Monday, August 1, 2011

Been playing Fable 2 and its implications for table top

OK sure Fable 2 like all such games suffers from the repetitiousness but I'll tell you what, that game is a lot of fun.

Probably too much as I've stared to attach Fable style names to food. Last nights supper was Marrow and Mates and the night before that I had Unicorn Cheese om the hamburger. Yum.

anyway I digress. Fable 2 is enough fun to suggest this law to me.


"As most gamers now have access to X-Box and similar technologies, any successful table top RPG needs to be more fun than a convenient video game or it will fail."


Now mind you back in 1981 and thereabouts this was not an issue. Many players had no console game or computer and even such jewels as Pool of Radiance could not compete with the Table Top Experience . However the modern video game is a lot more compelling and convenient and as such we need to be better and emphasize how much more fun it can be."

If we don't our players will stay home and play WoW or something.
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7 comments:

  1. Joshua SherrerAugust 1, 2011 at 8:37 PM

    I have been looking at adding in some ideas from video games to my campaign to do just that. I have a laundry list of things that can possibly work like achievements, breaking up dungeon expeditions into smaller quests and similar ideas are what I am looking at. Add in a boss fight or two and there may be something here...

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  2. 5stonegamesAugust 1, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    I've mixed anime and video game elements into my campaigns with more than a little success.

    Heck even some RPG's like Pathfinder actually have achievement feats you can unlock by doing certain things in game (such as these http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/achievement-feats) and of course some prestige classes have in game quest requirements too.


    Since the computer RPG borrowed so much from the Table Top game it seems only fitting that we take some of it back.

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  3. Joshua SherrerAugust 1, 2011 at 9:20 PM

    BTW, You've been quoted on my blog...

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  4. 5stonegamesAugust 2, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    Thanks Josh!

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  5. DMWiegAugust 2, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    Hmm....the achievement business might be a little too close to video games for me. I like to keep my forms of entertainment separate.

    "DUDE stop killing gnolls! I'm only two away from unlocking Gnoll Killer!"

    "But they were flanking you. I was just-"

    "TWO AWAY!"

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  6. Joshua SherrerAugust 2, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    First, the players would not know what the achievements are. I see the achievements as something a bit different.

    For example, a player that survives a fireball that reduces him to one hit-point could gain something like 'Toasty'. The reward could be a small amount of XP and a badge of honor.

    Interestingly enough, the idea of achievement based XP first showed up in the Arduin Grimiore, quite a few years before CRPGS and MMOs.

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  7. 5stonegamesAugust 2, 2011 at 10:18 AM

    Interesting to know about the Arduin stuff. We never used it back in the day and by the Mid 80's I wasn't playing AD&D anyway.

    MY first exposure to Arduin was like 1989ish when a DM offered a free roll on the background table thing. Every single player refused although the rest of the group who were somewhat familiar with it, added hobbitses to the menu. I did not partake ;)

    Also the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana had another kind of ahievement feat called a spelltouched feats which required the character to have been exposed to certain spells.

    http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/spelltouchedFeats.htm

    I've never seen anyone interested in them though.

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