In reply to byzantinex (msg # 5):

I'm here because my present work schedule is 1800 - 0720 Friday - Sunday (with "Sunday's" shift winding up on Monday morning.)

I never have time to meet on weekends when the rest of my steady game group can meet, so I turned to rpol.net as a means of staying in touch and continuing to play until I can get a weeknights shift or retire.  I've not regretted that move one bit - this place has some awesome resources for game masters.

Had I the option, I'd still game across the table because it was just such a social event - we all have more to talk about than just games, and the games were ran by another GM most of the time so I got to play a lot.  (I'm really a better player than a GM/Referee, though I love me some Traveller, yes I do.)

So, yes, thank the Gawds for rpol.net.

PbP will never replace TT games, to me, however, it is a close substitute. And in some ways, better.

It's like LARPing, but without the need for live action. You can be your character without the stigma of social embarrassment of getting in to character.

I don't know about how easy it is to find a game, but then again, I am fairly specific as to what kind of game I'll join, as well has having some people I'll never play under. Of course, there's always the dreaded RPOL Attrition™, but, that's just a fact of life.

However, this place has been a great place to play at. I've played at other PbP sites, and by and large, this site is better than any other. The ease to make your games, the control you have over them, the ability to customize the game's dice roller, the options in the DM menu...I've never seen none of that with any other site.

I tend to prefer tabletop - its so spontaneous with friends.  But finding a group can be very hard.  Then there's RPOL, which lets you think and ponder the game flow.

So many things to love about Rpol!

But if you want an occasional tabletop fix, you might look around for a convention. My favorite is the Origins Games Fair held for the past couple decades in Columbus Ohio (where I run some events almost every year). There are a lot of other smaller cons, especially in the Midwest and Norteast.

And if you get to Origins, come see the Rogue Cthulhu room.

Much as I enjoy RPOL, there are some things about tabletop gaming that it can never replace. I got into roleplaying for much the same reason some people play bridge, or poker...it's a chance to get together with friends and spend some social time while sharing a common interest.

My career, however, has me living in a location where I'm a good hour away from friends who play the kinds of games I like (while it's far more common, I burned out on D&D ages ago and every time I've tried to get back into it, I've walked away less than impressed, even when it's with a group of players that I enjoy playing other games with...so, my closer gaming friends aren't much of an option, since that's all they play.)  RPOL is a nice stop-gap measure, for me...and I originally started on here as a way to stay in games with some friends I used to play with before I relocated.  They got busy with RL, like getting married and having kids, and dropped out, and I'm still here.  And when I visit those friends, and everyone gets together to play, I sit in on the games, even if it's just to listen and share the social experience because I don't have a character for that game.  PbP, for all its advantages, just can't substitute for that real-time, face to face interaction that has always been part of the appeal of gaming, for me.

But it does certainly have its advantages, and I've developed a lot of friendships on here, as well.

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 10):

I can relate. My younger years we had fun all around a table laughing and talking. But I actually quit playing D

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 10):

I do miss my scattered friends and the fun we used to have sitting in the dark around a table.

I have to say, personally, that RPOL is a god send.  I don't keep friends...mostly cause I really can't stand people.  I live pretty much as a hermit leaving only to go grocery shopping or head to work.  As much as I enjoyed TT gaming in my youth, it's simply no longer in the cards.  As others have mentioned, work schedules or other real life issues come up so keeping a steady group can be extremely difficult.  Not to mention, everyone is here (more or less) to simply enjoy playing games.  No one making grand declarations about religions or getting into heated exchanges over politics...when you're on RPOL, you're here purely for the games. :D

*grin*  Oh, it hasn't always been that way.  Religious/Political discussions were banned on CC a few years ago because the debates always spiraled into name-calling and circular arguments that the moderators ended up closing after the third or fourth go-around.

But, even then, it was typically only a few users that were chronically involved in those debates...the majority of users have always managed to maintain at least a civil tone, and often sound downright friendly.  *grin*

I enjoy both for different reasons. PBP is amazing because I can play while I'm working abroad and without a friendly tabletop group. Plus, it allows for a steady stream of gaming, and you never have to worry about someone canceling on your session last minute.

However, I love doing face-to-face sessions because I enjoy acting, doing voices, and also just having random laughs with my friends. Sometimes, we'd also have cake while playing. You can't beat D&D&Cake. :-p

Hmm... Cake or Death?  Ah-ah-ah, you said, "Death". ;-)

I feel ya.  Love me some tabletop, but this new-fangled RPoL thingy is cool, too.  Plenty of room for both in my universe.

Strictly speaking people would probably notice if I reserved a conference room a few times a week to play D&D during the work day. Not so much with RPOL set to the white background.

