Pen and Paper RPGs

[D_H_Magus]

so.... what are they really?

i'd like to learn about them, maybe play them. Can anyone tell me about them?

[Shy]

[size=1]Pen and paper RPGs are games like Dungeons and Dragons, Modern d20, and Vampire the Masquerade. These involve a good amount of puzzles and combat encounters created by a specified player, usually called a "Game Master." I have played pen and paper RPGs for about six years, and they can be a lot of fun. It all just depends on who you play with, though.

-Shy[/size]

[OtakuSennen]

Um.. A pen & paper RPG is like the original role playing game. Before the days of video game ones.

Dungeons and Dragons is a pen & paper RPG. There is no real advanced technology in playing the game. You buy the books, and the sheets, and the paper to keep track of your experience points and money in the game. People create their own levels and stories in it using a pen and paper.

Actually, I've never played a true game of D&D.. Just the cheap-o starter set, and even then I had nobody but my 10-year-old brother to play with so it wasn't enjoyable.

That answered your question, right?

EDIT: Heh, Shy, you beat me to the punch.

[terra]

Hm, I've never actually heard of these. They sound interesting. I know there are a couple of RPG's going on in the Adventure Arena that are based on Dungeons and Dragons and Vampire the Masquerade.

EDIT: Was beaten to the punch, similar to OtakuSennen ...
Anyway, I still don't get the idea behind them :P. What's there to do beside puzzles, do you create a storyline as well?

[OtakuSennen]

Heh, playing an RPG with other humans in real life based by luck of the dice in some aspects can be truly a great experience.

The idea behind a pen & paper RPG? Well, it gives you a creative thing to do. Human creativity is a near endless supply of ideas and characters, so no two games are exactly alike.

Plus the coolest part about D&D is dressing up like an elf and chanting spells. ~_^

[RioLaskand]

Also if you RP (roleplay) with a group of regulars who know the material (6 or 7, counting the DM) You can really have a lot of fun. I have a regular D&D squad and we have all-night parties fighting demons, solving mysteries, we've created our own town with different personalities, a royal guard, a black market, everything you could ever want in the town. We even have a shady mafia. Whatever you want to do in pen&paper style games, you can, and that's the fun of it. The books are just guidelines to keep and balance most attributes, but for the most part, you can do what you want. I hope you try it out for yourself with some seasoned and good-natured people. Otherwise the people do Lamer stuff or just don't help you and are condescending. Hope you have fun with it!

[Zen]

The Adventure Arena is pretty much the bastard child of Pen and Paper RPGs and without D&D the Adventure Arena probably wouldn't be here today. That it in a nut shell, but sometimes, when you create a chracter in PandP RPGs, you gotta have a set amount of points and moves. The moves count for your moves, so you can only choose so many abilites. And i have never played one outside te Adventure Arena in my life.

[Guest KyleTheHusker]

Pen and Paper RPGs are one of the most enjoyable things to partake in if you are into roleplaying and thinking a little more than with a video game RPG. The players are real, the universe that you play in is only limited to your imagination, not someone else's, and the human contact is worth the time you would play in a pre-fabricated 3D gaming world. It's not for everyone, but for those who enjoy the endless possibilites with characters/worlds and like to be with others of the same interest, it's one the greatest things in the world.

[Drix D'Zanth]

I would most definately reccomend them if you prefer using your imagination to define the constraints upon which you create your setting. Much like the Adventure arena , RPG's are more or less limited by imagination.

However, Pen and Paper RPG's usually have a definitive set of rules that help take out the random guesswork of an RPG. This puts the game in far more realistic constraint, as you now have some guideline to determine what can or cannot happen. Usually deciding if an action fails or suceeds is within the dice roll.

I would reccomend using some system, DnD, Rifts, S&S, or my favorite: Vampire: the Masquerade. This allows you and a group of equaly enthusastic and imaginative friends to explore the boundless realities of Pen and Paper Roleplaying. It's a rewarding experience when used in moderation, and proper maturity.

-Drix

[RPCrazy]

What I'd give to find a good storyteller and troupe to play with in my area... -sighs wistfully- Unfortunately, the world of RP is very much considered almost "taboo" in Jersey. You mention D&D and people give you weird looks...and V:tM just gets you thrown out of town entirely...

~_^ No, I'm joking. It's just very hard for me to find a group of people to RP with P&P style. The only group I know of is my buddy Tim and some of his friends...but they're very much D&D, which is not my style. -snugs her Book of Nod- Give me vampires any day...I mean, night. ^_^

[Japan]

I played a few pen and paper RPG games. Rifts was fun, and so was D&D. What I am doing currently with my gang of friends is this RPG we made up in this one notebook. We all take turns writing in it. When we are done posting in it, we pass it to the next person. It's been going on for about a little over a week. The story is getting really interesting.

[craig8429]

D&D! lol my friends and I usually play over the internet now...... so I guess the idea of pen and paper has been modified.

[DuoMax]

I love DnD and the White Wolf games..wow...this takes me back..*sits down in an easy chair and pulls out a pipe*

Our adventures started about 5years ago, when myself and my borther began a DnD campaign with a friend of ours. He was the DM and I played a Half-Elf cleric(male). My brother played an Elf fighter(male), and off we went. We went through many adventures, and to date have slain 4 dragons,innumerable Orcs and Goblins, many demons, undead, and 1 lich. We have been joined in our adventures by a human paladin(male), a wizard(female),and a Elven Psychic Warrior(male).

My brother is currently the Lord of all the Norhtlands, I am the lord High Cleric of the Northlands, and the other occupy various positions. Most recently we have slain red dragon, and a cadre of demons. Our paladin now wields a Holy Lance and is mounted on a Gold Dragon, soI could say we're doing pretty well. But unfortunately, our DM is in college.. :bluesweat:

Anyway, P and P RPGs are very fun and rewarding. LARPs(Live Action Role Play) are also alot of fun. Currently I'm involved in a Changeling LARP(Changeling is another White Wolf game in the vein of Vampire:The Masquerade and Werewolf: the Apocalypse.)

So go ahead and find some friends, get some books, learn the rules and have some fun!

[Jaganshi]

Well I haven't played D&D but I do have A D&D at my disposal(haven't played that yet either).What I am currently playing now is Cyber Punk 2020.My char is techie ^_^ I play with my family on the 1st Saturday of every month (we play this Saturyday)The referee is my Stepmom and in our little group we have 5 players(including the ref).
Does anyone else play Cyber Punk?