Pen and Paper RPGs vs. Computer RPGs - Part 2

Okay, so which is better?

A tough question by any stretch of the imagination, well lets weigh up the two!

Now I'm trying to be fair here, so bear with me as a dice rolling fanatic; but also one of those people who cried when Aerith died in Final Fantasy VII, mostly because I'd equipped the hell out of her and not bothered with the others characters.

So I'll try my best to be fair.

Setting:-

With the sheer weight of RPG books out in the world, there is no shortage on rules and settings for you and your friend's campaigns, one off missions or even re-telling episode 4 of Stargate if you so chose. Otherwise you're pretty much down to your own imagination - especially as a DM. But the unique thing is the setting can be wherever and whenever you like, with no shortage of humour or dark fantasy... the world is what you make it.

With our console counterpart the setting is there, an entire world for you to explore visually, technically and physically - if you move the controller's d-pad you're moving your avatar... you get the idea. There is no shortage of settings and worlds, all from the post apocalyptic to the high Japanese industrial magic revolution.

In contrast you need very little imagination. After all, everything is set out for you. But I find a common complaint is that you haven’t exactly got the freedom to explore. Okay, Bethesda games give you huge maps, more nooks and NPC crazies than you can rattle your sabre at; but there is limit: there is a point where that invisible wall comes down!

Gameplay:-

With our pen and paper RPGs, gameplay varies greatly; not because of the players, but due to the rules and the settings they're attached too. These obviously affect the "pick up and playability." After all, some systems will grind everything to a halt with character creation alone - you should not need 2 hours to create a character unless its 2 hours going "Hmm, broad sword? Axe? Broad sword? Axe..."

Anyway, "rules are rules," and rules are meant to be broken. RPGs in this way do have that degree of customizability, allowing players and game masters alike to be able to keep the game going, and have fun doing so. Game play in this way, in some respects, relies on your group and some quick thinking.

Our console buddies have one great advantage: easy to play in comparison. Granted, you can just blitz the whole game or really take your time and plan.

With games like Fallout 3, you have fair and levelled system, loads of customizability - from characters appearance to perks that affect the game play, and giant world exploration. On the other hand you have a very linear game with good back story and pre-generated characters. Granted some are easier to play than others, but I find there is a inherent problem: GRINDING!

Quite possibly the most annoying, boring and tedious activity of all! And for what? To level up!

Okay, I can understand that yeah, you need to make progressively harder enemies, and Okay, unlike the pen and paper RPGs you can't just have a new adventure each time: you are stuck with no other option but to grind and grind... not all are like this, but we all know which ones they are!

Which semi leads me to my last point,

Playability:-

Seriously, how many times can you play something before you get bored of it, or fancy a change? This I feel is the advantage of pen and paper RPGs: as many settings as you like, each game varied and thousands of settings in which you and your friends can battle through, or you could be really daring and change the rule sets!!

Unless you're stuck in a grinding loop, or are a dedicated player, there’s what, 4-8 hours of game play? Maybe more? And yes, with some you can get different results through your actions and playing style; but it all seems so boxed in. Don’t get me wrong, the worlds are interesting, varied and really imaginative, I appreciate that. And yes, there is the add ons and downloadable content which add to game play settings and the like... but how many times will you play before you go "Oh, I do this, this and this and its done... what to do now??"

After all, console games only really have a shelf life of 2-4 play throughs before its relegated again to the ever growing pile.

It does tend to be a very solitary activity, Okay there the "achievements" to share with your friends online or your mate who’s popped around to steal your beer.

But on the other hand the same could be said for pen and paper RPGs.

After all, there are some advantages, granted most of them hinge on a good DM and having a decent group. It is a very sociable activity, unless it's a fighting fantasy book.

But it only takes one person to spoil the group dynamic, so choose your friends wisely. lol

As I said, a lot hinges on good DM: being able to think on your feet when the players completely negate the campaign you’ve spent last month working on, by going "Nah, I don't want to stay in this pub, let's go raid the bath house."

