| From: | shadowrn@*********.com (Hahns Shin) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Storytelling and Role Playing Games, some thoughts (was Re: Rules Lawyers) |
| Date: | Thu Feb 14 15:50:01 2002 |
many opinions about the rules of the game and independence of both players
and gamemasters. This post is not to add fuel to the fire (though I'm told
even fireproof blankets can burn when the temperature is hot enough). This
post is to ask the great question "Why?"; as in, "Why are rules lawyers
good/bad?" and "Why does it even matter?"
The case for and against rules lawyers has been made quite eloquently (and
in some cases, not so eloquently, but this IS a listserv *grin*). Sometimes
the rules get in the way of the story. Sometimes the story reduces the
verisimilitude of the game world. Advocates of either view would be
hard-pressed to ignore the truth of the opposing view. In some situations,
depending on the motives of the GM and players, the rules are bent or
exploited for selfish ends. This is the style of play gamers try to avoid, I
find, and thus why rules lawyers are considered bad.
However, sometimes the story becomes too much of a personal agenda and takes
over the gaming aspect of role playing. Sometimes GM railroad their PCs
along twisted plots that only exist in the GM's mind. In other words, the GM
is dragging the PCs along for the ride, and although it is enjoyable at
times, the dream isn't shared. Sometimes the PCs will attempt to roleplay
out of situations that their characters cannot conceivably accomplish.
Sometimes the story will take precendence over the "game", for after all,
this is part of role playing, too. The game, of course, is a fantastic
reality that is meant to resemble life, but nonetheless, it is a game, a
challenge, a means to strive and compete. To put it another way, have you
ever forced your characters to accept a run because you JUST KNEW they would
love it, and then they ended up hating it because they wanted to turn it
down? (I personally always ALWAYS have a second plan in case the runners
decide the run wasn't worth it... a plan that didn't involve railroading
them into the run) Somtimes, to follow the story is to deny the freedom to
truly live in another world.
And finally, the question "Why is it important?". I find that the importance
of the rules is to make a shared dream real. The point of role playing is to
bring reality closer to our fantasies, and vice versa. In reality, Death is
swift, unexpected, and downright inconvenient at times. When a character
dies, however, it doesn't have to be the end of the story. The players get
the unique chance to outlive their characters and see how those individuals
affect the future after their deaths. If they don't, well... that's also
life; many die without making a dent in this world. Of course, the rules
aren't there to kill the characters, contrary to what my players may
believe. They are there to add misery, failure, misfortune, and strife.
Because that is what life is made of... without those negative elements, we
cannot truly appreciate fortune, chance, miracles, success, and joy. It was
once said that parents continually grieve for their children, but the joy is
in the grief. Perhaps there is some truth in that statement to be applied to
role playing.
And yet, sometimes we "nudge" things in a certain direction to make the
story more exciting, if a bit less real. For the same reason that the
wallflower inexplicably walks out to the dance floor and learns to fly, for
the same reason that a man will leap onto a grenade to save his buddies in a
foxhole, we defy our own nature and reality at times to make things "right".
We "fudge" the story to have meaning, to have purpose. Humanity likes to
break the rules.
This post has degenerated into purposeless babbling, but I had a point in
there somewhere. Cliches like "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you
play the game" and "Just go out and have fun" seem to be appropriate, but I
would encourage players (game players, not PCs) to go out and create
fantastic stories if that is what they wish, or live in a structured reality
of their own making if that is what they wish. For in the end, the
storyteller and the rules lawyer both win in this game.
Hahns Shin, MS II
Budding cybersurgeon
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know
that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."
