Role v. Roll playing

In my younger days, I just thought RPG's were a chance to roll dice and kill vile monsters and find treasure. I enjoyed many a game session where we would go through a list of monsters, killing all of them with ruthless efficiency, and rolling to find out what amazing treasure we liberated. It was fun in the way that a Quentin Tarantino action movie is fun. Not necessarily anything super deep, but you enjoy the ride while not having to think about it too much.

A few years later, I played with a group that opened my eyes to the ROLEplaying side of the game, where the killing baddies was part of a story that my character was a meaningful part of. As I was still pretty young and saw things in absolutes, I felt that it was the way everyone should play and looked down on all the hack and slash players that clearly weren't as mature as I was. After all, I hadn't been a hack and slash player for like, a whole month! I got into my character and immersed myself in his lore, his story, his thoughts, and I could go entire sessions without rolling dice and not care at all. Surely, this is what roleplaying was supposed to be and I finally understood what made it so special and different!!

Eventually, I grew up, went to college, and realized that all gaming styles are equally valid ways to play RPG's, and rather than sneer at those who played differently than I did, I became impressed with the fact that roleplaying games could accommodate so many different play styles. In the same game session, you can have people who delve into rich character histories, some who are looking to follow along a story, other who mostly want to socialize with their geek friends, as well as those who just enjoy rolling dice to see what comes up. I can't think of any other category of games that can be played in so many vastly different ways. Over my decades of gaming, I've played each style and found they're all fun in their own way.

Of course, people can often learn to enjoy the other styles if they honestly give them a chance. Again, that's what's so awesome about RPG's! If you're running a campaign that's heavy into the roleplaying side of things, you definitely want the pure roleplayers that you know, but it's worth extending the offer to other friends that don't fit that playstyle. Just make sure to explain that it's going to require some creativity and is going to be a LOT of roleplaying with a little action, and let them decide if they want give that kind of game a try. If it's not their cup of tea, then no hard feelings, as they're still welcome in the other games. I used to think you needed a group of the same kind of players for those games to work, but now I think you just need players willing to try that style of RPG with the understanding that they're free to try it and leave if they're not enjoying it.

In the end, RPG's are a game, and you should try and have fun with them in whatever way works for you, and I encourage everyone to at least try different games outside their normal comfort zone once in a while. You may not like them all, but odds are that you'll find at least a few new ways to enjoy RPG's that you never considered before.