Teach Yourself RPG

Written by sebastian | 19 April 2010

The goal of this article is to show pen-and-paper RPGs that can be played by an individual or a group with little or no experience in pen-and-paper RPG’s and to play without the help of someone with RPG experience. Thus these games can be assigned as homeplay assignments in a classroom environment.

These games will be either scripted solo-adventure like gamebooks or game master-less, scripted multiplayer adventures. The solo adventures are intended as homeplay assignments while the multiplayer can be played in the classroom in 60-90 minutes or homeplay.

Each RPG adventure was selected to show and teach something different and are ordered of specific preference and complexity. Thus if time is short, play the first solo adventure listed, Fabled Lands and then multiplayer adventure, Legends of the Ancient World: Orcs of the High Mountains. Both solo and multiplayer adventures come with full instructions so that the instructor or facilitator does not have to get involved.

This list is created for video game design students who want to explore pen-and-paper RPG's to understand the basic RPG "engines."

Computer RPG is made up of RPG rules, a story, and an AI referee or game master, while a pen-and-paper RPGs session is composed of rules from rulebooks and a story usually generated on the fly by a game master or optionally using a scripted story called adventures or modules.

Gamebooks are similar to computer RPGs. The rules and story are packaged as one. Rules are simple and minor bookkeeping is necessary to play a gamebook by oneself. Gamebooks are an example of paper prototyping of computer RPGs.

Difference in types of RPG publishing
* Computer RPG: obscured rulebook (app manages and hides complex details) and scripted story/adventure
* Pen-and-paper RPG: open rulebooks (rules enforced by players) and story generated on the fly by the game master, optional scripted story/adventure sold separately
* Gamebooks: open rulebooks (rules enforced by the players) and bundled scripted story/adventure

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How To Play

Play the solo RPG game books first to familiarize yourself on how RPG's work. Solo RPG gamebooks have really simple rules so you can get started playing right away. Then play the mulitplayer RPG's with the group to experience more complex RPG systems.

Solo--play electronic version of gamebooks, all the bookkeeping is done by the app but the system is completely transparent.

Multiplayer--players read and follow a scripted story in a multiplayer gamebook, out loud. Game master role will be shard using the Millington model:

* Chairperson - responsible for the order and focus of the players
* Referee - responsible for arbitrating the game
* Game Engine - responsible for interpreting what's happening in the game based on player requests and dice rolls
* Director - responsible for the story and the setting of the game

Some of these RPG's are over ten hours of play, however one does not need to finish a game understand how a RPG works. An hour of play should be sufficient to understand the game system.

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If you are interested in writing your own scripted RPG adventure, here are two articles on tips on how to write your own scripted adventures.

* [url=http://www.sjgames.com/carwars/adq/5/2/writing.html]Writing a Solo Adventure[/url]
* [url=http://www.fightingfantasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112]How to write a FF Adventure [/url]

Fabled Lands