For All of Videogames' Flash & Cash, Tabletop Still Does It First & Best

I know that the WOW devs don't read this blog, so I'm not going to claim credit for inspiring this, but I am pleased to see that some things I created years ago for my tabletop RPG campaign are being implemented in World of Warcraft.

Battle For Azeroth introduces Allied Races. The idea is simple: these are nations sympathetic to your faction, but not yet members of it, a fact you change once you complete a race-specific quest chain. Once that race formally joins your faction, your account gains the option to play as that race going forward (starting at Level 20 instead of Level 1, and spawning at your faction's capital city).

For my New Model Colony campaign, this is how players can unlock additional race and class options. The differences are (a) it's unlocked for all players, (b) only I know what's out there to recruit right now (players have to actually find it; this is a form of treasure), and (c) the relationship must be maintained to maintain access. I devised this idea many years ago, and I have no doubt that others did it before me.

As I write this post, I have the panel on Boss Encounter design going on. This is Mech Pilot thinking from start to finish, with a side of Storygame wanking, but given the difference in medium that's tolerable (the wanking) and necessary (the boss design being focused on mechanical operation). However, there is an undercurrent going on about context; they don't design with a white room in mind, but rather account for (a) what the environment of the encounter is and (b) what the boss's objective is in opposing the PCs.

That last bit is straight from the old days of D&D, as seen with The Alt-Right DM's posts about his ongoing campaign. Tabletop RPGs think in terms of context first and foremost; who wants what, and what are they willing to do to get it? Because of the human GM, all of the ambiguity that videogames handle poorly can be handled with aplomb at the table. That panel discussion? Sorted in a coffee break by one dude with a scratch pad, or handled on the fly during play.

Tabletop still does things that videogames have issues implementing, did it first, and does it best. Until computing capacity and acumen surmounts those differences in medium, and then makes it dead-simple to use at home, the heart and soul of the RPG as a form of game will remain in its medium of founding: the tabletop. Go grab some pals, some dice, and go adventuring- it's the cheapest and lowest-tech form of gaming you can do, and the rewards are fantastic for the work required.