However there is freedom as your character, granted there are systems where character creation is the game or is so damn complicated 3 hours later you realize you’ve got work in the morning, can pretty much do anything and everything, and the only thing that anchors you to reality is the DM, who will simply penalize your stupidity. On the other hand, a few quick tests made on the spot and you could have the most epic fight scene ever; no doubt Mr. Dare will remind me once again about how he dived into the water and had boxing match with an giant octopus.

It is dependent on your players and their imagination, something console gaming has solved by giving you a visual medium; but hand outs, visual references or as DM your prime role as story teller simply weave a magical mystical world around your setting.

So which is better?

If I'm feeling creative: pen and paper RPGs.

If I'm feeling lazy: console RPGs.

I'll let you decide...

So where does the future lie, kids and kiddies? Well D&D4th edition took elements from both formats of RPG and turned it into a table top game... not necessary what we're after... but until the next technological leap, or until books are eliminated I'm quite happy to roll some dice.

DM

Call of Cthulhu RPG.

Once again another text biased review! Its been a few days since we've finished filming, editing is cracking along nicely so all being well we shall have our first video review up soon!

Until such time you have to deal with me and my keyboard.

Since then I have been working upon my AD&D vs. D&D4th review, but circumstances do get in the way i.e. a lack of time and players in which to refresh my memory.

But we shall soldier on.

In an effort to bring you the fan of work in progress more role-playing geekness.

I present to you (which recently has been a bit in topic recently) call of Cthulhu 6^th edition!

Now back ion the day when I were but a figment of hypothetical conversation.

D&D ruled the role-playing community, along with as time went on traveller and call of Cthulhu!

CoC as it’s normally abridged to, is mythos and world set within the writings of H.P. Lovecraft of New England. Exploring the idea that strange things lie within the shadowy corners of the world, wired tales of horror and mystery and his more popular works dealing with the 'Cthulhu' mythos; a series of elder beings from beyond the stars inhabiting our world waiting for there moment, or perhaps simply being stumbled upon by wandered investigators or explorers suddenly finding the cults and worshipped of these elder gods.

Now CoC has a unique system and with 6^th edition they’ve lovingly gone back to the original cleaned it up and remade it for the modern audience.

This I cannot argue too, simply because it is a variant of percentile system, with different method of assigning stats but in this game you make your character to last!

I did find it curious that there are no levels, no levelling what you have in front of you is your character and you pray he will survive assuming his sanity doesn’t break before hand!

With CoC I’ve only a few issues and strangely it’s not necessarily with the game itself more the players and even myself as DM

Ill admit I'm not exactly the best by long way; and this game is 'horror role-playing'

It’s about atmosphere, and investigation! Crawling through the dark dank sewers the smell of rotting fish rising through your nostrils makes eyes water as you trudge on following the trail of greenish ichors across the blighted moss infested walls the intermittent starches and scrapes of you can only assume claws marks your only reference to the distance you have travelled.

See that’s ideal, me I'm a bit lazy. As DM I like to give the players a chance to view the situation within there own imagination, a quick description and leave them to fill in the details.....which alas has lead to confusion on a few occasions, so that my fault there.

The problem is without supplements or indeed a vast knowledge of era specific times and places its very hard to describe to a player (especially living in England) what a colonial Gothic building even looks like, or even what you would expect to see inside?

Don’t get me wrong there’s no saying hey you have to set in Arkham New England, but sometimes you need to harken back to the mythos' home town in hope to give the players some idea of the background.

My second point is the players,

Now I'm not saying my players can’t role-play or in anyway a defamation of character.

What it is is really the silliest of things. With CoC you can play in any time/ era you choose (some of the more recent supplements for medieval or Roman times) but with the core rule book you have 3 eras the 1890s the 1920s or the 1990s (which seem years ago to me now lol)

Now personally I like the idea of 1890s call of Cthulhu game! Slightly Sherlock Holmes-esque running through old London town, finding the cult lock deep with the basements of the national museum only to realise that the cult was sired by none other than the members of parliament themselves!

