Difference between revisions of "Book:How to Play"

Revision as of 21:51, 19 January 2009

Roleplaying games are essentially stories in which a player can assume the role of a fictional character. Using the ideas in this book, a Game Master can craft stories that can fall anywhere in the gamut: from simple, light-hearted stories that last an hour or an evening, all the way to richly detailed, legendary epics that take months or years to finish.

Any story contains these three things: a setting (the where and when), characters (the who), and plot (the what and why). The GM provides the setting. There are two kinds of characters: those whom the players portray and those that the GM portrays. All of the characters and creatures that the players meet—fried or foe—are called Non-Player Characters (or NPCs). The plot is a joint effort of the GM and the players; the GM describes events in the story and the players describe what their characters do and say in response to those events.

The Basics

Setting the scene

A typical roleplaying session is guided by the narratives of the GM. He or she describes the setting and actions that occur while the players weave together a mental picture of the scene. They ask the GM questions to further detail the scene in their minds. When a player wants his or her character to take some kind of action in the story, he or she tells the GM. The following is an example of the dialog that might occur between a GM and players.

"As the dust settles, the four of you realize that you've fallen into a cave or perhaps an underground room," the GM says. "A beam of warm daylight pours in through the hole in the ceiling through which you came. The air in this place smells dusty and stale, but not unpleasant. Listening for a moment, you hear only the periodic crumbling of earth from the ceiling above; it would seem no one is around."

"Is anything in the room?" one player asks.

"Broken shards of earthware, a few old, crumbling statues and some dated relief work along the walls," the GM replies.

"Does it look like we can get back out?" another player asks.

"The ceiling is easily 10 feet off the ground, and at first glance, there don't appear to be any doors leading out of this chamber." the GM notes.

"Maybe there's a hidden door out of here," a third player suggests. "I'm going to take a moment to search the room."

Spoken Dialog

The GM acts out the spoken lines of the NPCs and the players, acting as their own characters, engage in dialog. Some players find it enjoyable to change their voice or demeanor when playing their characters (some even employ props). The following is an example of some dialog between the GM acting as an NPC and some players acting as their own characters.

"I've never seen a device like this before," the GM mumbles, portraying the part of a wise, old wizard.

"Are you certain?" one of the players asks. "We were told that if anyone in this city knows, it would be you."

"Aye, I've never seen its equal." the GM replies. "It's likely a remnant from some forgotten culture, but its purpose is not readily apparent to me."

"Some people have tried to take it from us," a second player states. "We fear for our safety, but if this is important, we can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

"You should go see a friend of mine at the Royal Academy in the capital. He loves this magic archeology stuff."

"But that's like… a week's travel!" a third player exclaims.