Who here plays tabletop RPGs? If you don't, what would make you start?

Hi, all! Just thought I'd take a very informal, totally unscientific reading of this forum's temperature on something that's very close to my heart both personally and professionally. Who here plays tabletop role-playing games? And if you don't, what might make you start?

I'm talking about games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder, and Shadowrun to name some high-selling, established ones, or Fiasco to name a recent, really different one that seems to be doing pretty well for itself. For anyone not familiar with these games, they're a lot like the Final Fantasy games in some respects (the original Final Fantasy, in fact, was a fairly obvious D&D pastiche). Physically, it's usually a group of friends sitting around a table (or some online equivalent like a G+ hangout). In most such games, one player acts as a narrator and referee (this player might be called the Gamemaster, Dungeon Master or various other things) and each other player takes the part of one of the main characters. Unlike in most games, you're not competing against each other, there's no definite endpoint, and you aren't limited to a specific set of possible moves - you can do anything real people could do in the situation you're in (and some things they couldn't, like cast spells). That's one reason there's a human referee - to decide what happens if you do something really weird that the rules don't cover, or could handle more than one way.

Anyway, having said all that, it seems to me that interest in Final Fantasy and interest in these games should overlap a fair bit. Heaven knows I love both to pieces. What are people's experience with these games? Love 'em? Tried 'em and it didn't work out? Might be interested, but haven't tried?

I'm especially interested in that last category, actually - if that sounds like you, what do you think it would take to make you an active tabletop gamer?

For me it was just a matter of finding the right people. In college I was in an anime club and half of it was splitting off to form a DnD club that would be meeting at the same date and time. The way they described the game to me sounded like fun, but I knew I'd have a bad time because of a couple of the people there. One was a guy that just takes any multiplayer too seriously. You know, the guy that points blame and berates people when the battle goes sour. The other was a girl who didn't get along well with other girls in our group. When some girls find themselves as the girl in the group for too long they feel super un-special when other girls join in and try to compensate. Watching anime with them was great. But cooperative play? I think I'll pass.

Then my boyfriend hosted a laid back session of DnD with some people that put effort into it but still remembered that it was supposed to be fun and I had a great time.

I wanted to try some tabletop games a while back, but I couldn't figure out how to make my own character and I couldn't find anyone to help me make one so I gave up

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Originally Posted by Hypoallergenic Chie

I wanted to try some tabletop games a while back, but I couldn't figure out how to make my own character and I couldn't find anyone to help me make one so I gave up

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Yeah it was like hella complicated. I had to have my boyfriend help me with some books and then one of our friends looked at my character sheet and was like "you did this all wrong ha ha ha."

They are very complex. But in the end that's part of the beauty. I haven't played a tabletop style game in ages. I grew up playing D&D with my brothers and cousins. They were late teens, early 20's when I was like 7'ish. And they helped me get a handle on it, and I eventually grew to be quite competent. But as they got older, lives, and jobs and things tore their group apart, and I had nobody to fill that gap. Up until 3rd Edition D&D, I was buying my own rule books with allowances and such. And even now I get a random itch to buy stuff in that vein. But never have anyone to play with. Its too much work for any of my lazy friends to really be into...

But at the very least, I got my girlfriend to enjoy video games heavily based on these. Like Knights of the Old Republic, and more recently we've been playing Icewind Dale together. And she's played through about half of Bauldur's Gate Enhanced. And we'll probably play through either that or BGII Enhanced together

I've been really interested in that Android (and now PC) game, Knights of Pen-and-Paper I believe it's called. But I rarely get to muse about the idea of actually playing anything serious with anyone. So, like with everyone else, it's just a matter of knowing all the wrong people in this regard. But I get my fixes. I also thoroughly enjoy watching/listening to Spoony on YouTube talking about all his adventures (and misadventures) in Planescape and other D&D/pen-and-paper campaigns

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh man okay so


I was one of those guys who, for the longest time (like into my early 20s) always thought "man, I'm nerdy enough as it is, but I'll never be one of those basement-dwelling D&D nerds!!!"

