how do ya play??

So does anyone know actually how to play the Star Wars RPG??

 

i don't

 

Yup - both the WEG version and the WotC version.

 

I know...

Well, mostly.

 

Why yes I do...

 

Welllll, no I don't, so how do you play?

 

I know.

 

SiriGallia, a decent start up for the game is the Invation of Theed game. It does simlify some things a little much, but it will get you started. I GM/play both versions.

 

I have no clue. And if anyone would be willing to explain it like they're talking to a brain dead bantha then I'd be much obliged. If not then, *shrug*, I guess I won't get to play. And hint if anyone wants to try to explain it (yeah right, why waste your time on me?) then they should know that I don't know what any of these RPG related abbreviations mean.

 

Probably the best way for you to learn the game is to get the main book, sit down with a couple of friends, read through, design some characters as you go, then try a sample campaign or two to get the feeling. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds.

 

Ah, thank you...and where might one find this mystical "main book"?

Sigh...I told to I was a brain dead bantha...

 

It depends on which system you want to use.

 

Well, go down to your local gaming store (every city has at least one, just follow the trail of geeks) and pick it up. Where I live, I've even seen it once or twice at an Electronics Boutique, of all places!

 

Another place to look would be the local comic store.

 

Ahh.. the video game generation..

Step 1: FInd the book
Step 2: Read the book
Step 3: Gather your friends
Step 4: Try to find a sample scenario online to play with.

OR..

A good way I've found to get into Roleplaying with beginners is.. don't laugh.. find a copy of the old D&D box sets, red or blue. They came boxed with an adventure. This way you can get used to roleplaying and games mastering without having to worry about a complex system. Move from this simple system, using the knowledge you have gained on roleplaying in general, and go to more advanced games like STar Wars, Cyberpunk etc.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that almost everyone my age or older started with these mythical boxes (I turn 26 on the 28th).

Another alternative is to find a gaming group in your town, city, college, high school etc and play a few games. I've been playing since I was 9 (DO the math!) and I still don't like GMing. I'm a player, through and through.. unless I'm running an adventure or having some fun with random encounter tables.

Roleplaying is alot like acting. You step into the shoes of a character. Games like everquest are not good examples of roleplay, in my opinion. THink outside the videogame genre which has warped and twisted the term 'RPG' into something that it isn't and think of yourself (The DM/GM) as a director. Your players are the actors playing their characters. You might have a script, but alot of Roleplaying sessions can end up like 'WHose line is it anyway?'.. totally adlibbed and, most of all, fun.

Glossary:
RPG - Roleplaying game

Red or blue box set - The original Dungeons and Dragons games produced in the late 70s and early 80s. Red is beginner, Blue is expert and there were subsequent box sets including immortals and such. These box sets can be rfrequently found at second hand stores, gaming stores and Thrift stores.

D&D - Dungeons and Dragons.. and if you don't know that, There may not be hope for you

DM - Dungeon Master, D&D term.. the person that runs the game

GM - Game(s) Master, see above

Player - People playing the game, not a GM.

NPC - Non Player Character. Like a special villain. NPCs are run by the GM.

Cyberpunk - Inspired by William Gibson's novel 'Neuromancer', this game is based in 2020 in Night City (IIRC, been a long time since I've played), which is somewhere in California. Willian Gibson and Cyberpunk inspired alot of people my age (I was in high school at the height of its popularity) to produce movies like 'The Matrix' etc. The game was wildly popular throughout the early 90s and still provokes fond reminiscence into the minds of those who wish they knew where their gosh-darned rulebook was. Another game similar to Cyberpunk was Shadowrun, which was Cyberpunk mixed with magic.

D6, D20, D8 etc - Dice. D6 is a 6 sized die, etc. These dice can br procured at gaming and comic shops throughout the world.

Sourcebook - Generally speaking, the core rules of any game. Ca be found at Gaming shops, comic shops and most large book stores such as Indigo and Chapters in Canada and Barnes and Noble and Borders in the US. Electronics Boutique also occasionally stocks some RPGs.

Random Encounter Table - Popularized in magazines like Dragon and Dungeon, these tables tell you what dice to roll, and based on the result a random thing can happen to the party. Depending on which table you're using, the results can be boring, hilarious or potentially deadly.

Hope this helps

Amy - Feelin' old

 

To tell the truth, the way I was introduced to roleplaying was, in my junior high years, I used to hang out at this one particular comic book store (while I should have been in class, but that's a whole 'nother ball of wax). Clerk was a real cool guy, dude by the name of Kevin. Anyhoo, there was a group of about 5 or 6 of us who would hang out there on a regular basis. One day Kevin says, "Hey, any of you want to get into roleplaying?" A couple of the guys had already, so they were in. Being an actor myself, I was in like Flynn. That was many, many years ago. I still love it. Can't quite get the hang of GMing, tho.

 

I was actually asking how you play the *computer* RPGs. Are they basically the same or something? ?

And I *always* follow the path of the geeks, E_Greyshadow. Just last weekend I spent 12 hours at a Sci-Fi trailerthon. And no, I did not have a date. I went for the SW stuff and because I've always had a fondness for Sci-fi, obviously, or I wouldn't be here. And I love RPG video games (I'm sorry ArtyEwok but I really am the video game generation ) Mario RPG was my first and then I got really into The Legend of Zelda. I love Link. He's my future husband. Sorry...I'm sure you didn't need proof of my geekdom but there it is. I also love comics I just can't keep up with them. So there. *adjusts glasses.*

 

I'm slightly biased here, but I don't see computer RPGs are RPGs, but mroe as complex and excellent puzzle games with actions and quests.

That's just my opinion.

Now, multi player worlds can be RPGs, or they can be hacknslash based. A bias of mine is that i don't see any graphical world as a real RPG yet, not until we have some kind of full immersion VR and you can /be/ the character.

Text based are pretty good, MUDs are more hacky than MUShes, but I do know from a former roomate that roleplay can happen on MUDs. Roleplay does happen on some worlds like Everquest, but.. meh.. the limitations I see are ones that can't be easily added with the technology we have today. Touch, full control over your character..

I don't feel like I am a character when I'm playing a videogame, but on my online worlds or in a tabletop scenario, I can slip away into the character.

Of course, other people have other opinions..

I like games like Baldur's Gate.. My guess is that it would fall into the COMPUTER RPG genre, but to me, it would just be, like I said, a really neat puzzle and quest game

 

Y'know, I totally agree with you on that one, Artsie (hope you don't mind me calling you that...). I love the feeling to just sit down and let myself become the character, not having a computer screen there to distract me. It's much more immersive.