Thanks for making the website look roughly like a spread sheet!
Holy crap see you in RPOL Development forum! *slams virtual door*

Ha. I actually did this when I worked in an office (I'm self employed and work from home now). Me and some co-workers would literally reserve a conference room over lunch break and play D&D. We even used the projector and screen to show battle maps. :D

In reply to byzantinex (msg # 18):

Now that sounds like a happenin' workplace!  My game group has often speculated about the "Dream Gaming Table" and it's funny how it resembles a really tricked out multimedia conference table.

In not gonna say ill never play tabletop again. But i would have to say that in my opinion pbp is vastly superior for one main reason: conversation. In tabletop, you simply can't have the organic conversation that you can have in a tabletop game. In pbp you can have a speech length comment from one person and actually be able to respond point by point, while carrying a separate conversation with two other people. Talking just doesn't work like that outside of text. As both a gm and a player I believe that character interaction is what makes or breaks a game- and text based is extremely conducive for conversation on a way that realtime face to face communication simply cant match.

To the above point - I think it largely depends on the group. Conversation is more natural, if you have role-players rather than hack-and-slashers, over tabletop. Conversation doesn't work IRL by responding point-by-point. Which makes PbP games where this happened make the conversation seem stilted and unnatural.

But this is with people, on each side, wanting to roleplay. A PbP game tends to attract people who want to roleplay; so that can make up for it a bit, as tabletop is more appealing to hack and slashers.

To me, face-to-face tabletop roleplay is a extra-large cup of RP with two espresso shots in it.

Play-by-post is the RP version of an IV drip.

In one, you get a solid 4+ hours of roleplay in the company of (hopefully?) good people.  In the other, you get a constant trickle of roleplay.

It really is six of one, half a dozen of the other, the way I see it.

In reply to pdboddy (msg # 22):

See, I never got the RP I wanted in FtF play time. Everyone was just focused on combat and gold

Quit playing d20?

In reply to willvr (msg # 21):

Matter of taste I guess- I don't find it to be stilted or unnatural at all.

In reply to Sir Swindle (msg # 24):

Ha. I did quit playing in person games but I LOVE RPOL b/c of the ability to role play far more.

Maybe it was just the group I was in, but our RP was terrible. :D

I'm super happy with RPOL and that's why I said I'll only be gaming on here from now on.

I've had some people ask me about playing in person games and I turn them down.

Mostly b/c I'm a self-employed dad with 3 kids and don't have 6 hours to carve out at one time. :D But also b/c I just far prefer the RP experience here.

I'm in two tabletop games. Nice folks in each group.

However, Group A is small (4-5 people) has some very ADD people in it (mostly one severely ADD, sometimes another slightly less intensely ADD), which derails the game regularly. That derailing tends to block and/or entirely short circuit any prolonged or in depth RP. Some happens, but it's in brief, shallow spurts. We've rotated DMs, so have a different character group, but I didn't bother to name my character at all for this game -- because it never came up at all in the first game. And so far, my character's reached 5th level and it came up once -- when two new players were starting, and introductions were made. Started another new player last game, and it didn't come up at all. And I still haven't named the character.

While the game is 3.5, it's more mystery/adventure than hack and slash/get the loot.

Group B is very strongly RP motivated and driven. It's a larger group (5-6 adults & 1 12YO), but very focused. The 12YO is an intermittent player; she likes the combats, but only occasionally hangs around for the rest. (We have her playing a pixie; sometimes, she just goes invisible and who knows where she's gone....)

In our first campaign, we ran through several modules, and the DM tied them into our characters' backstories whenever possible. (This resulted in what was likely the most horrific experience I've ever had a character go through, which made for some great RP.) In this group, identity and background very much matter, which adds a lot of depth to the gaming.

The player chemistry in this group is strong enough that when our original DM had to cancel due to being called in to work, the rest of us would meet anyway and play non-RP tabletop games. In February, he opted to step out for a while (he's firefighter and his schedule is currently jacked up for the foreseeable future). We still keep in close touch with him, because eventually he'll be able to rejoin us, but in the meantime we've started a new campaign with new characters, and rotated to a new DM.

No, I read that. I meant stop playing a money-centric combat heavy system and you'll stop having money-centric combat heavy games.

In reply to Sir Swindle (msg # 28):

D&D isn't money-centric and combat heavy? Only if the group you're in focuses on that.

Anyway, TL;DR; I love RPOL and I'm never going back to in person tabletop

I think there's a certain something that comes from the choice of rpg system. If not exactly linguistic relativity, then at least mechanics shape the way one can conform (or not) to that system, and assumptions and patterns that result.

Yes, the group can change the way they use the system, but they can't directly challenge the mindset choosing that system establishes. They can only work with or against it in different ways.

Congratulations on your discovered strong convictions, though.