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Re: (TFT) Is it an RPG or really a Tactical RPG?



Ah, must have misread what you wrote. I understand what you're saying about using props/grids. When I first played D&D, combat was entirely played out in the imagination- no miniatures. Some friends introduced us to miniatures (they were more wealthy and could afford such luxuries). Even when they used miniatures, they didn't use them tactically like we do in TFT.

I think my brother has the first edition of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. A great book in my opinion. I vaguely recall that it had some rules for tactical combat using a grid system. We just never used it. The D&D group I have played with do use a tactical system with miniatures to play out combat. They had found the system cumbersome. I introduced TFT to them and while they found it quicker it was sufficiently different from D&D that they weren't receptive. BTW, when I got back into D&D I got a copy of the newer DM Guide and was very disappointed with what they had done to it.

FWIW,
Aidan

----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Rangel" <ray.rangel@cox.net>
To: <tft@brainiac.com>
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 11:33 AM
Subject: RE: (TFT) Is it an RPG or really a Tactical RPG?


You are 100% correct (I'm really not sure what you're disagreeing with). Any
of these games can be played focused on role playing or combat or anything
in between. My personal experience is that some lend themselves more readily
to pure imagination while others lean toward using props. D&D (pre-3.5),
GURPS, Traveller, Masterbook, Tunnels & Trolls, etc. all have combat systems
that *can* use miniatures or boards, yet they support combat played out
totally in the player's imagination very well. TFT, on the other hand, is a lot more oriented toward playing out combat on a hex map (in this respect it
is much like D&D 3.5 and it's grid). Please don't read any goodness or
badness into this. There are simply different styles of play and all have
the potential for enormous amounts of fun...at least they do for me!


Ray Rangel
ray.rangel@cox.net
http://xraysvision.blogspot.com/

-----Original Message-----
From: tft-admin@brainiac.com [mailto:tft-admin@brainiac.com] On Behalf
Of Todd Roseberry
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 9:28 AM
To: tft@brainiac.com
Subject: Re: (TFT) Is it an RPG or really a Tactical RPG?

Ray,

Can't say that I agree. I was "converted" to TFT from AD&D way back
when. I
must admit that most of our TFT games in the old days were combat
oriented
but so were all of our AD&D. There as no real difference in the way we
played. As a teenager, we didn't "role-play" so much. I guess we weren't
sophisticated enough...or maybe we were just blood thirsty barbarians,
power-mad wizards and thieves with politician like greed- why cut a
purse
when you can cut a throat too? We made characters we liked and went and
beat
up the bad guys. I stopped playing many years ago.

A few years ago, some friends of mine invited me to play D&D 2.56788
Player
Choice, etc...ad inifinitum. I wasn't thrilled to play D&D but it was an
opportunity to socialize. What I found with these guys was a different
style
of role-playing. They really role-played. They've been to some Cons and
have
received awards for their role-playing. They've commented that most of
the
other folks playing D&D don't role play like them. Most are still "line
'em
up and chop 'em down" role-players.

I was just thinking some time ago, there's no reason why TFT can't be
role-played in the same manner. It just depends on your style. What D&D
gives you that TFT doesn't are all the books with really neat ideas and
charts, etc... Even when we played TFT, we'd used D&D books for ideas.
We
just like the TFT mechanism better. It really shouldn't matter what
system
you use, you should be ablet to role-play any way you like.

My $.02.

Aidan


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Rangel" <ray.rangel@cox.net>
To: <tft@brainiac.com>
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 6:10 AM
Subject: RE: (TFT) Is it an RPG or really a Tactical RPG?


> Your impressions are spot on. It all began with simple board games
named
> "Melee" and "Wizard" then evolved into an RPG. Of the three core
products,
> "In The Labyrinth" was the last and layered RPG elements on top of the
> board
> games and tied them together. That's why, it would be virtually
> impossible,
> IMHO, to play TFT as a pure (or "true") RPG. The essence of TFT is the
> encounter on the hex grid with just enough role playing to get from
> encounter to encounter. This is true, of course, of any RPG. The
others
> that
> you mention focus of the role playing, rather than the board game, so
an
> encounter can be played without any physical representation at all.
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