(RPG) Over-rated!

It's been a week with the mundanes, and when I wasn't working on parties and playdates, I've been working the "very special" gaming session Sunday. Lots of printous and such. I've got some Gnome Wars painting to do as well.

I've been lurking through the forums at rpg.net lately, and I still wonder why I even go back. Actually, it's the Jerry Springer effect. The rpg.net forums, from Role-playing Open to Tangency, make the worst TMP forums look like a diplomatic discussion of educated, well-mannered people.

The one topic that I trudged though 15 pages of was, "What RPG is most overrated" or something within that vein. Withing seconds, it devolved into a subjective hate-fest, with a crazy discussion on the need for social mechanics in RPGs. In a hobby with a definitive quote of, "If there's any girls there, I want to DO THEM!," I have to giggle.

I will try my best and be objective, because this isn't a love/hate fest.

Overrated: To overestimate the merits, rate too highly.

This can be created three ways: Through company promotion (advertising), unwarranted critical reviews (critics), and the consumers' community (fanboys). Mass popularity tends to void this. Ford, McDonalds, and Microsoft might suck, but they are so pervasive in society that the average person admits that their products are at best, average. Lamborghini, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, and that fancy boutique down the street. They definitely have a better opportunity to be overrated. They are NOT vanilla.

So here we go:

TORG: Chalk this one up to company hype. Way back in the early 90's, West End Games bought full page ads in Dragon Magazine for months hyping their next big thing. We now know this as the multi-genre amalgamation known as TORG. The reviews that came in (critics), and if they were any positive towards the creators, the reviewers would be cooking breakfast the next morning wearing only their favorite shirt.

Unfortunately, the "ground-breaking" mechanics, cinematic play, and multi-genre setting did not bode well for casual play for the average gamer. Don't get me wrong, there have been a number of fantastic Torg games through the years, and if Russ and Todd ever start running again, I'd ponder sacrificing my children for a seat at the table. Even in the age of massive stat-block 3e/4e games, the average GM simply does not have the time to properly pull off a good game, and the average player is not enthused about such a wacky setting, even if a campaign focuses on one genre.

As much as I wanted to believe the hype, Rifts would have been a better choice for me back in the day.

d20 OGL The 3rd Edition/d20 craze was fueld by the ability of third parties to produce their own materials, any idea, any genre, so long as it followed the OGL rules. A new edition of the most popular RPG in the world, and a glut of new material turned it into a "one true game" for some. WotC/Third parties hyped the ability to play different styles/genres, the reviews harped on new games like Spycraft and Mutants and Masterminds, and the fanboys? Oh the fanboys. "d20 can be used for anything!" was a regular cry, yet we all knew that was impossible. If GURPS couldn't be used for every setting (and it tries better), a system geared towards fantasy can not do the same.

Ten years later, we see what's left. Pathfinder. And people have finally begun to expand their horizons again with different games. Thank God. Again 3e D&D isn't overrated, d20 is.

I'll need some time to go over mini/board/card game options....