One thing that I have
discovered in the years that I have played in
role-playing games -- of all types, ranging from
Battletech to
D&D to
Shadowrun to
Vampire -- is that most people who play RPGs forget one fundamental thing: they're called
role-playing games for a reason. Many of the the game sessions I have participated in (prior to my discovering
White Wolf) can be categorized as follows:
- Hack and Slash
- Solve-the-Puzzle
In the first category, the game rarely rises above simulated
strategy and
combat. It's about having enough points on your
character sheet to destroy another character, or (
sometimes) being clever enough to strategically
outmaneuver your
opponent. There's no
passion in it. The second is purely a
mental exercise; your
character and even point values are irrelevant. The players are trying to solve a puzzle created by the
gamemaster. It's like playing an evolved version of
Twenty Questions. It has its intellectual
appeal, but it doesn't
stir the blood.
No, what most people don't realize when they play a role-playing game is that... you're playing a character. Someone other than yourself. You can adopt a persona, behave and think differently from your normal self. Roleplaying games don't have to just be about killing things and solving your GM's dungeon; you can be someone else! This is possible with virtually every role-playing game out there; even Battletech and Car Wars make provisions for it. The best games for true roleplaying I've found have been the ones produced by White Wolf Game Studios.
And try really roleplaying for once. I did; it's rather addictive, rewarding and fun.