What keeps you away from tabletop roleplay ?

[Lost Swordlance]

Hey you all !

This site is focused on play-by-post roleplay, as an old tabletop roleplayer (Master in D&D and Bachelor in Call of Cthulhu), I was a bit disconcerted with the system at first.
My initial thought were those that play-by-post are just some kind of ersatz of "true" tabletop roleplay. After an analysis, I figured that the play-by-post system featured great difference with the more classical tabletop roleplays.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the play-by-post style and think it is really good to get into roleplay. But a part that I miss from the old years is the ACTING part. I look up at play-by-post roleplay more like participative writing than acting.
I admit that it's still roleplay, but damn I feel like some of you guys are missing something there. Sometimes, I even feel like you even run away from such experiences.


I made a quick summary on why I feel everyone should try it at least once :
+ Acting as your character in unexpected scenarios.


+ Progression is fast and you really feel like you've achieved something after a session


+ Social interaction


+ Train your verse and spontaneity


+ Way less drop outs and abandoned campaigns.


+ Great way to make friends


+ Direct feedback


+ Godmodding and other "rage tools" are nearly impossible to use.


I also thought about what could keep you away from it and have distinguished a few reasons :


- Shyness, Personality 


- You have to be spontaneous


- Playing the other gender can be hell a lot more awkward


- Romanticism is also more awkward (unless it involves NPC)


- Rules


- Language fluency


- Time (from 1h to 5h sessions)


Those complaints are totally valid and I respect people who can't play tabletops roleplay for these reasons.


So here is my question, what don't you try ? I would be happy to know because some reasons are still mysterious from me.


PS : If you're part of the people who wants to try but have never had any occasions to do so, PM me.


It was an advertissement all along ! AHAHAHAH ! xD

 

[The Swedish Chef]

Because there's no one I know who's interested in trying it with me.  And call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't that fun to play it by yourself. 

 

[call me rae]

I didn't know it existed until I came to this forum and met the other former table top roleplayers. And also @The Swedish Chef nailed it, I wouldn't have the first idea where to go to find people near me who do this style roleplay either.

 

[Hige]

I used to be afraid of just trying to learn it since it seemed complicated, but I had a friend slowly (and patiently) walk me through it. It's how I make a lot of my characters, by doing the character sheets.

 

[Valhasagun]

I really want to play! I'm just scared because of my inexperience.I've done a game or two where we fudged the rules for the sake of rp or because we didn't have a rule book.

 

[RatFlail]

Some of it is both time limitations and current social ties. It's rare that I get a solid 3-4 hours to do anything anymore, let alone manage to coordinate that block with up to 4 other people on a consistent basis. Play-by-post or PM let's me play in 10 minute chunks before and after work, during breaks, or when I wake up in the middle of the night. That makes things more accessible to me.


Plus, my current friends aren't really into RPing. I've tried to GM for them in the past, but I'm not a great GM. They aren't really interested in trying again. Back in my AD&D days, I played with friends all of the time, but I've moved 3-4 times since then.


And I'll admit that the written word appeals to me more than acting. I've read and written more stories than I've seen on stage, and I haven't participated in a play since elementary school. My brain tends to work slowly, so I do better when I can plan and edit my RP. At tabletop sessions, I never really contributed to the fun that the other players were having because I am not an outgoing person, even if I can write one in RP. At conventions, I'm more of the type to sit and seriously listen to the panel than the cosplay and party type. Not that I can't have fun, I just take geeky subjects far too seriously.


Oh, I envy people that can have fun that way, but every attempt that I make at that sort of fun comes off forced because it is forced. It's the rare person that can bring that out in me.

 

[Umbrie]

i enjoy Tabletop roleplay, even if i play it as the sole noncombatant with a murderhobo focused group. i enjoy online tabletops too. i found a tabletop group has its own charm, and works at its best when the party is missing a seemingly mandatory archetype an expected to adapt accordingly. because everybody wants to play the beatstick. the issue primarily happens when you have a group that spends more time making witty movie quotes without context than they do actually playing. i noticed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the Princess Bride are the source of most tabletop jokes. but everybody in the tabletop world has seen both movies, and the quotes get overquoted.

 

[The Mechanist]

I actually don't have a problem acting as my character, I've done table top before and honestly it's really fun, I seriously get into the character, though there are the moments where it's a bit too fun and I end up laughing.

 

[Grey]

I run a lot of tabletop-style games on here; we're in our own section rather than not here at all.


Hard to get people into the freeform style onboard, though. 

 

[Bone2pick]

So here is my question, what don't you try ? I would be happy to know because some reasons are still mysterious from me.

Since I have a background in table top RPGs, I'd rather answer your thread's title question: what keeps you away from tabletop roleplaying? 


