The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Hidden among Gary Gygax's writing lie gems of wit and counsel: "You cannot have a meaningful campaign unless strict time records are kept," for instance. This sentence appeared in the first edition of AD&D's Dungeon Master's Guide, and it.yet guides my role-playing. Gygax's Role-Playing Mastery (RPM) presents ten chapters of this sort of advice and hard-won experience. Despite thirteen years passing since its publication, much remains relevant and useful. All remains interesting.

The book has a three-fold purpose: describe the hobby's history; to help participants understand "games, campaigns, and the dynamics involved;" and improve play quality. Most historic material comes as anecdotes or asides scattered throughout the text. This contrasts with the book's otherwise tight organization. Coincidentally, the book itself meets its first purpose better now than when it first appeared. The text presents gaming before CCGs, before the Internet, before Vampire, and before multi-genre games. Accordingly, some material reflects opinions held in absence of counter-examples. For instance, RPM pre-dates GURPS, FUDGE, CORPS, etc., and chapters covering game design favor matching rules to setting. What once helped readers understand role-playing games as games now helps them understand their historical development.

RPM has four chapters on improving play: one each for the player, the GM, the gaming group, and "successful" play. For improving gaming skills as a player, Gygax identifies four important and often-ignored character creation issues aside from the common lack of background detail. He then makes seventeen more points. All seem obvious, but none are trivial. The chapter on improving GM skills has fewer points, but all matter. These range from simple reminders that GMs and players are not enemies to fundamentals like "The game exists to provide entertainment on an ongoing basis." Further commentary in each chapter extends and clarifies each item. The chapter on groups has sections on group interaction by type, problem players, problem GMs, and group success. This chapter offers no new material.

The chapter covering "successful" play brings a persistent bias to the fore. Much of the text mentions tournament play in examples of one point or another. Tournament play has its place, but Gygax seems to over-stress it. In fact, devoting this chapter to tactics of solving scenarios limits the range of role-playing. Many campaigns revolve around player characters in opposition to one another. While this play style is not for everyone, ignoring it despite contemporary examples (Paranoia and Toon) demonstrates the author's bias.

Reading RPM might improve your game. Gygax has a lot to teach, but the reader must remember his biases and take his didactic style with a grain of salt. RPM describes the author's very successful habits and style. Find the book, read it, and adopt what seems good to you.

P.S.: If you need help finding this book, email me for hints.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Role-Playing Mastery
Author: Gary Gygax Category: Book, RPG Theory Company/Publisher: Perigee Books Line: n/a Cost: $7.95 Page count: 176 ISBN: 0-399-51293-4 SKU: n/a Capsule Review by Til Eulenspiegel on 03/23/00. Genre tags: none	Hidden among Gary Gygax's writing lie gems of wit and counsel: "You cannot have a meaningful campaign unless strict time records are kept," for instance. This sentence appeared in the first edition of AD&D's Dungeon Master's Guide, and it.yet guides my role-playing. Gygax's Role-Playing Mastery (RPM) presents ten chapters of this sort of advice and hard-won experience. Despite thirteen years passing since its publication, much remains relevant and useful. All remains interesting. The book has a three-fold purpose: describe the hobby's history; to help participants understand "games, campaigns, and the dynamics involved;" and improve play quality. Most historic material comes as anecdotes or asides scattered throughout the text. This contrasts with the book's otherwise tight organization. Coincidentally, the book itself meets its first purpose better now than when it first appeared. The text presents gaming before CCGs, before the Internet, before Vampire, and before multi-genre games. Accordingly, some material reflects opinions held in absence of counter-examples. For instance, RPM pre-dates GURPS, FUDGE, CORPS, etc., and chapters covering game design favor matching rules to setting. What once helped readers understand role-playing games as games now helps them understand their historical development. RPM has four chapters on improving play: one each for the player, the GM, the gaming group, and "successful" play. For improving gaming skills as a player, Gygax identifies four important and often-ignored character creation issues aside from the common lack of background detail. He then makes seventeen more points. All seem obvious, but none are trivial. The chapter on improving GM skills has fewer points, but all matter. These range from simple reminders that GMs and players are not enemies to fundamentals like "The game exists to provide entertainment on an ongoing basis." Further commentary in each chapter extends and clarifies each item. The chapter on groups has sections on group interaction by type, problem players, problem GMs, and group success. This chapter offers no new material. The chapter covering "successful" play brings a persistent bias to the fore. Much of the text mentions tournament play in examples of one point or another. Tournament play has its place, but Gygax seems to over-stress it. In fact, devoting this chapter to tactics of solving scenarios limits the range of role-playing. Many campaigns revolve around player characters in opposition to one another. While this play style is not for everyone, ignoring it despite contemporary examples (Paranoia and Toon) demonstrates the author's bias. Reading RPM might improve your game. Gygax has a lot to teach, but the reader must remember his biases and take his didactic style with a grain of salt. RPM describes the author's very successful habits and style. Find the book, read it, and adopt what seems good to you. P.S.: If you need help finding this book, email me for hints. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)