Roleplaying The Old Republic

[Yosarian2]

With a pen-and-paper character, as Yahtzee says, the possibilities are infinite. Effectively there's no frame of reference and trying to resolve one to contextualise that character is an insurmountable task, for the most part.

Eh, if you're familiar with D&D, it's pretty easy to hear a story and put it in context.

"So, after the beholder wiped out our last party, all four of us had all decided to make new characters that were level 1 wizards for some reason. We were out of spells for the day, so when the kobalds attacked we all ran and hid in the trees. We probably would have been fine, they had no idea where we were, but then John decided to take out his sling and toss a rock at one of them..."

Anyone who's familiar with the rules of D&D understands what's going on at this point in some detail. And personally, I find stories about pen and paper RPG's much more interesting then anything about what someone imagined their character to be in a video game.

I mean; doesn't anyone around here read order of the stick?

 

[Sentox6]

But if I tell my friend who has never played a game of Skyrim or Mass Effect, they won't have the context either.

Exactly.

Eh, if you're familiar with D&D, it's pretty easy to hear a story and put it in context.

"So, after the beholder wiped out our last party, all four of us had all decided to make new characters that were level 1 wizards for some reason. We were out of spells for the day, so when the kobalds attacked we all ran and hid in the trees. We probably would have been fine, they had no idea where we were, but then John decided to take out his sling and toss a rock at one of them..."

Anyone who's familiar with the rules of D&D understands what's going on at this point in some detail.

I would think that for most people, that's a much more generic backdrop than the somewhat more visceral experience they would have playing a game with 3D graphics, voice acting, etc.

For me, I find precious little compelling about a random person's pen-and-paper character because, because without being involved and having a first-hand understanding of how they've constructed their particular interpretation of the universe, it's essentially like having fan-fiction read to me. And if I'm going to be interested, it's going to have to be an extremely compelling narrative.

That being said:

And personally, I find stories about pen and paper RPG's much more interesting then anything about what someone imagined their character to be in a video game.

YMMV.

 

[Lyvric]

So..

creating a character with a personality and backstory, using lore from an established and concrete source that everyone can read and get into...on paper is bad.

creating a character with a personality and backstory, using lore from an established and concrete source that everyone can read and get into...in a videogame is good!





O...okay.

Okay, here's my thought on this:

People don't give a shit. If they hold an ounce of shit to give, it isn't going to last long. It doesn't really matter what format or context or anything your character is in.

I tend to play both and have seen written stories. There are pen and paper characters with stories my friends have that I enjoy and others I don't remember 5 minutes later. Using written guidelines allows the pen and paper people to create just about anything to rpg in. I love that open flexibility.

When it comes to games and MMOs, I find it harder to do. The world is made, not imagined. I don't usually care about another players single player game because I don't interact with them at all.

MMOs are the worst. I've tried roleplaying. All the visuals can be copy/pasted and another person can look excatly like you easily. There's so many stories that are the same, so many of the same grinding quests and unless you have a special friend, you'll most likely be trolled for saying anything remotely story based. It's bland, repetitive, and hard to care about what someone else is playing.

 

[El Dwarfio]

When your creating a backstory / recounting previous events etc it' solo, there is no interaction and for a group - very little relevance. It's a personal thing.

Then your doing the same thing people do for themselves - you can either stick to the varnished truth - "I once climbed Snowdon"; the unvarnished truth - "I once went up Snowdown with a camping trip" or the total make-up - "I once climbed Everest in my pants". And this can happen with online characters as well.

The first two can still be an interesting story, and I think it's Yahtzee's misanthropy that's holding him back here - he could say "That's sort of like opening a Mana Bar", sit back and be smug.

The latter is definitely godmodding though, it's just you're roleplaying yourself - and that's far worse - and DREADFULLY boring.

But very open to subtle trolling

What about if I climbed Snowdon and it wasn't on a camping trip?

 

[Sotanaht]

I actually enjoy listening to people talk about DnD games and characters. Mostly stems from the fact that I can't for the life of me play those games (I've tried), yet I've always wanted to. In effect I live vicariously through other peoples stories about them.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Yes! Thankyou!