Storytelling.  That's what it boils down to.  My older brother introduced me to pen and paper RPGs decades ago.  My first pen and paper character was an energy projecting superhero named Heatwave using the Hero System—though I believe it was called Champions at the time.  From there I explored "Advanced" Dungeons and Dragons, Gamma World, Shadowrun, Werewolf Apoc, and many others.  It was a decent way to indulge in fantasy escapism, but I was often unsatisfied with its limitations.  And frankly I still am.


Play by post on the other hand has me hooked.  I view it as swimming to the deep end of the storytelling pool.  Through the power of writing and images I can showcase a richer world, display more of my character's emotions and motivations, as well as have a stronger sense that our characters are actually interacting in their fantasy setting.  I've had years to compare the two mediums of roleplaying, and for me, there is a clear victor.

 

[CastoffCaptain]

Because there's no one I know who's interested in trying it with me.  And call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't that fun to play it by yourself. 

Same here. all of my tabletop buddies moved away. 

 

[Kodiak]

Good question. I've never tried tabletop RPGs before, but not because the style has put me off. While I'm sure any genre can be adapted to a tabletop game, the most prevalent genres I see are epic fantasy and combat- or quest-oriented stories. There's nothing wrong with either category, but I personally don't like Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy or combat-heavy scenes. So, I've steered clear of tabletop games because their stories don't generally interest me.


The thing is, I began roleplaying because I love writing and storytelling. I'm here precisely for the collaborative writing aspect of play-by-post stories. I don't think of my roleplays as games or sessions. So perhaps what's also kept me away from tabletop RPGs is that I have a completely different mentality and set of expectations when it comes to roleplaying. I don't need a chapter of a story to be wrapped up in one sitting. I don't want to to write with people who don't differentiate themselves from their characters (I understand this is the roleplaying part of roleplaying, but it's off-putting to me). I don't need the story to move along at a break-neck pace. Long story short, I'm plenty entertained with play-by-post roleplay (and I make friends, too!), so I'm not all too occupied with considering other forms of roleplay.


But hey, show me a tabletop game revolving around a slice-of-life scenario or non-combat superheroes or character-driven historical fiction (non-political), then I'd be happy to give it a go! 

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

• Because if I want to do table top, I'll do table top, not PbP with dice rolls.
  
• Because it's more like a board game, less like an RP.
  
• Because it focuses more on choices and the decided outcomes dictated by the dice.
  
• Because it focuses less on telling a cohesive, fluent story.
  
• Because I'm into creative writing, not table top.
  
• Because i have never needed dice to be versatile or spontaneous.
  

 

[Lost Swordlance]

• Because if I want to do table top, I'll do table top, not PbP with dice rolls.
  
• Because it's more like a board game, less like an RP.
  
• Because it focuses more on choices and the decided outcomes dictated by the dice.
  
• Because it focuses less on telling a cohesive, fluent story.
  
• Because I'm into creative writing, not table top.
  
• Because i have never needed dice to be versatile or spontaneous
  

You only played / saw D&D don't you ?
There is roleplay for the ones like you, where the dice part is absent and you can make everything you may want.


Also please don't talk about Tabletop players like they need the dice or rules to be creative, it hurts 9_9

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I played PbP table top, on an RP forum.

I made a quick summary on why I feel everyone should try it at least once :
+ Acting as your character in unexpected scenarios.


+ Progression is fast and you really feel like you've achieved something after a session


+ Social interaction


+ Train your verse and spontaneity


+ Way less drop outs and abandoned campaigns.


+ Great way to make friends


+ Direct feedback


+ Godmodding and other "rage tools" are nearly impossible to use.


I also thought about what could keep you away from it and have distinguished a few reasons :


- Shyness, Personality 


- You have to be spontaneous


- Playing the other gender can be hell a lot more awkward


- Romanticism is also more awkward (unless it involves NPC)


- Rules


- Language fluency


- Time (from 1h to 5h sessions)


Those complaints are totally valid and I respect people who can't play tabletops roleplay for these reasons.

Your initial post was pretty pointed and blunt. It read like, :Here are the  reasons you either can or can't. You can't because: you're too shy, Not spontaneous enough, you have to follow rules, you aren't fluent enough."


All fair reasons for some individuals, but there are other reasons people capable of any of those, would not like  to.


In a general sense it comes to gaming, or creative writing. Whichever the individual prefers.


I only said I, I have never needed it.


I don't even find dice-based more spontaneous than free-form, where anything can, and usually does happen. Not all free-form RP is carefully planned out. Some projects have rules, and a DM who dictates the plot.


I've found free form places players in far more dynamic, challenging and spontaneous situations on average, because it's not limited or hindered by rules, dice rolls, and actions per turn.