To me that just seem to cream cult investigation starts here!!

But I found my players are more willing to try ears they can identity with, something a bit more recognisable, obviously modern times and even 1920s onwards. I’m not saying that’s all players everywhere it’s just an observation, and hell I have enough trouble thinking of scenarios as is.

Otherwise there's the fact were not serious we like a bit of fun, even in the heavy dark world of dark heresy there’s always a bit of light heartedness.

But this is call of Cthulhu horror role playing!! And yet there’s always one who is going to make a joke of it, and ruin the moment. But that’s life. And id is damned role playing with the lights off going by candle light! Just for atmosphere!

Character creation:

It’s not the quickest but it is comprehensive. Usual idea really roll up stats, enter number, add numbers together or times by 5 write down those number and your characters core set is done! Then you have the skill land occupation points (multiply education score by 20 and allot to certain skills as job points. then multiply intelligence score by 10 and these are personal interest)

Ok, ok maths is never my strong point, but really all these are needed!

As well as usual stats (str, dex, con, appearance, int) you also have sanity, power, education and size.

Also luck know and idea!

Luck naturally can be used as a last min oo hang on did I bring the matches? Or were you lucky enough to get across that gap?

Know: represents what’s stored in the brains intellectual loft, good if you playing scientist or biologist trying to figure out that missing link in the equation

idea: this is neat roll simply because its good back up if no skill (and trust me there’s lot of skills) seem appropriate roll on your idea...see if you can figure it out

size will give you bonus to damage rolls, and a vague indicator of your height

power and sanity are quite possibly the most fluctuating of stats, power representing the physical nature of your inner soul (relating to magic) and being a call of Cthulhu game where would it be with out the inevitable loss of sanity (and yes, you will lose it!)

Everything else relates to what sort of character you want to be, era specific of course there weren’t many computer technicians in 1890s London after all.

You have some general pre-set/ concepts for characters, such as the antiquarian, police office, military personnel, cleric, rouge, paladin...

OK not paladin but you get the idea

After that assign you job points! Since each job has various skills that would relate

So: clergyman has accounting, history, library use, listen, other language, persuade, psychology and 1 skill of your choice.

After that you assign your personal points to what ever you like so say this particular priest has great interest in photography, and maybe some skills with a lee Enfield rifle...

Why? Well why not, personal skills can help make your character, in this case our would be cleric may have fought in ww1, came to America after the war, decided to atone for his sins, become member of the church and on weekends he like to photograph the village for the church newspaper

The last thing is money, roll d10 flick to back of book spend it.

Yes OK not everything is on there and yeah some people might not like present characters but it’s not hard to create your own, or even throw in a few prices for something the book doesn’t list.

We invented a high school jock, since his appearance was so high he automatically became womaniser thinking sneak, and persuade coupled with his athletic skills and being form a rich family knowing how to drive and credit rating already we had this near obnoxious wise talking rich kid. Who did find the folly of trying to buy prohibited whiskey (not that he didn’t have the cash)

Game play:

with everything sorted your off into the world, the game is or can be quite linear series of investigations, plot hooks moving form one to clue to the other.

For the player and even the DM in control of a pretty hefty selection of nasties and creatures (form zombies, serpent people, he who must not be named to cthulhu himself!) combat and playability is simply a case (once all stats are up and running) rolling a percentile.

Its easy and quick to pick up, I’m a man of make notes of the rules for quick reference, and its only magic casting that slows you down. (But considering that anything out of the normal will mean you haemorrhage sanity you don’t have to worry about over used spells)

The game can be as fast or as slow as you like depending on your style of play.

It is very story driven game, granted you can have very serious oppressive story line, in which your players must find the clues steal the artefact defeat the cultists stop the ritual and pray they don’t have to run away form the shambling monster form beyond!

