Post originally by jay verkuilen at 2005-04-20 12:31:03
Converted from Phorums BB System

Digital Apex wrote:
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>>James, not to pick a fight but I agree with Wulf to a degree. I do enjoy roleplaying, but there are some poeple that are better "players" when they do not have to rely on pure roleplaying. Just a comment...<<

I agree that it's important to have *some* rule for non-combat. Usually they don't need to be super-detailed unless this is supposed to be a focus for the game, but having some structure is good. It can easily be ignored as needed but is often hard to come up with on the fly.

This doesn't mean that you never use roleplaying. The roll/role playing distinction can be a false dichotomy. IMO making a roll or two and then playing the results appropriately can be a lot of fun. It also tends to keep things fresh because the outcome isn't always the one you would have expected or thought of on your own. Finally, having some dice (or whatever) does a good job keeping the boundary between player and character. To give a concrete example, my sum-total of knowledge is certainly quite different from my character's. As such, I will frequently make Intelligence checks if I come up with a good idea that I'm not 100% sure my PC would have managed. If the roll is really bad, I'll actually make up some false information and introduce it to the discussion.

Jay