Myths & Legends

Style vs Approach in Playing RPGs How Your "Play Style" Is Holding You Back For some reason, the term “play style” has always struck me as somewhat suspect. What does it actually mean? In terms of how it’s used, and I don’t think many will say otherwise, play styles vary according to preference. There are many of them. No one way is right. They allegedly must match up well at the game table for everyone to have the best possible experience. If play styles do not mesh well, it leads to unsatisfying play and can sometimes even result in bad feelings. We like to acknowledge the “play style” of others as a reminder that there are many different ways people can have fun playing RPGs, that the way others play may not be our cup of tea, but as long as they’re having fun, that’s all that matters. So what could possibly be suspect about this? Well, for starters, if there are so many different ways to play the game, and if play styles have to sync up when several different people ...

This is a quick and dirty system I threw together for cramming a Campbell-style Hero's Journey into a single 4-hour RPG session with some starter random tables to be able to generate the adventure randomly. Note that this is based on my own imperfect knowledge of Joseph Campbell's work, and even where I do know better, I sometimes have to sacrifice accuracy in order to systematize something that is really intended to have such a human element to it that it defies any system. That said, here are some barely organized notes I cobbled together about a year ago, and I would welcome any ideas for further development. Hour One - The Ordinary World Introduction Call to Adventure Equipment and Aid Challenge #1, Crossing the Threshold This segment is back-ground heavy. We know where the heroes come from, we know why they’re doing what they’re doing, and we know what steps they’ve taken to prepare. The segment ends immediately after its climax. Hour Two - The Extraordinary...