I mean what would you find more spontaneous and challenging?


Playing Deer Hunter on Xbox, or going out into the woods with a rifle?

 

[StoneWolf18]

Mm....I've just never had the chance to sit down with a group and play a tabletop session I suppose. Always wanted to though... >.>

 

[Umbrie]

Mm....I've just never had the chance to sit down with a group and play a tabletop session I suppose. Always wanted to though... >.>

if you wanted to play an online Tabletop, didn't mind the use of Theatre of the mind, were willing to pitch a setting, and were willing to give Savage Worlds a Try. i might have a chance to whip together a one shot if i can get players.

 

[CallmeMyth]

You pretty much hit the nail smack-dab on the head when you said that play-by-post roleplaying is more like interactive storytelling. When I think of roleplaying, three different "types" of roleplay come to mind. 


1. The table-top roleplaying that you mentioned, which involves more acting. 


2. The purely story based roleplaying that you see in most play-by-post roleplays. 


3. And lastly, roleplaying that is somewhat story based, but involves a system. Sort of like a text-based game. 


People get #2 and #3 mixed up pretty frequently, but its not uncommon for play-by-post roleplays to involve a system as well as storytelling. Actually, people do it all the time. 


As for why people don't get involved with table-top roleplaying more often, I dunno. Its hard to say, everyone has their own reasons. But the main reason is probably because (most) people who enjoy play-by-post roleplaying are not very socially interactive people. At least, not when it comes to gathering together with a bunch of people to roleplay together. That's how I am personally, but I cant speak for everyone of course. Another reason is most likely because play-by-post roleplayers seem to enjoy writing more than acting. This is also true in my case. 

 

[Count Gensokyo]

It just seems really complicated, I guess.

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Id say in general, its easier for strangers to do random roleplays in text based form over like a forum like this, then for random get togethers of random people (or even friends) to occur for an 8 hour sesh of table top shenanigans.


Also table top stuff is a lot of acting, where as this type of thing is more writing. A lot of people aspire to be writers and this is sort of a fulfillment for that.

 

[Windsock]

I can't find a PPPEEEEERFEEEEEEECT system and no one I'd be interested in doing it with is a fucking nerd

 

[Umbrie]

some Tabletop RPGs are easier to learn than others.


Savage Worlds is actually a lot easier to learn than something like any Edition of Dungeons and Dragons, any Retroclone of an Older Edition of D&D, or most of the Roleplaying games that were published in the 1990's or before. there are Simple RPGs, but they aren't that common. Savage Worlds is one of the few simple ones to have a cult following.

 

[MechanicalHeart]

I have too many worldly things to do.  And, the nearest place that does run D&D campaigns is 65km away, though some neat traffic spots.  This relatively short distance ( to some) would take me a total of at least 1.5 hours to traverse ( most of which is standing still along a 4km stretch halfway there). So a 4 hour campaign would take around 7 hours total of my time. If there would be a spot closeby, I'd go there.  

 

[Proletariat]

I don't avoid tabletops, I play them regularly, HAHAHAHAHA

 

[Proletariat]

I played PbP table top, on an RP forum.


Your initial post was pretty pointed and blunt. It read like, :Here are the  reasons you either can or can't. You can't because: you're too shy, Not spontaneous enough, you have to follow rules, you aren't fluent enough."


All fair reasons for some individuals, but there are other reasons people capable of any of those, would not like  to.


In a general sense it comes to gaming, or creative writing. Whichever the individual prefers.


I only said I, I have never needed it.


I don't even find dice-based more spontaneous than free-form, where anything can, and usually does happen. Not all free-form RP is carefully planned out. Some projects have rules, and a DM who dictates the plot.


I've found free form places players in far more dynamic, challenging and spontaneous situations on average, because it's not limited or hindered by rules, dice rolls, and actions per turn.


I mean what would you find more spontaneous and challenging?


Playing Deer Hunter on Xbox, or going out into the woods with a rifle?

Spontaneity and challenge depends on the DM, as does everything with tabletop. I would contest the notion that you can be more spontaneous in either style. As a bard in my last DnD campaign, I entered an inn with my party, offered to play songs all night in order to pay for rent, nat 20 my performance roll, seduced the inn keeper's daughter with the song, slept with her, used a perception check before I went to sleep, found a trap door that led into a basement full of stolen stuff, discovered that the inn keeper's family was a bunch of thieves, failed my sneak check back upstairs, initiate combat with inn keeper's daughter who tries to stab me in the dong with scissors, and then a whole subplot spawned out of something that wasn't even planned, based solely on a decision I made. Play-by-play and tabletop are only limited by their DM's and players, not the systems themselves.