Roleplaying is all about playing a character who is different from yourself. In real life, I can’t wield a two-handed battleaxe (or a shotgun, for that matter). Almost no one can. However, many people can do other things I can’t, such as seducing enemy spies, lying convincingly to a room full of people, or piecing together esoteric knowledge gleaned from ancient texts written in seven dead languages. Therefore, I cannot realistically roleplay a character who does these things.
This is where the rules come in. Instead of “optimizing body language”, which I can’t do in real life, I roll a d20 and add my Charisma modifier along with my Bluff rank. If the result is high enough, then everyone in the room is convinced that I am the Grand Vizier and they should do what I say. This includes the NPCs, who are controlled by the GM, as well as the PCs, who are not convinced in real life, but pretend to be for the purposes of the game.
This way, I can play the character I want to play, who is different than my real-world self—and I can do so fairly, because everyone follows the same rules.
Combat works the same way, except that it can be even more fun if done properly. Of course, if you aren’t a fan of turn-based strategy games such as X-Com or even chess, then you might want to stay away from detailed combat rules and stick to something more cinematic.
Of course, some combat (as well as social) systems are simply way too complicated (f.ex., Rifts and Earthdawn, IMO). I shouldn’t need to consult three different tables just to swing my sword or tell a convincing white lie. But that’s a problem with specific dice systems, not with dice systems as a general category.
I disagree—up to a point.
Roleplaying is all about playing a character who is different from yourself. In real life, I can’t wield a two-handed battleaxe (or a shotgun, for that matter). Almost no one can. However, many people can do other things I can’t, such as seducing enemy spies, lying convincingly to a room full of people, or piecing together esoteric knowledge gleaned from ancient texts written in seven dead languages. Therefore, I cannot realistically roleplay a character who does these things.
This is where the rules come in. Instead of “optimizing body language”, which I can’t do in real life, I roll a d20 and add my Charisma modifier along with my Bluff rank. If the result is high enough, then everyone in the room is convinced that I am the Grand Vizier and they should do what I say. This includes the NPCs, who are controlled by the GM, as well as the PCs, who are not convinced in real life, but pretend to be for the purposes of the game.
This way, I can play the character I want to play, who is different than my real-world self—and I can do so fairly, because everyone follows the same rules.
Combat works the same way, except that it can be even more fun if done properly. Of course, if you aren’t a fan of turn-based strategy games such as X-Com or even chess, then you might want to stay away from detailed combat rules and stick to something more cinematic.
Of course, some combat (as well as social) systems are simply way too complicated (f.ex., Rifts and Earthdawn, IMO). I shouldn’t need to consult three different tables just to swing my sword or tell a convincing white lie. But that’s a problem with specific dice systems, not with dice systems as a general category.