I was trying to explain this to my friend while we were playing TOR and I'm sure he thought I was a lunatic.

I think the comparison to DnD was a little unfair but your overall point regarding role play is valid.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

What about if I climbed Snowdon and it wasn't on a camping trip?

I'd suspect a little bit of varnishing there...what went wrong?

 

[keroko]

I'm confused.

Whether you care about a Pen & Paper character depends on the same factors as caring for any other type of fictional character. If the storyteller can't convey his story well enough to immerse you, that's a problem with the narrator, not the thing he's talking about.

That's exactly it, though. When we discuss our characters from a game like Skyrim or Mass Effect, that's a tremendous amount of contextual experience instantly available. That character is immediately framed by a universe we care about, and scenarios and NPCs we're familiar with. This context gives us a reason to care about the decisions and behaviours of that character.

With a pen-and-paper character, as Yahtzee says, the possibilities are infinite. Effectively there's no frame of reference and trying to resolve one to contextualise that character is an insurmountable task, for the most part.

YMMV

There's a teeny-tiny flaw in that logic though: Star wars has a pen and paper RPG too. Now the pen and paper characters in question are framed by a universe we care about. Is it still impossible to care about a pen and paper character?

 

[geizr]

Sounds to me like you personally just have more interest in video-game RPGs than you do in Pen-and-Paper RPGs. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but attaching all this philosophizing and rationalization to make more meaning of it than actually exists is just pure BS. You are confusing your personal preferences with some objective reality. People in Pen-and-Paper RPG circles share and take interest in each others characters all the time, because they all share a deep interest in Pen-and-Paper RPGs. I would go so far to say that PnP RPG characters are far more interesting(or have the potential to be) than any video game RPG character because the character has fewer limits in comparison.

(Being snide and cynical doesn't make someone intelligent or correct, but it does contribute strongly to their being bitter and miserable.)

 

[jawakiller]

Old Republic was shitty Yahtzee, everybody knows that.

Sometimes people tell funny stories in DnD. Sure you can't see it but that doesn't automatically render it useless and boring.

Talk about some generic smuggler you made in a shitty mmo with extremely limiting rules, I won't care. Talk about how your dwarf convinced a shopkeeper to give him all the money because the dwarf was actually half giant... A lot more interesting.

 

[EvilRoy]

Roleplaying The Old Republic

Let Yahtzee tell you about his character.

Read Full Article

"So as I said in the video I opted for a Republic Smuggler, and for race I chose Cyborg... blah, blah, blah... "

Not interesting, not interested, who gives a fuck?

Did you really just call vaginas "salty tuna sandwiches"? Why would a presumably heterosexual man (though, with that hat, vest and goatee I may have my doubts) equate delicious lady bits to salty fish while at the same time comparing a man's wedding tackle to a scrumptious hot dog with all the trimmings?

Sorry I was just reading through the comments section, but this one in particular stuck in my head so I have to speak to it to clean it out.

...
"delicious lady bits"?
... You're a virgin aren't you?

 

[deadish]

or because your alter ego is particularly uninteresting.

I think I would have to disagree.

Ramblings about someone's character IS uninteresting. Uninteresting in the same way most fan fiction is.

Reason? Mary Sue characters. And most RP characters ARE Mary Sue characters. Characters designed to appeases the sensibilities of it's creator, instead of being designed to be interesting to an audience like most non-boring characters that you see in successful works of fiction.

 

[Zom-B]

Roleplaying The Old Republic

Let Yahtzee tell you about his character.

Read Full Article

"So as I said in the video I opted for a Republic Smuggler, and for race I chose Cyborg... blah, blah, blah... "

Not interesting, not interested, who gives a fuck?

Did you really just call vaginas "salty tuna sandwiches"? Why would a presumably heterosexual man (though, with that hat, vest and goatee I may have my doubts) equate delicious lady bits to salty fish while at the same time comparing a man's wedding tackle to a scrumptious hot dog with all the trimmings?

