WYRM’S TURN: What’s My Role?

I was floundering a bit when looking for a subject for this week’s article. After consulting the sage advice of a few friends on Facebook, I received an especially helpful suggestion from my good buddy — and fellow Geek Life contributor — Cape Rust. He suggested that I discuss the conflict between Roll-Playing and Role-Playing. An age-old hold back from the days of war gamers, roll-playing is putting your dice where your mouth is and ruling and rolling your way through any in-game situation. Role-Playing on the other hand, for that is what our beloved hobby is called, involves more intense, in-character improvisation. So in this week’s article, dear readers, I hope to enlighten you as to the difference between these two play styles, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and even a real life example from your humble writers own gaming table.

Fun is in the eye of the beholder, or probably at least out of the way of its central eye, and somewhere between its petrification ray and death ray. What I mean is that what’s fun for one player is not always fun for another. As I mentioned in my previous article on play styles, some people enjoy more crunchy rules based combat, magic and kewl powerz in their game. While others prefer a deeper, more character based interactions. RPG’s are great in that they cater to both of these audiences, but sometimes it’s hard to balance that out if you have both types of players in one game.

Roll-Playing is easier to do. Sometimes called “beer and pretzel gaming,” this style involves portraying your character only so far as to get the quest from an old man in a tavern, lord of the land, or local adventurer’s guild, grabbing your gear, knowing your stats, and rolling the dice at appropriate times. It may involve a deeper understanding of tactics, loopholes in the rules, out-of-character knowledge like monster weaknesses, and general kibitzing with the other players while figuring out how to tackle a particular obstacle, but can be lots of fun. Your character will improve just like any other character with experience and the acquisition of new magic items and other loot. Past these traits however your character has no more personality than a character from the popular PC game Diablo, possibly less since most modern pc and console games have a variety of dialogue choices that allow you to tailor your characters morality on a per encounter basis.

Role-Playing on the other hand allows for detailed progression of character. Sure you can still multi-class rogue/cleric to gain those sneak attacks, and healing that your party desperately needs, but your character has a reason. Maybe he worships Loki, Norse god of trickery, and while he helps his friends and can be counted on in a pinch, he’s not above stealing from the local mayor if the opportunity presents itself, or even from another player-character if he feels he’s owed for services rendered. That causes conflict, and conflict creates story, and that story can lead the game in directions no one expected and your game is that much richer for the experience. I had a Halfling rogue in one of my first games with Johnny and Colleen. He was un-originally named, Frodo Nine-Fingers — but he only had nine fingers because he was caught stealing, not because it was bit off in Mt. Doom.

Anyway, Frodo had come into town with his party looking to resupply, join some local guilds, and basically set up shop in town. While the other characters went about their various missions, Frodo found himself want for things to do. The party’s wizard, played by Colleen, knew that an idle thief is a recipe for trouble, and asked him to accompany her to the wizard’s guild where she was applying for membership. At the front gate she admonished him not to touch anything. Frodo promised that he would not lay a finger on anything within the tower. So, while she went about signing up, and being tested, Frodo decided to amuse himself by walking on his hands, and stealing things with his feet. At great penalty, and with ridiculous luck, Frodo was able to slip a few things into his trousers, and even found the experimental potions room. When he finally became visible again, and the pink swelling had subsided, he was politely asked never to return.

Later while walking through the town square he bumped into a man with a nice looking dagger that he attempted to palm. Sadly the dice were no longer on my side, and Frodo was nabbed, the man being the town sheriff, and the dagger an ancestral heirloom. When the party came to pay his bail, they were told to leave town and never return. On his way out, Frodo, clumsy as he was, bumped into the sheriff again, apologizing profusely as he was led out, under close scrutiny by his party members to an awaiting ship. As they sailed away from town, Frodo sat on the deck of the ship he carved his initials into the deck with his new fancy dagger. All of this adventure proceeded from the actions of the character and the outcome depended on the luck of the dice, a perfect combo of roll and role.

To me, deep role-playing has always held more appeal. The satisfaction of this level of storytelling gives players and GM alike, stories they can tell for the rest of their lives. While everyone remembers those crazy dice rolls, and the amazing fights, without a strong story to hold it together, many times these incidents are remembered as nebulous actions within the player’s overall gaming experience, and are usually only useful as anecdotal stories. The sheer pleasure of creating a living dynamic character, in a world that is changed by his very presence is, to me, the greatest reward of the gaming hobby. That said it’s often difficult to just pick those sorts of games up, when you’ve got a free hour or two and the desire to play. Add to that, some players are just not into the game, or that aspect of it.

When it comes down to it, both roll-playing and role-playing are valid play styles, it all depends on your group, and your goal.  I’ve got so much more that I’d like to discuss on this topic though, but if I go on too much further the editors will likely put me in a pair of Chinese fingercuffs (insert Chasing Amy joke here). That said, I’ve recently started a blog here on Geek Life , and if you’re interested in reading more, please check it out.

Until next week, may all of your rolls be 20’s.

About Stygian Jim

Stygian Jim was born in Missouri, but his family later settled in the Florida Keys. It is there that our benighted correspondent spent his formative years, and it is there he lives to this day. A consummate gamer geek he whiles away his life planning dramatic stories and plots for people and places that do not exist, and besting his compatriots at games of strategy.

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