I was an idiot. Please forgive me. The trick is reaching out and finding people who share your interests outside of the tabletop so that you can get a genuine connection. We had a Gamers on Campus club at my college, and I would always attend all of the videogame days and boardgame days, but never the tabletop days. I got dragged to one against my will and watched some of my friends play D&D 3.5e. I watched another group play Shadowrun. On the next tabletop day, I went of my own accord, and observed some more.

Turns out D&D (and other such systems) is pretty easy, and entertaining if you've got lighthearted people to play with.

I've been playing off and on for seven years now, and once a week for nearly three years straight. In my time, I've run two games and participated in half a dozen more. We've played D&D 3.5e, D&D 4e, Paizo's Pathfinder, Shadowrun, and CraftyGames' FantasyCraft (and a touch of SpyCraft 2.0 blended into one of the FC games).

The easiest system to be a Dungeon Master (henceforth DM) of is D&D 4e. It's very much like a videogame on paper - you have power cards that can be used in various circumstances, some of which only once or twice per battle, scene, day, etc. It's grid-based and strongly encourages the use of miniatures to visually play out the fights. It's simple, but not terribly condescending. I like to think of it as a beginner's guide to tabletop gaming.

Pathfinder is a great system because it took a handful of the neat things from 4e and blended them back into natural D&D 3.5e. It's unique, and fun to play, but the DM has a lot of work with regards to the scale of the fights, dungeons, traps, challenges, etc. There are so many options as a player though, so it's a great time if you're not the one at the helm.

But our last three games, including the upcoming one I'll be running in the spring? FantasyCraft. It's a wonderful system that rings true of 3.5e but with very simplistic mechanics. Building NPCs in the game is practically automatic - decide what they should be able to do, plug in some numbers, and adjust for level. They build themselves, so it makes DMing very simple. Plus, as players, there is still a ton of freedom with regards to race and class. And, if you can find an experienced DM, you can do what we do: take things that you love from other systems and find ways to balance and integrate them into the system that you enjoy playing the most.

You think DnD 3.5 has a lot of work? DM a game of Anima: Beyond Fantasy. The level of effort required on a DM's part is freaking insane. :p

But yeah, I game when I can, going to start a Pathfinder game soon, I just need to finish putting together my players first encoutner.

I've played a few rounds of D&D with some close family friends in the past and it was a lot of fun. I think it's just about having the right people. I've heard horror stories of nerds who take it too seriously to actually have any fun with it and who spoil it for the rest.

If I found a group of people who I enjoyed doing it with that I was close friends with, I'd be more inclined to do it.

I play loads. I even have a system and setting of my own we've played through here a few times with some moderate success.

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Originally Posted by Laddy

I play loads. I even have a system and setting of my own we've played through here a few times with some moderate success.

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I like playing with Laddy and friends on roll20 :)

Yeah our online games here were pretty tight, especially messing with Laddy's system.

The problem is as on the table the preparation is tough, maybe harder to get what you imagine your digital tabletop to look like actually on the platform. Using chat also slows things down to turn a multi hour session into a one-encounter deal whereas you can usually get in a couple in real life. I feel like webcams would be a big help but I dont know how feasible it would be with 4-6 people and a platform thats probably still in beta. One slight advantage to online is that it's slightly easier to get people together since we're at our computers anyway but assembling and keeping a real life group can be daunting.

As far as systems I like the usual 3/3.5/pathfinder mash up supplemented with house rules. 4 is easier in that its more video gamish, but if you're a DM you now have to keep track of the dozens of abilities your party has and make sure they're using them right and understanding them. Fighters should swing swords and that's that.

You know, I'd love to play Tabletop RPGs... just need people to play with.

I've played D&D for years, and Pathfinder since it came out. Even some Dark Heresy and Call of Cthulhu.

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Originally Posted by Nicolas

You know, I'd love to play Tabletop RPGs... just need people to play with.

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My thoughts exactly.

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Originally Posted by Endless

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Originally Posted by Nicolas

You know, I'd love to play Tabletop RPGs... just need people to play with.

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My thoughts exactly.

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Same here :(