Role Playing Games?

[fergfighter]

Sup Dudes & Dudettes

Classic role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons have got a lot of stick in the past for belonging to the 'Nerdiest' corner of the world.

However recently my older brother introduced me to his friend and his uncle who all play an RPG 'Cyberpunk 2020'. It has honestly been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life and now i have experienced this genre for myself i wonder how the genre got such a bad reputation in the first place. I play it with; My brother, his friend, << His uncle, << His wife and thier 3 cousins. All genuineley nice, normal, popular people, and not 'Nerdy' in the slightest.

So i wonder has role playing had a massive resurgence in recent years, leaping into pop culture, or been stereotyped from day one?

If anyone reading plays Cyberpunk give a shout out. And i was wondering if there are any other non D&D RPG's anyone plays, tell us!. And feel free to say why this genre has such a bad press?

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Tabletop Roleplaying had a massive resurgence in 2000 with the release of D&D 3.0. It's been doing pretty well ever since, and become far more accepted as a hobby for otherwise "normal" people.

I played Cyberpunk a few times back in the 90s and early 2000s - it was fun. Generally, though, I prefer Pathfinder or Anima (or a custom homebrew system) for my tabletop enjoyment.

For the record, I teach English at a University. My spouse works in the Stock Market. We play D&D (or similar) together and with larger groups.

Edit: First again? Twice in the same day? Wow. ^^

 

[Kopikatsu]

If Paranoia counts...then that.

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Fun times.

 

[ramboondiea]

dont play any table tops, but a few friends do and i have been there whilst they pay, it does seem nerdy but fairly fun. i think theres a society at my uni aswel. they regularly play something called chutulutech (bet i have spelled that wrong), that seems all sci-fi like, its got big robots and monsters

 

[DEAD34345]

I don't know a single person who has played a pen and paper RPG, and as far as I can tell it still has a very strong social stigma. Maybe it's where I live (North-West England), or maybe I'm just unlucky. It's a shame because I'd be interested in playing, but without knowing anyone who already plays it's kind of impossible.

 

[fergfighter]

dont play any table tops, but a few friends do and i have been there whilst they pay, it does seem nerdy but fairly fun. i think theres a society at my uni aswel. they regularly play something called chutulutech (bet i have spelled that wrong), that seems all sci-fi like, its got big robots and monsters

Cyberpunk is a lot like that. its set in las vegas (Night City in game) and everyone has cyber enhancements... also with ninjas vampires and werewolves. my brother is part werewolf and he goes on a frenzy sometimes

 

[Limecake]

when 3.0 got released me and my friends gave it a shot, it was a lot of fun to play something like that with a lot of friends.

it is insanely time consuming though so unless you have reliable people who can play on a schedule then you'll have a blast.

 

[ramboondiea]

dont play any table tops, but a few friends do and i have been there whilst they pay, it does seem nerdy but fairly fun. i think theres a society at my uni aswel. they regularly play something called chutulutech (bet i have spelled that wrong), that seems all sci-fi like, its got big robots and monsters

Cyberpunk is a lot like that. its set in las vegas (Night City in game) and everyone has cyber enhancements... also with ninjas vampires and werewolves. my brother is part werewolf and he goes on a frenzy sometimes

haha, well that sounds dodgy (in the good way), i shall pass it on to my friends when ever inext see them, they will probably get round to it after the horror one their doing.

 

[Sir Broccoli]

I play DnD (4th edition. Please don't hate me.) and think it's a lot of fun. I don't really get why it is still sometimes seen as the geekiest of geeky activities seeing as it's a lot more social than playing videogames (which is seen as fairly normal.)
I'm guessing it's because it's more difficult to learn than most games, also it's fairly time consuming so it requires a certain amount of dedication.

 

[Nooners]

I would like to get into RPing...is there any way that a play-by-post game could be started here on the Escapist? Or does that exist and have I been missing out?

 

[Sir Broccoli]

I play DnD (4th edition. Please don't hate me.) and think it's a lot of fun. I don't really get why it is still sometimes seen as the geekiest of geeky activities seeing as it's a lot more social than playing videogames (which is seen as fairly normal.)
I'm guessing it's because it's more difficult to learn than most games, also it's fairly time consuming so it requires a certain amount of dedication.

 

[nuba km]

I was curious a few years ago, so I tagged along with my friend to one of his pen/paper RP game nights with his crowd.

They spent hours pretending to sit in an inn, pretending to drink, pretending to pick up elven women, having their bard tell stories, and then finally two of them spent about thirty minutes bartering over a sword and a shield.

It was extremely awkward.

why didn't you guys go an epic quest, also who you are playing with and the characters are really important. I have only played DnD twice but plan to play it a lot more in the summer but me and my friends have made a team of:
a racist albino Minotaur warrior (me)
A dragon born so stupid he couldn't even out smart a goblin (best part was that my friend wasn't doing that on deliberately) and is a ranger that couldn't hit a rhino if it was standing in front of him. He is also an alcoholic.
and a batman-esque elf priest
though only playing the game for a total of 10 hours we have got a lot of laughter out of it including the fact that I have died and been revived nearly ten times in two battles, we were nearly killed by goblins twice and my character has a necklace around his head that will explode in three days.

edit: OT: I believe that roleplaying as medieval fantasy creatures is what makes people think it is so nerdy but I think if more people tried it it would be more socially accepted.

 

[GonzoGamer]

The nerdy stigma comes from the fact that it?s a past time that requires you to rub more than two brain cells together. It came out (this iteration of it: RPGs have probably been going on in one form or another since ancient times) around the same time that TV was the biggest pastime, the big videogame was Pong, and it was probably just the most intelligent thing you could take part in.
But I?ve known all sorts of people who play RPGs, young and old.

My favorite is probably Rifts/Palladium: Rifts is a little like 2020 but I?ve found it (and Palladium) to be the most open ended rpgs. In other words, if they don?t touch on something in the millions of books they produced, you can make it up easily enough.