It is a game of the player character is not the super hero fighting men of yore! But average humans thrust into unusual situations they will die! Unless they can run faster than there mates, its highly possible, but look how quickly the party gets stuck if they’ve sunk all there pints into doge but have no idea how to read the Latin inscription left a the crime scene, let alone find that one reference book that’s vital for the campaign.

That is of course you don’t pass out when confronted by a dead body, let alone the shambling form of the deep one freshly risen and hungry of your skin!

It is a game that needs a certain amount of seriousness an understanding of your eras and good twisted mind, an involving storyline and some lucky dice roles! And hell even the odd comic relief character any excuse to get some hammy acting in there

me personally I love the system, love the setting I am fan of H.P. Lovecraft, but people like me struggle to get the campaign started let alone going, sometimes you just need to get back to basics.....

This is the DM putting his quill down and finding a cup of tea!

Call of Cthulhu intro.

Whist taking a break from my usual studies, deep lost in tomes of ancient lore.

I happened across; during one of my many tours of the darkened vaults of the home I call Work in progress headquarters.

It was there I saw quite by accident the 6^th edition of a most ancient tome of some near unknown power.

You must understand gentle reader I fancy myself an expert on the tomes and manuscripts littered around the darkened library, the lore and world of the role player and his games of indignation.

However my mind was not prepared for this.

The book, such as it is now resided in my hands curiously I was drawn to its pages; the text flickering by as I gave it my cursory glance.

Although I simply meant to gain an appraisal of the work, I found my self stopping, being drawn to the text; a winding story of incantations, strange creatures and things bygone in eons past and yet present, sleeping in a dreamless state? I found myself fascinated reading more and more, as if my vision becomes those damned pages, lost was I within the text its tales and twisted theory’s swirling around me the incantations threatening to roll off my tongue as I studied!

But yet I stand, the simplest of things snapping me back to my surroundings as I stared at it; dearest reader this thing, this monstrosity of near diabolical proportions.

And illustration stood there clear as day or as clear as the poor luminescence would allow, my hands shaking with a growing unease that threatened to fling the lantern form my hands!

I blinked.

Once again I found my eyes refusing to look away. The sketch nay scratching of this thing its size near human I believe the anthropomorphist body covered in a net of scales hand, now claws webbed. For what purpose, this things head, oh gods no head of man did lie upon his shoulders but that of a fish, or even carp, its eyes forever unblinking. Like the smile it wore rows of teeth ready to rend I fancy my own flesh from should I encounter such a being of ungodly proportions.

Two words written beside it: Deep One. I knew id heard it before upon one of my older studies long ago. I would endeavour to find out; I shall look upon this tome.

With a crack! I shut the book, the dust of unknown eras swirling in the dry air around me. Needless to say a near crippling coughing assailed me as I imagine yourselves dear reader for the books lost hear have rested forever deep within these catacombs if it was not for myself cataloguing the titles and recording there content.

As the dust settled I spied the cover how now become clear enough to study, why strangely I had not done this before I hadn’t the foggiest but there it was; hinting its presence in the background.

The cover a sea 'scape of impossible spires I assume judging by there state risen form the depths. A yacht my only reference for scale upon this image and that!

Something so large, so impossibly large; its wingspan I estimate bust be near half mile!? Absurd and yet its head shrouded in darkness save but for the mass of tentacles writhing form the shadows!

I felt the my body go cold, a queers sickness and yet excitement a broad smile across my face as I spoke the name of this blessed tome out loud whisper at first but soon a chant over and over a maniacal laughing that could’ve only be mine! Again I called the tomes name!

Call of Cthulhu! Cthulhu! Ia ia Cthulhu

I am stranger in my own body dear reader, my mind split, my soul I fear frayed my sanity all but shattered by things he has done no I have done! Things I can never tell I refuse you cannot make me! Oh it crawls slithering! How? Wet the inside of him felt! Mother forgive me oh god I didn’t mean to take his life. But he needed it more! Ia ia Cthulhu fa'tagn...................

