FAQ
What’s all this stuff about role-playing games?
Role-playing games (RPGs) have been around for almost a quarter of a century – they’re a social activity where a group of people sit around the table and assume the parts of characters in a story. The events takes place within your imagination, with the success governed by the roll of a dice.
It’s a social activity, so you’ll need a few friends, some odd-shaped dice, and a good imagination. You’ll also need a couple of rulebooks – like the Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook, in order to play.
What’s the d20 system?
The d20 system from Wizards of the Coast is an attempt to create a open source rules system/licence, similar to the GNU public licence in many respects – with several provisos. Players must purchase the core rulebooks in order to play.
Isn’t this kind of weird?
Not really. RPGs have been around for over 30 years. The concept of interactive fiction pre-dates written history. And games like World of Warcraft have their roots in RPGs.
What’s a “Rules lawyer”?
The bane of smooth gaming sessions. A Rules Lawyer is someone who can quote the rulebook, chapter and verse. They annoy the hell out of people (God knows, they irritate me!) They say things like “There’s no way that the wizard can cast that spell because it says on page 45, paragraph 2…” They’re the one that have several books that you’ve not got as a GM. In essence, they’re disruptive, pedantic, and irritating to both yourself and other players!
What’s changed over the years on this site?
When the site was first created, I used Microsoft Publisher 97. This was a decade ago, and the site has changed a lot since then. Now it has its own domain, runs in PHP, uses CSS and MySQL.
What was Nova Games?
At one point, a friend (Dave Westwater) and I formed a Play-By-Mail games partnership, called Nova Games. This lasted for several years, but the two of us found that it was getting harder and harder to manage that and our regular jobs. We created a number of Play-By-Mail games, including:
What are roleplaying games?
Here’s the full definition from Wikipedia.org:
A role-playing game (RPG; often roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game. Most role-playing games are conducted like radio drama: only the spoken component is acted. In most games, one specially designated player, the game master (GM), creates a setting in which each player plays the role of a single character. The GM describes the game world and its inhabitants; the other players describe the intended actions of their characters, and the GM describes the outcomes. Some outcomes are determined by the game system, and some are chosen by the GM.
OK – it’s also fun.
Where can I find a gaming group in Edinburgh?
Try http://www.orcedinburgh.co.uk – the Open Roleplaying Community of Edinburgh has a large membership and many members run games outside Saturday afternoons. Alternatively, ask in Black Lion Games. See also Gaming In Edinburgh.
Where can I buy games in Edinburgh?
Aside from the usual online retailers such as Amazon, there’s Black Lion Games at 90 Buccleuch Street, and a Games Workshop in the High Street. See also Gaming In Edinburgh.
