General info on RPGs
James L. Fox
My 11 yr. old son is hooked on $60 Sierra games. I can remember
Adventure and Dungeon on PDP-11's and suspect there are more
economical (and more challenging) computer games.
I downloaded an MSDOS Adventure and he eventually became stuck fast!
There seem to be no groups here for these oldies(are there?)
Meanwhile, looking for help we came across rec.games.frp. Your postings
have us interested in what you're doing. WHAT DO YOU DO?
We are clueless! Are you discussing (here) games that you play with
materials on a table and [real] opponents [participants] near you
or are you discussing computer games like Adventure, Dungeon, Rogue,
etc, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE!
Perhaps there's a standard intro text we should get. (?)
Pointers to Adventure tips or any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
--Jim Fox
jl...@unix.cis.pitt.edu
Steve J White
>
>My 11 yr. old son is hooked on $60 Sierra games. I can remember
>Adventure and Dungeon on PDP-11's and suspect there are more
>economical (and more challenging) computer games.
>I downloaded an MSDOS Adventure and he eventually became stuck fast!
>There seem to be no groups here for these oldies(are there?)
>Meanwhile, looking for help we came across rec.games.frp. Your postings
>have us interested in what you're doing. WHAT DO YOU DO?
Mainly, all the talk here is regarding role playing games. The most well
known of these, outside the actual gaming world, is the Dungeon and Dragons
genre. Of course there any number of genres to choose from: sci-fi,
fantasy, cyberpunk, super-heroes, etc... Role playing games involve having
a games master, or GM, set-up a scenario that a group of players, usualy
about 5 or 6, are to find out info and solve an adventure, free the
hostages, resuce the princess, get the gold, things of this nature.
I know this is a bit vague but I think you get the picture. There isn't
always an actual playing board per se, but many games include maps and
information 'bulletins' that are handed out by the GM during the course of
the game. Each player is given, or actually creates, a player character;
sometimes called a PC. The player then plays out the role prescribed to him
within the constraints of the character within the scenario designed or just
run by the GM.
If this doesn't answer your questions just ask away. I'm sure we all can
help. I'll even start up a discussion via e-mail with you about this.
Good gaming...
- steve
--
"When we try to pick out anything ____________________________________
by itself, we find it hitched to | Steve J. White |
everything else in the universe." | ara...@csd4.csd.uwm.edu |
-- John Muir (1838-1914) |____________________________________|
pcal...@economics.adelaide.edu.au
Jim, you might want to check out Nethack and Moria for Rogue-like games.
Follow up on these games in rec.games.nethack and rec.games.moria
Both of these are available by anonymous FTP, but check in those groups for
the current source (I forget off-hand).
In r.g.frp discussion is about fantasy/fictional role-playing games like
Dungeons & Dragons, GURPS, RoleMaster, and the myriad of other gaming systems
that generally involve sitting around a table with a group of people and
role-playing characters in a fictional (usually fantasy oriented), imaginary
world. Dice are used to resolve conflicts and other actions (often involving
luck), and miniature figurines may be used as a visual aid, but most of the
action occurs in the ol' gray cells and not on a board (in fact most of these
games don't use any board).
Rec.games.misc is for the discussion of computer games, help needed to get
through a game, advice on new games available, discussion on PC accessories
used by games (video cards, sound cards, etc), and a plethora of other odds
and ends.
Hope this helps you and any other new NEWS readers,
... sage
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Pete Calvert Dept. of Commerce University of Adelaide, South Australia.
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