Sorry I was just reading through the comments section, but this one in particular stuck in my head so I have to speak to it to clean it out.

...
"delicious lady bits"?
... You're a virgin aren't you?

Your powers of deduction fail you, good sir. I am a happily married man of four years, lucky to be partnered with a beautiful woman who does indeed have "delicious lady bits". I can't speak for the ones you've encountered, if any at all, but I have yet to meet any that weren't delightful in their own special way.

By your comments, I might think that you are the virgin. But that would be rude and presumptuous of me, don't you agree?

 

[El Dwarfio]

What about if I climbed Snowdon and it wasn't on a camping trip?

I'd suspect a little bit of varnishing there...what went wrong?

Nothing really Me and my Brother were road-tripping Wales, we stopped for the weekend in Dolwydellan, drove to Rhydd Du and parked n the train station there and then climbed Snowdon, the Rhydd Du track is a great way of doing it, not as stunning as the Miner's but virtually no tourists on it.

Afterwards we drove to Llanberis and got hench fuck off pizzas from the greek owned takeaway there.

 

[EvilRoy]

Roleplaying The Old Republic

Let Yahtzee tell you about his character.

Read Full Article

"So as I said in the video I opted for a Republic Smuggler, and for race I chose Cyborg... blah, blah, blah... "

Not interesting, not interested, who gives a fuck?

Did you really just call vaginas "salty tuna sandwiches"? Why would a presumably heterosexual man (though, with that hat, vest and goatee I may have my doubts) equate delicious lady bits to salty fish while at the same time comparing a man's wedding tackle to a scrumptious hot dog with all the trimmings?

Sorry I was just reading through the comments section, but this one in particular stuck in my head so I have to speak to it to clean it out.

...
"delicious lady bits"?
... You're a virgin aren't you?

Your powers of deduction fail you, good sir. I am a happily married man of four years, lucky to be partnered with a beautiful woman who does indeed have "delicious lady bits". I can't speak for the ones you've encountered, if any at all, but I have yet to meet any that weren't delightful in their own special way.

By your comments, I might think that you are the virgin. But that would be rude and presumptuous of me, don't you agree?

Delight is one thing, delicious is another. I suppose it's possible that the... hmm "flavour" of any individual woman's "area" would depend strongly on the individuals diet, but I have yet to meet one that tastes especially delicious. Certainly have been less bad than others, but never enough to qualify as delicious.

Rude and presumptuous I suppose, yes, but no more or less so than questioning a persons gender preference based on a food analogy...

 

[Sentox6]

There's a teeny-tiny flaw in that logic though: Star wars has a pen and paper RPG too. Now the pen and paper characters in question are framed by a universe we care about. Is it still impossible to care about a pen and paper character?

I'm not sure how this scenario is a "flaw" in my reasoning. A lot of people are familiar with D&D, LotR, etc. I still don't think that's as compelling as discussing your experiences in a world you've both experienced (as an entertainment product rather than a theoretical exercise).

But, for the third time, YMMV. I'm not telling you what to like or setting some sort of objective standard for how compelling different fictional constructions are. It's just my perspective.

Old Republic was shitty Yahtzee, everybody knows that.

I didn't get the memo.

 

[Zom-B]

Sorry I was just reading through the comments section, but this one in particular stuck in my head so I have to speak to it to clean it out.

...
"delicious lady bits"?
... You're a virgin aren't you?

Your powers of deduction fail you, good sir. I am a happily married man of four years, lucky to be partnered with a beautiful woman who does indeed have "delicious lady bits". I can't speak for the ones you've encountered, if any at all, but I have yet to meet any that weren't delightful in their own special way.

By your comments, I might think that you are the virgin. But that would be rude and presumptuous of me, don't you agree?[/quote]

Delight is one thing, delicious is another. I suppose it's possible that the... hmm "flavour" of any individual woman's "area" would depend strongly on the individuals diet, but I have yet to meet one that tastes especially delicious. Certainly have been less bad than others, but never enough to qualify as delicious.

