When you fully accept that gamers are largely fundamentally competent at having a good time roleplaying, you realize that most design objectives OTHER THAN "save people work" and "get them excited" can be managed with a box of parts and a discussion of how to assemble them.
@LeviKornelsen Fair, but I also think the practice of roleplaying can be opaque to outsiders -- maybe less so now that there's video examples. My students, for example, tend to have difficult figuring out how to play "serious" or emotional TRPG content, rather than playing for yucks.
@LeviKornelsen This brings up a fundamental differentiation between introductory roleplaying (where the intended audience is still learning how to have a good time roleplaying) and roleplaying for gamers (where your players know their craft).
Early RPGs covered for this by doulbing down on "get them excited" (see: AD&D PHB, DMG).
But also, lots of RPGs try for "have a good time roleplaying -differently-", which is something else entirely.
Add comment