What is an RPG to you?

[Jame]

To me, an RPG is basically the tech 6 version of a man-portable anti-armored vehicle rocket launcher.

I wondered when someone would say that. :nonono:

smirk

 

[Blue Ghost]

Heh, given the Traveller BBS I figured that would've been the first reply

 

[Blue Ghost]

An RPG is a way for me to spend a few hours writing up what amounts to a basic storyline born of my imagination, and then turning my friends lose within it for days or weeks of continuous mutual storytelling that more often than not spawns even more of the same until we all have found ourselves living out the adventures we all wish we could have if the world was a perfect place.

For years afterwards we retell the stories of our adventures both from within and without the context of the continuing campaign until the smallest, least interesting adventure has become an epic worthy of Beowulf. Or at least something so hilarious to retell that it causes epic beer-spewing.

No matter how it all turns out, though, the most rewarding part for me is to watch the fun my friends have playing in my games. Its like a gift I try to give them every time we play - I can't wait to see what they do with some puzzle or opportunity that pops up as result of both the planned and unforeseen consequences of events. If haven't done a good job, I feel like I let them down for wasting their time - so it always forces me to grow more as a storyteller, writer, and the chaos they often spawn helps keep my mind nimble.

And for some strange reason I never mind when I have to throw away some carefully crafted idea or plotline because the players came up with something that sounded like it'd be more fun - not that I let them know that, of course. I gotta maintain the illusion until the campaign or adventure is over at least.

The thing I always looked forward to was collecting my friends so we could share this experience with one another. I loved running it, because I loved having my friends together with a shared immaginative experience. It was like going to a movie with your buddies, or having a small party. It truly was and is.

I loved pulling from my immagination and placing my buds in really cool situations. That's what the whole thing was about. I mean, we couldn't run around in the Third Imperium or some D&D like Fantasy World, so we used the rules created by geniuses like Gygax and Miller to help us facilitate it.

It's great stuff. That's what I really like about gaming. I don't do it much these days, but it's a real pleasure when it happens.