A really good persuasive description of roleplaying

mehrkat · 10-11-2010, 12:57 PM

Hi All,

My googlefu is weak so I come to the forum for advice.

I'm looking for a good persuasive description of Roleplaying designed to make it sound cool enough to a bunch of homeschooling parents and their children to make them willing to try playing in a game.

I'm composing an email to a large local area group trying to explain what it is and suggest the idea to get together and try a game maybe even set up some sort of club so that we can get together and find players for games.

Anyone got one to share.

alexondria · 10-11-2010, 02:25 PM

Role Playing is an interactive storytelling activity that helps people to grow in areas of creativity and problem solving.

mook · 10-11-2010, 02:46 PM

Probably a bit long for your purposes, but might be useful - this was my description:

http://www.fudgefactor.org/2001/10/01/imagine_that.html

mehrkat · 10-11-2010, 03:21 PM

Mook can I borrow liberally from that article?

Edges · 10-11-2010, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexondria

Role Playing is an interactive storytelling activity that helps people to grow in areas of creativity and problem solving.

Nice. I'd throw the word "cooperative" in there too. Home-school parents love that. : )

Nemi3e · 10-13-2010, 03:40 AM

Children run around playing cops and robbers, or house, or whatever make believe appeals to them.

Eventually though, they can get into fights.

Like: Bang bang I shot you, no you missed, no I didn't, Well I'm Superman so it doesn't hurt me so nyah.

Role playing is this, but with who, and what, everyone is pre-recorded on paper, so no one spontaneously turns into superman. And the resolution of contests is settled with skills and dice rolls, it's not who's yelling louder who wins.

The creation of these characters allows the children to practice planing ahead, and the relation between the dice and skills practices math in a playful environment. Studying the dice also gives insight into statistics and fractions.

There is a story teller, a game master who controls "the badguys", so the players, all the other children, can band together cooperatively. Older children can rotate so everyone gets a turn. With younger children the task of managing the game would fall to an adult, who can then administer and guide the play productively.

Role playing is not limited to fantasy settings, so the game master could introduce a game based upon the real medieval era, or the old west, or the War for Independence, and teach history in an exciting and interactive ways.

tg_ambro · 10-15-2010, 07:19 PM

If they are homeschoolers (and I know this is a sterotype) I would not recommend the "It's like Dungeons and Dragons" pitch! It's a little too "tainted." :-)

Other than that I would call an RPG: A riveting, interactive story where the player characters take center stage and act out great improv stories, making Ethical/Moral/Cinematic/Important/Character Building/Logical/Whatever decisions along the way!

I would then include a prospectus and of a few different one shots that people may be interested in.

Nemi3e · 10-15-2010, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tg_ambro

If they are homeschoolers (and I know this is a sterotype) I would not recommend the "It's like Dungeons and Dragons" pitch! It's a little too "tainted." :-)

Yeah, since this is a GURPS board I'm assuming the OP is pitching GURPS. Hence my suggestion of historical settings. Look ma, you're little warriors of god can be godly knights in the crusades~

I would also like to add, as an addendum, that for children with socialization issues role playing with books and dice has rules that will potentially make things easier, and arguments and fights are usually deflected onto the characters so no one feels attacked.

quarkstomper · 10-16-2010, 04:47 AM

Here is a site with a lot of good pro-gaming resources written from a Christian point of view: Christian Gamers Guild. Yeah, I know you're looking for something pithy and easy to pass on, but seriously, there's a lot of good material here for countering the "D&D = Satanism" canard.

whswhs · 10-16-2010, 08:51 AM

It occurred to me that my essay "Participatory Fiction" over at www.troynovant.com might have something relevant. So I just went and scanned through it. The opening doesn't seem to have any really pointed short statement, but the concluding paragraph might make some of the right points:

The resulting narratives will never have the perfection of a novel composed by a single writer. There is no time for polishing them repeatedly, at length, before they reach the audience; their first draft and their delivery to the audience take place at the same time, as with any improvisational art. But, at the same time, they give the audience the pleasure of being co-creators, not just imitatively, as when listeners at a concert join in singing a familiar refrain, but as originators whose bits of narrative and dialogue can change the shape of the work. The game master's skill shows best not in absolute control of the narrative, but in adapting to unexpected developments with an unexpected ingenious and fitting narrative twist. And part of this skill is the ability to obtain the best action and dialogue from the players, helping them to make their characters memorable.