Traveller 5: A Space Odyssey

+++Incoming Transmission+++

The SS Tempora, Captain Firu residing, commencing recording star date 2294356, 3rd Millennium...

Out of the many editions of Traveller throughout the years I've only managed to happen upon its 5th incarnation - the first edition being published in 1977, long before I was even born; but however the Traveller series has remained a cornerstone of role playing games.

Granted, these days there's an RPG for pretty much any universe and any sci-fi setting (including Dr. Who, Warhammer 40,000, Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek... the list goes on). However Traveller has a one advantage: it is a true generic sci-fi setting.

From the initial reading of the pocket edition of the handbook (a great re-working of the original system) very little background details are given: you have the 3rd Imperium, you have ships, you have guns and BY THE WAY there's aliens... enjoy!

Todd: First off we did have a slight issue - i.e. he's got the pocket edition, so the character sheets are a bit small, but thankfully Mongoose publishing took the Traveller system to a new dimension.

DM: No pun there.

Todd: Oh yeah... anyway they have given the player and game master alike more than enough resource background information than you can shake a PDF at!

DM: So a quick bit of printing and we're off and ready to go... you see in theory you cant argue with a game that simply requires 2D6 forever - nothing more! And trust me, when you've needed 8D4 3D10 and D8 just to calculate how much damage your 9th level monk is doing. 2D6 seems like a god send (okay, I'm exaggerating the dice, its 2 3-12 damage per hand).

Todd:... may I?

DM: If you must, character creation then?

Todd: Yeah, pretty much where I was going with this...

*ahem* Character creation: never have we and our little group had such a infuriatingly long-winded, most hysterical character creation ever! It is a thing of awesomeness!

DM: And strangely enough the only character creation where you can die.

Todd: True, damn ageing rolls!

DM: But yes, initial stats over or under a certain number equals a modifier (2D6 plus modifier)! In role playing terms the simplest system in the world.

Todd: However, rather than the classic race (although it is available we've just never bothered) and with the classes in Traveller, you roll to see what job you get, then roll to see what happens, then roll to advance, roll to change etc.

DM: Granted we've found the process slows everything down something evil - especially when you've only got one book, but the varied results are memorable.

Todd: Yeah that's true, so far we've had Dare and his character being kicked out of every military organisation including the police forces within his 2nd term.

And Babs who's Dr lost an eye after a psyonics experiment, who simply decided to go into space piracy afterwards, and soon generally became known for waving a cutlass around! ><

DM: I've managed to organise a few games, thanks to the rule book's near endless tables for rolling upon: ships, planetary politics, law levels, stocks and shares and even entire star system generators. The resources available are invaluable; however I have found sometimes its better to take a few things with a pinch of salt, especially on the system creator; but with such a generic setting, its not hard to adapt traveller for any situation or setting.

Todd: That's all very well and good, but bar character creation game play is almost sterile. Granted it can go very silly very quickly, or super serious. The only problem being unless your DM or players have a clear idea of what sort of game you're playing its basically a stock market game - move this to there get cash, try and keep ship costs down.

DM: Especially when it is entirely possible to start with a fleet of ships.

Todd: Yeah, you never let us have that one. :( Mind you 5 ships with one character, that is like WTF?

DM: But with a bit of careful planning, I think if you know what your group expects form the RPG... hell, go for it. If not even as a DM you can be left floundering.

Todd: So Star Trek style?

DM: Okay, can I be Scotty?

Dare: I claim red shirt!!

In summary:-

Rules: Easy to learn, although swamped with modifiers, I found couple of reads and it becomes second nature.
Game: Creation excellent, the ability to make in-depth worlds is extraordinary.
Playability: Good, quick and easy although not ideal for games on the fly.

+++Transmission Ends+++