Retro Post: Mainstream

From 5-21-12

Pathfinder may have the right idea, just badly executed because they had to be backward compatible to 3e. They have an RPG that totally integrates rules, setting, adventures, and fictional properties and licensing into a cohesive whole. This set up might really have some mainstream appeal and be a consistent source of income beyond just selling rulebooks. The problem is that the rules are written for hobbyists (extreme ones at that) as opposed to people. [I seem to remember posting something close to this comment in somebody’s blog. They resented not being counted as people. Upon reflection, I stand behind my original statement.]

The Adventure Path adventures aren’t designed to be played quickly or over a long season. (Again, the rules wouldn’t support quick, easy play anyway.) There is the leveling aspect where certain abilities and skills are increased amongst a plethora of choices. Good for the hobbyist. Bad for casual players. Seemingly all adult players complain that they want to play, but the lack the time to do so. Coordinating session times and dates seem to be the biggest culprits. Hand-in-hand with that is simply the time it takes to play and how little gets accomplished in a single session.

Adventure creation is the biggest time sink, and one person is expected to do the work. A prepackaged adventure, written in a quickly comprehended and manageable fashion, would be ideal (especially for the publishers). Character creation, enhancement, and XP calculation are the time sinks for the players, and simply the time and scheduling it takes to play.

Imagine a simple, flexible set of rules. Characters start as strong archetypes, easily upgraded if campaign-style play is desired. Prepackaged scenarios that are playable in a night (with optional encounters for longer play). These could be part of a series or standalone as one shots. There are novels and setting books for wonks, but everything is playable with only the core rules. There is no library of splatbooks. Opportunities are there for hobbyists to make their own extensions, but they are their own.

[Not sure what brought this banal piece on, or why. I’ll sum it up. Why can’t there be a mainstream RPG? Why does it have to be a hobby? People routinely have fun, making fools of themselves playing any number of other party/family games. There’s casual Monopoly and there’s competitive Monopoly, while still being the same game.]