Rude and presumptuous I suppose, yes, but no more or less so than questioning a persons gender preference based on a food analogy...[/quote]

You'll notice I didn't limit my curiousity about Yahtzee to just the food analogy, I also pointed out his rather dapper mode of dress.

Anyway, all I can do is feel bad for you that you seem only to have encountered women of questionable hygiene or dubious dietary habits.

 

[EvilRoy]

Sorry I was just reading through the comments section, but this one in particular stuck in my head so I have to speak to it to clean it out.

...
"delicious lady bits"?
... You're a virgin aren't you?

Your powers of deduction fail you, good sir. I am a happily married man of four years, lucky to be partnered with a beautiful woman who does indeed have "delicious lady bits". I can't speak for the ones you've encountered, if any at all, but I have yet to meet any that weren't delightful in their own special way.

By your comments, I might think that you are the virgin. But that would be rude and presumptuous of me, don't you agree?

Delight is one thing, delicious is another. I suppose it's possible that the... hmm "flavour" of any individual woman's "area" would depend strongly on the individuals diet, but I have yet to meet one that tastes especially delicious. Certainly have been less bad than others, but never enough to qualify as delicious.

Rude and presumptuous I suppose, yes, but no more or less so than questioning a persons gender preference based on a food analogy...

You'll notice I didn't limit my curiousity about Yahtzee to just the food analogy, I also pointed out his rather dapper mode of dress.

Anyway, all I can do is feel bad for you that you seem only to have encountered women of questionable hygiene or dubious dietary habits.[/quote]

I see, including judgment based on proper grooming in addition to food analogy reduces presumption and rudeness to an insightful and polite observation. I'll file that for future use, thank you.

I suppose pity is the correct response to my situation, although I might wonder if your enjoyment of the flavour is more of an acquired taste, like caviar or chard.

 

[Zom-B]

Sorry I was just reading through the comments section, but this one in particular stuck in my head so I have to speak to it to clean it out.

...
"delicious lady bits"?
... You're a virgin aren't you?

Your powers of deduction fail you, good sir. I am a happily married man of four years, lucky to be partnered with a beautiful woman who does indeed have "delicious lady bits". I can't speak for the ones you've encountered, if any at all, but I have yet to meet any that weren't delightful in their own special way.

By your comments, I might think that you are the virgin. But that would be rude and presumptuous of me, don't you agree?

Delight is one thing, delicious is another. I suppose it's possible that the... hmm "flavour" of any individual woman's "area" would depend strongly on the individuals diet, but I have yet to meet one that tastes especially delicious. Certainly have been less bad than others, but never enough to qualify as delicious.

Rude and presumptuous I suppose, yes, but no more or less so than questioning a persons gender preference based on a food analogy...

You'll notice I didn't limit my curiousity about Yahtzee to just the food analogy, I also pointed out his rather dapper mode of dress.

Anyway, all I can do is feel bad for you that you seem only to have encountered women of questionable hygiene or dubious dietary habits.

I see, including judgment based on proper grooming in addition to food analogy reduces presumption and rudeness to an insightful and polite observation. I'll file that for future use, thank you.

I suppose pity is the correct response to my situation, although I might wonder if your enjoyment of the flavour is more of an acquired taste, like caviar or chard.[/quote]

I'll be damned if this isn't the most polite argument I've ever had.

I suppose like a fine scotch or coffee, the intoxicating flavours of the fairer sex may very well be an acquired taste.

As for my comments about Yahtzee, they are as humourously intended as his articles are.

Good day to you.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Nothing really Me and my Brother were road-tripping Wales, we stopped for the weekend in Dolwydellan, drove to Rhydd Du and parked n the train station there and then climbed Snowdon, the Rhydd Du track is a great way of doing it, not as stunning as the Miner's but virtually no tourists on it.

Afterwards we drove to Llanberis and got hench fuck off pizzas from the greek owned takeaway there.

And that's still a good story about a character. (in this case, yourself)

See, Yahtzee? Doesn't have to be boring.