What is role-playing?

Bevan · Post by **Bevan** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:06 am

LARPing is, to the best of my knowledge, is creating a character and then playing him within a group of people. You aren't playing towards an audience (except the other LARPers) and it is all improv. Some people like to define a role-playing game as role-playing with rules governing actions. From what I've heard on this board, SCA doesn't use rules (I've never had any experience with it myself), which is why many people don't consider SCA activities LARPing. Speaking for myself, I don't consider rules necessary for LARPing, but opinions differ on the matter.Also, as White Wolf is the only gaming company which has pursued LARPing with any dedication, people tend to think of White Wolf games when LARPing comes to mind (especially Vampire, their most popular one). This is certainly not a requirement for LARPing, but once again might be why you don't identify SCA with it.

Jarnor23 · Post by **Jarnor23** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:09 am

Well, this link might be informative - it's the free quickstart rules to the LARP that TMDG was portraying/parodying...
<A HREF="http://www.white-wolf.com/Images/Comple ... kstart.pdf" TARGET=_blank>http://www.white-wolf.com/Images/Comple ... art.pdf</A> I have a hard time typing TMDG, I keep on wanting to type TMBG. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Jarnor23

FrustratedPilot · Post by **FrustratedPilot** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:13 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Jarnor23:
I have a hard time typing TMDG, I keep on wanting to type TMBG. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.g ... OTE>"We can't be blamers/
'Cause They Might Be Gamers..." <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">

Isobelfox · Post by **Isobelfox** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:55 am

TMBG. October 31. Live. Yeah, baby! My Halloween is going to be SO good... *sigh* hooray...

Maccabee · Post by **Maccabee** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 2:53 am

TMBG truly kicks ass live.Maccabee------------------
Risus est telum ultimum contra tyrranem. Nullus dictator exercitibus allibus ridiculem vulgi longe resistare potest.

Wish · Post by **Wish** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 7:10 am

LARPing is what I do every time I smile sweetly at my boss instead of kicking in her teeth. My 'character' is a provider of excellent customer service. My 'character' answers the phone and deals with the general public in a manner that is both cheerful and polite. My 'character' is a prompt and dilligent worker. I just imagine that everything I say has quotation marks around it... and the angry little person who lives inside my head is at peace. I R THE GOODEST LIVE ACTION RPER OF THEM ALL! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">-Wish
Tea is soothing. I wish to be tense.

Judy · Post by **Judy** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 11:29 am

Somewhat on topic, if not current; after all, most of us have read TMDG.I've hung around enough gamers to have a fair idea of what "tabletop" RPG entails, but what exactly constitutes LARPing? I've been trying to figure out why I don't consider my SCA activity such, and it occurs to me that a definition would help.Judy

Stig Hemmer · Post by **Stig Hemmer** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 11:38 am

Uhm... just one little request from the side-line: Don't turn this thread into a copy of the thread that was just deleted, OK?------------------
Stig Hemmer, at your disservice.

Czhorat · Post by **Czhorat** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 12:01 am

You don't need complicated combat rules for it to be a game.I consider the SCA, Civil War Re-enactments, and other historical
excersizes to be a subset of LARPing. After all, nobody actually
believes that it's the Middle Ages, the 1860s, or any time other than
now. The tone might be more historical and less fantastical, but it's
still an excersize in pretending to be someone you're not in a situation
you aren't really in. Isn't that what a role-playing game is?

David Adrian · Post by **David Adrian** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 12:20 am

Actually, as far as I'm concerned, the SCA is LARP. Anyone who thinks the SCA doesn't use rules needs to ask, "What will happen if I try to get into a swordfight when there isn't a Judge/Referee/Whatever The SCA Calls Them around?"Just because it isn't (called) a game, doesn't mean it's not role-playing.

Kepulver · Post by **Kepulver** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 1:39 am

Lessee..I actually did write an article about what LARPing is that my local gaming society was going to use as a handout (but that never panned out). The article's at <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/kepulver/stuff/larp.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.geocities.com/kepulver/stuff/larp.html</A> In a nutshell, here's my opinion though: all role-playing games are an outgrowth of childhood games of Dress Up and Let's Pretend. Most RPG books describe role-playing in general as Let's Pretend With Rules (which is something of a misnomer, since most kids create rules for their games but it works for now). Table-top and MU* roleplaying are sitdown versions of playing Cops and Robbers. They remove the physical aspects (to some extent) from the game and leave the mental exercise of being someone else. LARPs are the most literal example of Let's Pretend With Rules, where the object is to stay in character by *being* that character as best you can. In some ways, the SCA could be seen as the best and biggest LARP out there, since well, it's global, has been going on for what? 30 years now? True, there's no numerical stats for an SCA persona, but from what I understand, creating that persona isn't too much different from creating a character. It seems to largely be a matter of semantics.Oh yeah, and West End Games did/does have rules for Live ACtion Star Wars, which are an interesting comparison to MET's live action rules.Me personally though, I'm a MUSHer. Gimme that Text-Action Role Play any day *G* Kathy, who wishes she could take credit for coming up with Text-Action Role-play, but she can't *sigh*

Judy · Post by **Judy** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 4:01 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Czhorat:
 it's
still an excersize in pretending to be someone you're not in a situation
you aren't really in. Isn't that what a role-playing game is?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Sounds good to me -- I might include the "spontaneity" factor mentioned in an earlier post, since the definition above could probably include theater. The performers at the Renaissance Faire, for example, wouldn't seem to be role-playing; they're mostly scripted and/or choreographed, at least at the fairs I've attended.This discussion is cool. I had a really funny but really obnoxious friend in college who was also in our SCA group. He ran for senior class president on the "World Domination Platform" and used to go to gaming cons with characters designed expressly to create as much havoc at the table as possible, e.g. the gay elf that would proposition the other members of his party until somebody lost it and attacked him. Not quite Tim, but probably everybody here knows the type. Anyway, he always enjoyed mocking the LARPers after returning from said cons. Apparently most here would consider him one. Gotta love the irony.Judy

Schol-R-LEA · Post by **Schol-R-LEA** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 5:03 am

I've known several gamers who consider the LA Call of Chthulu to be better than MET, but not having tried it, I can't voice an opinion of my own. However, Chaosium seems not to have pushed their LARP as vigorously as WW did, so few gamers are even aware of it.

TrueRaijin · Post by **TrueRaijin** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 6:54 am

Heh, I never even knew any of this LARPing stuff existed. Looks cool, but I doubt that there are any within bicycle range of Fort Dix. Oh those no car woes!

Judy · Post by **Judy** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 11:23 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by David Adrian:
Anyone who thinks the SCA doesn't use rules needs to ask, "What will happen if I try to get into a swordfight when there isn't a Judge/Referee/Whatever The SCA Calls Them around?"
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Probably someone would ask you to stop, on the grounds that you wouldn't be covered by the corporate liability insurance if a bystander got hurt.I wish I were kidding.Judy