Roleplayers are simple people. I don't mean they are dumb, I just mean they crave a few things while roleplaying. A good setting, good people to play with, defined rules, and a great adventure. Some of those things are easy to come by. Defined rules, for one are easy to come by. There are literally dozens of good roleplaying systems, and maybe even dozens of not so good roleplaying systems. Pick one that suits you and your math levels. Some of the older systems (like AD&D and Shadowrun) require some good off the top of your head math skills. While some of the newer ones (I'm thinking primarily Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition) require very little math. Some even have some charts that you just have to look things up on to continue play.
But rules are also meant to be bent. Say you don't know what the saving throw for that save versus poison is. Don't spend twenty minutes trying to find it, think of a reasonable number and go with it. Your players will appreciate not having to waste time looking up a single role. The point is to have fun, not bog down play with rules.
Give your players time to roleplay, especially if that is truly what they want to do. Roleplaying shouldn't have that many rules or guidelines (though boundaries on what is acceptable and what isn't is perfectly fine) and you should give your players as much time as possible to do this, especially if that is what they want to do the most. Battles are fillers and ways to get your players treasure. Sometimes it's just the opposite, where they love the battles and roleplaying is at a minimum. Just be prepared for lots of battles and don't allow the Monty Hall treasure hordes in every battle or you will be in for a world of hard planning. If you have all your players carrying around the biggest, baddest of weapons and armor, your encounters are going to look like World War Three every time.
More thoughts later...
No comments:
Post a Comment