Board role-playing games

    In continuation of the topic about Nethack , I want to talk about board role-playing games.

    Role-playing games. What is it? What are they like?


    In general, role-playing games (RIs) are a fairly diverse phenomenon, and desktop role-playing games are not the only (though popular) kind of them.

    Usually, people who played exclusively in the computer version of RI get the impression that the essence (and distinguishing features) of role-playing games is the destruction of monsters, gaining experience, pumping a character, and buying / knocking out items. Based on this, in my opinion, absolutely incorrect assumption, computer games like Diablo II began to be considered as computer role-playing games (KRI).

    In general, role-playing is primarily a “type of dramatic action,” which is very special. In fact, this is the theater of one or more actors playing a play without a clear script, playing for themselves. Each player tries to get used to the role of his character, and act on the basis of the motivation of the character, not the player. This is common to all role-playing games.

    The general classification of role-playing games is well laid out on the Wiki , so I don’t see the point of transferring it here.

    Desktop RI


    http://www.picamatic.com/show/2009/09/18/03/50/5117564_bigthumb.jpg

    Board role-playing games are a separate layer of RI, so named because the simulation of all game situations occurs at the table. That is, the participants do not require any active actions, except for a verbal description of the actions of the character.

    Usually, one Master and several Players participate in a board role-playing game (how much depends on the game itself). The master is both a scriptwriter and a “server” of the game. Usually he comes up with a scenario for the players (in general terms), monitors compliance with the rules, makes all the calculations necessary to determine the success of certain actions of the players, and provides all the information necessary for the players about the game world (what they see, hear, feel ...). The player, on the other hand, receives one character (sometimes several) under his control, and tells the master and other players how he (the character) behaves in a given situation.

    To make it clearer, I will give an example of what the Master does, and what the Players do.

    Development of the plot (Master):

    The master decides that a rebellion occurs in the kingdom (star empire, primitive tribe, to enter his own). The rebels seized the palace and the king (the emperor, the leader ... well, you understand :)) was forced to leave the capital. He took refuge in a province loyal to him with a handful of fighters - convinced royalists. The king found out that the warlock Vasya was in charge of the rebels, and all his closest associates were vampires. The king begins to look for people who are ready to help him and destroy the warlock Vasya. The characters of the Players become these people. He sets the corresponding task for them, however, what exactly in this situation the players will do - only they decide. They may well, instead of helping the king, go to Vasya and agree on the issuance of information about the king for a fee. Well and so on ...

    Game situation (Master and Players):

    Master:You see a handful of goblins in front of you. The largest goblin is striped and armed with a large club.
    Player Sasha: I come forward and offer them a peaceful way out of the situation (giving a speech).
    Master: Performs the necessary calculations, determines that Sasha’s speech had an effect on the goblins. Says: "The goblins are very puzzled and thought about your proposal."
    Player Masha: I run forward screaming: “You killed my husband. Let your blood be shed in redemption of his death! ”And chop the big goblin with an ax.
    Master: Performs calculations, and decides that Masha missed. Says: "The big goblin dodged your blow, and, seeing your actions, all the other goblins took out weapons."

    Game mechanics




    At the root of most board role-playing games is a fairly simple problem: how do you know if a player’s action was successful and how much? After all, if all the actions of the players are successful, then the gameplay will be uninteresting. To solve this and derivative problems, a tool called “Game Mechanics” was created. Now I will briefly outline the essence.

    Usually, a random number is used to determine the success of an action and its degree of success. Board games use polyhedral dice to generate random numbers. In classical systems, bones are used with the following number of faces: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20. It is obvious that the bones provide random numbers within certain limits.

    But the presence of a random number is not enough - factors such as the character's class (if the character is a warrior, then his chances of hitting the enemy with a sword are higher than the magician), his level (an abstract indicator of experience and the character’s overall coolness), his condition on the present moment (blinded, stunned, lying on the ground, badly wounded), as well as many others. In most gaming systems, these parameters affect the number of dice rolls, the value modifiers (+5 to dice roll), or the result that needs to be obtained on dice for the action to be considered successful. Counter rolls of bones are also sometimes used (two rolls of a die, with the determination of who got the result with modifiers higher).

    As a result, to solve these and some other problems, a lot of game systems were formed, adapted for different types of games. In this matter, I would like to note several gaming systems that are considered classic for board role-playing games.

    Dungeons & Dragons

    In fact, one of the first commercial gaming systems for role-playing games. It is adapted primarily for fantasy-style plots. The first version of the rules came out back in 1974 and since then the system has changed dramatically. Currently, the latest version of the system is considered the 4th edition, but many people around the world play both the third and second edition.
    From this system several other systems have also grown, adapted to different styles of play and plots. All of them carry in their name "d20".
    The D&D system is one of the most popular commercial systems worldwide. This system is used (with some changes) in a large number of computer games. Many settings have been developed for it (elaborate game worlds), which in turn have written a great many artistic books.
    GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System)

    GURPS is 12 years younger than D&D, and it has also seriously evolved from the first version. It is assumed that it can be used in any game worlds and in any style of play. The system turned out to be quite complicated, however, it has many fans around the world.

    Age of Aquarius


    This is a representative of a rare type of domestic gaming systems. It came out much later than the previous two systems (when I do not know for sure). The system includes not only game mechanics, but also a setting. The system is based on a large number of hex bones, it has no levels and classes. In general, the system is quite simple.

    What did not say?



    Behind the scenes were such well-known systems as Shadowrun, World of Darkness and many others. I did not say a word about them, since I practically do not know them, but this does not detract from their significance.

    I outlined the main points, if it’s still interesting, I can tell you about the main commercial settings for desktop RI, about miniatures for them, the main websites of fans of desktops, and also about other types of RI.


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