire team. That has always been the basic starting assumption.
GeekList Item: Item for Geeklist "The Rise of Tiamat [PCs]"
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:45:14
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:45:14
by Holy_Oyster
An item RPG Item: Advanced Races 14: Lizardfolk has been added to the geeklist The Rise of Tiamat [PCs]
Reply: General Role-Playing:: Re: QOTD AUG 10: What do you do when there are too many people who want to play than the GM is able or willing to run for?
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:41:36
True. In my case it's not more GMs. But all of a sudden, you have access to the ones you know, and distance is no longer an issue. So i need to add a qualifier to my statement above, i have never seen it happen in person. I wonder if the pandemic will cause a tidal wave in role playing artistry, akin to what happened to martial arts after UFC. People get exposed to each other's styles in a (relatively) public forum, and they see what works and what doesn't. The analogy is a bit of a stretch, but i always liked to draw parallels between rpg systems people know, and kung fu styles in wu xia movies :->
I think RPG session streamings do that very efficiently. Nowadays anyone interested in watching various GMing styles can just watch a couple of videos to see exactly how it's done. We are far away from the old times when as a teenager I picked up a huge RPG tome and had to figure out by myself what to make of this newfangled RPG thing, because nobody around me knew about it. Glad that in those yonder times nobody had nothing to do besides knapping flint, so it was not hard to find unsuspecting victims to learn the ropes of GMing.
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:41:36
by AlexFS
xeirwn wrote:
skalchemist wrote:
Strangely, the pandemic has led to this problem a bit in my neck of the woods.
True. In my case it's not more GMs. But all of a sudden, you have access to the ones you know, and distance is no longer an issue. So i need to add a qualifier to my statement above, i have never seen it happen in person. I wonder if the pandemic will cause a tidal wave in role playing artistry, akin to what happened to martial arts after UFC. People get exposed to each other's styles in a (relatively) public forum, and they see what works and what doesn't. The analogy is a bit of a stretch, but i always liked to draw parallels between rpg systems people know, and kung fu styles in wu xia movies :->
I think RPG session streamings do that very efficiently. Nowadays anyone interested in watching various GMing styles can just watch a couple of videos to see exactly how it's done. We are far away from the old times when as a teenager I picked up a huge RPG tome and had to figure out by myself what to make of this newfangled RPG thing, because nobody around me knew about it. Glad that in those yonder times nobody had nothing to do besides knapping flint, so it was not hard to find unsuspecting victims to learn the ropes of GMing.
New comment on GeekList Shared Universes (Board-game-centric - that is, starting with games)
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:06:09
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 07:06:09
(Needs research - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/47196/setting-infa... )
Reply: News:: Re: VGG is ten years young!
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:46:02
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:46:02
by marauder
Woah - VGG is ten? And look how big and pretty it has become! Happy Birthday!
New comment on Item for Geeklist "Kickstarter RPG Game Books - 2020"
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:40:32
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:40:32
by Doomsword
Related Item: 5e Game System Product (D&D 5th Edition Compatible)
Why didn't they buy the Campaign Cartographer 3 Humble Bundle where you got everything for a paltry 30 bucks?
New comment on Blog Post What's New? August 9, 2020: Battlelords of the 23rd Century, Delta Green, DCC, D&D5e, Numenera, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Rangers of Shadow Deep, and Veil 2020
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:30:54
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:30:54
New comment on Item for Geeklist "GCL Phoenix 501: Therapeutic cardboard (August 9th, 2020) "
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:30:18
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:30:18
by Lowengrin
Related Item: 1992: A Death in the Family
Simon, sorry to hear of your and Røskva's loss.
New comment on GeekList 03 August 2020: How did your RPG session(s) go this week?
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:28:52
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:28:52
GeekList Item: Item for Geeklist "03 August 2020: How did your RPG session(s) go this week?"
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:22:09
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:22:09
by aramis
An item RPG Item: The Elven Crystals has been added to the geeklist 03 August 2020: How did your RPG session(s) go this week?
Reply: General Role-Playing:: Re: Are there any Fantasy RPGs that Assigns a Functional Niche for the Group?
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:12:29
But does playing wizards suit some specific role within the game universe or at they just wizards? With Mouse Guard, they are all guards protecting the city. That is very specific in terms of what they are doing much like PCs in Shadowrun.
It is difficult to articulate, but I am drawing a distinction between a theme and a function. Everyone playing thieves is a theme. On the other hand, Leverage: The Roleplaying Game has a theme where the criminals are the good guys. Each campaign is about taking some someone corrupt that the law cannot. Usually greedy businesses, but sometimes something else.
I am not saying that the mages in Ars Magica don't fit the bill. I am just wondering if there is something beyond them all being mages.
Specific to the setting is that all the wizards are apparently looking for the way to live forever... and longevity potions are a HUGE issue... it's all tied to the laboratory cycle. To get any personal research concluded, one needs to live long enough, and the most important research is thus the longevity potion, which isolates magi from society by outliving it...
There also are the covenent rules which require a group effort on several elements annually.
Posted: Tue, 11 Aug 06:12:29
by aramis
SteamCraft wrote:
aramis wrote:
Ars Magica: You play wizards. While other characters get played at times, primarily, you play a wizard.
But does playing wizards suit some specific role within the game universe or at they just wizards? With Mouse Guard, they are all guards protecting the city. That is very specific in terms of what they are doing much like PCs in Shadowrun.
It is difficult to articulate, but I am drawing a distinction between a theme and a function. Everyone playing thieves is a theme. On the other hand, Leverage: The Roleplaying Game has a theme where the criminals are the good guys. Each campaign is about taking some someone corrupt that the law cannot. Usually greedy businesses, but sometimes something else.
I am not saying that the mages in Ars Magica don't fit the bill. I am just wondering if there is something beyond them all being mages.
Specific to the setting is that all the wizards are apparently looking for the way to live forever... and longevity potions are a HUGE issue... it's all tied to the laboratory cycle. To get any personal research concluded, one needs to live long enough, and the most important research is thus the longevity potion, which isolates magi from society by outliving it...
There also are the covenent rules which require a group effort on several elements annually.
