TOPIC: Bards getting a bad rap

... To me the coolest part is seeing people who totally loose themselves in the moment and forget they are standing in a hotel ballroom. The term that we have coined for TD is passive roleplaying... The passive tag comes in because a person who doesn't want to roleplay can still go through the module and have a great time. So it is sort of roleplaying optional...

I REALLY like that term: "passive roleplay"! I'm going to use that from now on when I try to describe the TD experience to others.

I've said it before, to me, TD is more about the players and not the characters. It is an interactive, immersive game in which roleplaying is a natural by-product and not the focus or purpose of TD.

Well done RP is a bonus that adds to the ambiance. In the context of TD, RP to me is not being able to site from volumes of rulebooks, it is being involved with your surroundings and fellow-players; as Lee describes it, getting lost in the moment.

I couldn't agree more about enjoying the moment. I enjoy the costuming and ambiance, but as already said the endearing moments in D&D are in the interaction of the characters. I remember one night when I used to DM, I had prepared what I thought was an exceptional adventure. I was in no way prepared for what happened that night.

I can't even remember the specifics now, but the party stopped in a town on the way to the dungeon to get some supplies. Things just began to happen between the players. After four or five hours--no dark tunnels, no monsters, no treasure, no damsels in distress--just interactions between the party members as they prepared. I had to wing the entire thing because it was a fantastic creative experience. We called it quits that night without taking a single step into my well prepared ruins.

Everyone felt that was one of our best adventures. You can't replace those moment of interaction. That is role play to me. My true dungeon adventure is now as I am typing these words. It's when I walk into the tavern (maybe the part I look forward to the most). It's when I walk down the dark hall. It's when I watch the thief open a chest. It is when something unexpected is around the corner. Why? Interaction. You get to see people fearing the dark, the unknown, lack of preparation, and even fearing their character will die.

Just some thoughts.

Dennis aka Widseth

Just don't expect me to wear one. (alright I did wear a cloak in the tavern a few times, but my character was 'Lee in a cloak') <quote from Lee>

Hey! You were the tall, dark and mysterious stranger! "Lee in a cloak," - I like that.

>>>>>>>roleplay really is in you..... j/k