The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [119]
We never ask the player to put on a persona. True Dungeon is about see how “YOU” would do in a challenging environment, and we don’t want to take people out of the fun by asking them to play someone else. The game is designed to be enjoyed upfront and viscerally. There is no need to have a character to enjoy the intense gaming action [Martin 2010].
True Dungeon’s approach is distinctly different because it infuses the dungeon-crawling experience with the diegesis of live action, replicating the sights and sounds of a dungeon. This is most evident in traps and puzzles, which require players to physically interact with their environment to solve the challenges in a way tabletop play never could. It’s one thing for a player’s thief to casually roll dice to disarm a trap and quite another to willingly place your bare arm into the maw of a gargoyle in hopes that the opening does not contain a trap.
In MagiQuest the players take on the role of Magi, using an infraredemitting wand to complete quests, interact with objects, find gold, and duel. The wand “remembers” the player’s progress with each visit. The objective of MagiQuest is to build and gain power by obtaining magic runes. These runes are awarded for completing certain tasks, using the infrared wand to activate targets marked with a stylized Q.
Darkon features two types of events, battle days and adventures. Battle days are a series of team battles, with players free to use any skills or spells designated for normal combat—it is a player vs. player conflict. Adventures, on the other hand, are pre-scripted scenarios where referees recruit nonplayer characters as opponents and even monsters. Players use only the abilities designated for adventure events, many of them non–combat-related.
Personalization
Character descriptions and resolution differ significantly between LARPs and tabletop RPGs. The player’s body influences his description. He can modify his appearance with clothing, props, and makeup, but he is what he is; it’s much harder to play a different gender or a different race than in a conventional tabletop or online game. Certain attributes can still reside within the realm of imagination, so that the player can perform superhuman powers in-game or perform skills he does not ordinarily possess.
The Alliance LARP allows players to take the role of elves, “hoblings,” dwarves, or even biata (gryphon-like beings) and sarr (cat-people). It features seven character classes, including fighters, mages, and rogues.
In Darkon, all participants must wear fantasy garb at all times, including a tunic-style shirt with colored pants. Jeans are expressly prohibited. Nongenre footwear is permissible but must be covered. Different classes have different costume choices that they must wear to identify their type. Mundane contemporary items like cell phones must be hidden out of sight.
Darkon’s spell casting system uses spell points, with each spell having an energy cost. These spell points regenerate only after midnight, rather than perpetually as in MUDs and CRPGs. In order to cast a spell, the player must read the full length of the spell from his spell book or scroll. The caster cannot move, speak, or fight while casting (including being hit by an opponent).
Once the spell is cast, the caster can then hold the spell indefinitely; during this time he may not speak, and can only move up to five steps from his original position—shades of third edition Dungeons & Dragons’ five-foot step. Should the caster be struck while holding the spell, he suffers the effect of the spell. This means fireballs held in abeyance will explode on the caster!
Risk
Unlike a tabletop game,