Bill Stoddard

10-11-2010, 12:57 PM	#1
mehrkat Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Austin Texas	A really good persuasive description of roleplaying Hi All, My googlefu is weak so I come to the forum for advice. I'm looking for a good persuasive description of Roleplaying designed to make it sound cool enough to a bunch of homeschooling parents and their children to make them willing to try playing in a game. I'm composing an email to a large local area group trying to explain what it is and suggest the idea to get together and try a game maybe even set up some sort of club so that we can get together and find players for games. Anyone got one to share. __________________ He stared out in the distance to see the awesome might of the Meerkat war party.

10-11-2010, 02:25 PM	#2
alexondria Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Atlanta GA	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying Role Playing is an interactive storytelling activity that helps people to grow in areas of creativity and problem solving.

10-11-2010, 02:46 PM	#3
mook Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Los Angeles	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying Probably a bit long for your purposes, but might be useful - this was my description: http://www.fudgefactor.org/2001/10/01/imagine_that.html __________________ How to Be a GURPS GM, author Game Geekery, Blog (GURPS combat examples, fillable PDF sheets, rules summaries, campaigns and one-shots, beginners' intro) GURPS Discord, unofficial hangout and real-time chat

10-11-2010, 03:21 PM	#4
mehrkat Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Austin Texas	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying Mook can I borrow liberally from that article? __________________ He stared out in the distance to see the awesome might of the Meerkat war party. Last edited by mehrkat; 10-11-2010 at 03:21 PM. Reason: punctuation

10-13-2010, 03:40 AM	#6
Nemi3e Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NYC	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying Children run around playing cops and robbers, or house, or whatever make believe appeals to them. Eventually though, they can get into fights. Like: Bang bang I shot you, no you missed, no I didn't, Well I'm Superman so it doesn't hurt me so nyah. Role playing is this, but with who, and what, everyone is pre-recorded on paper, so no one spontaneously turns into superman. And the resolution of contests is settled with skills and dice rolls, it's not who's yelling louder who wins. The creation of these characters allows the children to practice planing ahead, and the relation between the dice and skills practices math in a playful environment. Studying the dice also gives insight into statistics and fractions. There is a story teller, a game master who controls "the badguys", so the players, all the other children, can band together cooperatively. Older children can rotate so everyone gets a turn. With younger children the task of managing the game would fall to an adult, who can then administer and guide the play productively. Role playing is not limited to fantasy settings, so the game master could introduce a game based upon the real medieval era, or the old west, or the War for Independence, and teach history in an exciting and interactive ways. __________________ -- The GM is not your Enemy. The GM is your dealer.

10-15-2010, 07:19 PM	#7
tg_ambro Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Arkham Asylum	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying If they are homeschoolers (and I know this is a sterotype) I would not recommend the "It's like Dungeons and Dragons" pitch! It's a little too "tainted." :-) Other than that I would call an RPG: A riveting, interactive story where the player characters take center stage and act out great improv stories, making Ethical/Moral/Cinematic/Important/Character Building/Logical/Whatever decisions along the way! I would then include a prospectus and of a few different one shots that people may be interested in. __________________ Jazama Pajama Pajama Shimera Kazam Imera Imera Kazam Pajama Shimera Kazam Pajama Pajama! Check out my blog, Ambro's Brainwaves Pretend you have telepathy, read my thoughts!

10-16-2010, 04:47 AM	#9
quarkstomper Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The Enchanted Land-O-Cheese	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying Here is a site with a lot of good pro-gaming resources written from a Christian point of view: Christian Gamers Guild. Yeah, I know you're looking for something pithy and easy to pass on, but seriously, there's a lot of good material here for countering the "D&D = Satanism" canard.

10-16-2010, 08:51 AM	#10
whswhs Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS	Re: A really good persuasive description of roleplaying It occurred to me that my essay "Participatory Fiction" over at www.troynovant.com might have something relevant. So I just went and scanned through it. The opening doesn't seem to have any really pointed short statement, but the concluding paragraph might make some of the right points: The resulting narratives will never have the perfection of a novel composed by a single writer. There is no time for polishing them repeatedly, at length, before they reach the audience; their first draft and their delivery to the audience take place at the same time, as with any improvisational art. But, at the same time, they give the audience the pleasure of being co-creators, not just imitatively, as when listeners at a concert join in singing a familiar refrain, but as originators whose bits of narrative and dialogue can change the shape of the work. The game master's skill shows best not in absolute control of the narrative, but in adapting to unexpected developments with an unexpected ingenious and fitting narrative twist. And part of this skill is the ability to obtain the best action and dialogue from the players, helping them to make their characters memorable. Bill Stoddard