RPG preferences

[Buffy]

hey guys, been gone a long time I know. But i was just wondering what your prefences were for genres, and if you liked gming.

So basically Im asking everyone to mention what they like doing in an RPG,

examples of things to include:

-How many characters you like using
-How many characters you like in a game in general
-What genre
-whether you like gming or not
-Experience in gming
-Do you like a really loose rule system or really structured?

Answers for me:

I guess I like to use 2 chars, mainly cause it gives me a spectrum of character angles rather then just one singular, and three is a bit too much to handle and enjoy at the same time

it depends on the ppl in it, usually about 6 to 10 seem to work best in order to keep the game flowing

Superhero all the way, and maybe sci fi. Ive also played a politcal one, which was interesting and fun (and educational!)

I like the idea of controlling the game and writing the full story, its certainly more fun, but harder and more time consuming.

I much prefer a loose system with a really sound gm who has good logic

[Elliot Kane]

-How many characters you like using

Depends on the system and the game, and how well the GM can handle multiple characters. Anywhere from one to half a dozen is fine by me.

-How many characters you like in a game in general

Don't care. If the GM can cope, all is good. If the GM can't cope, there's a problem however many or few characters there are.

-What genre

Mainly fantasy, but I've played and/or GMed all the genres I know of, from fantasy and SF to horror. Never played a Wild West game, though. So nearly all.

-whether you like gming or not

Hmmm... Let me think... ;D I'm gonna go with 'Yes'

-Experience in gming

Roughly 20 years. I've probably GMed more than I've played during my RPG days, and I played a lot.

-Do you like a really loose rule system or really structured?

Really loose. I think too tight a structure really inhibits gameplay. I think the more combat-oriented the game is, the tighter the rules need to be, and I've never placed a heavy emphasis on combat in anything I do. Mostly that's just dice rolling - and there's nothing remotely interesting about that!

[Buffy]

Western.... and Horror.... now theres a thought....

[Elliot Kane]

They have been combined. 'Deadlands' I think it was called.

The main RPG staples have always been fantasy (Hugely predominant), SF (Strong but interest wavers wildly) and horror (Mainly Call Of Cthulhu and the White Wolf series). Not to say there aren't many hybrids, nor other sub-genres or minor genres, such as Superheroes.

In the 80s & early 90s RPGs were massive. Half of Cambridge University played them at one point, reportedly You could find an RPG about almost anything, from James Bond to Judge Dredd.

Then the economy went in Britain & the US, and RPGs became too expensive a hobby to get into. They've never recovered.

[Buffy]

namely for me the expensive Games Workshop stuff. Money just got too much for me

[Elliot Kane]

GW really used their complete monopoly of GW products to price everything high. Not sure it did them any favours in the end.

[Buffy]

well they obviously make the money cause the prices havent changed. There are the die hard fans. Anyway... we can talk about this in chat. We're going off topic (!)

[Elliot Kane]

Like that never happened before... ;D

But yeah, you're right.

[Gray Lensman]

-How many characters you like using

Usually two, generally speaking. My preferred method of working is to have characters that are foils and can play off of each other. (Rasidar and Callie in Awakening were built that way, for instance.) Ideally, they would also complement each other in terms of skills, abilities, and such.

There are exceptions to this. I've been known to play three sometimes, and at other times I may not play to my guidelines. But generally speaking, that's the way I work.

-How many characters you like in a game in general

Doesn't really matter to me. I've played with large and small groups, and not been bothered by cast size.

-What genre

My strongest areas are superheroes and fantasy. I'm not so good with SF, though it's a genre I personally enjoy. I have grounding in a wide range of genres, though, and I likely do have a wider range of genres that I could handle that I haven't yet tried.

-whether you like gming or not

Not really my interest or my strength, I must admit. I have no real need to be in control of the universe. I more enjoy creating characters and running them through their paces.

-Experience in gming

Something in the range of 17-18 years, on and off.

-Do you like a really loose rule system or really structured?

Loose, definitely. I like a lot of flexibility and options in any given system. I also like combat to be simple and easy to understand.

I'm not really into arguing over rules. What I care about is that the game flows smoothly and that the characterization works for me. Long as I've got that, I'm satisfied.

[sps1000]

-How many characters you like using
as many as are necessary
-How many characters you like in a game in general
Not sure
-What genre
superhero all the way
-whether you like gming or not
I love gming as I love to see people follow a plot I made and see if they outthink me
-Experience in gming
about 3 or 4 months over 2 RPGs
-Do you like a really loose rule system or really structured?
loose