History Main / TabletopRPG

%%* ''[[TabletopGame/DreadTheFirstBookOfPandemonium Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium]]''
%%** ''[[TabletopGame/SpiteTheSecondBookOfPandemonium Spite: The Second Book of Pandemonium]]''
%%** ''TabletopGame/{{Pandemonio}}''

%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Swordbearer}}''

* ''WebOriginal/UnforgottenRealmsLive''

* ''Film/TheGamers''
* ''Film/TheGamersDorknessRising''

See also TabletopRPGTropes (for tropes common to Tabletop [=RPGs=]) and ForumRolePlays (which can feature rules from various RPG systems).

* ''TabletopGame/TheCreatureThatAteSheboygan''

* ''Literature/PathfinderTales''

[[/index]]

The default format for a tabletop RPG is for one player to be selected as the GameMaster while the others each create {{Player Character}}s who will collectively act as the heroes of the game's plot. Individual sessions or "episodes" of the game are commonly called "adventures", and the ongoing game story itself is usually called a "campaign," a holdover from these games' ''own'' heritage from tabletop wargames.

->''[=GMs=]: Never let players question your [=GMing=] decisions.''\\\
''Players: Question ''everything''.''\\\
''This about sums up roleplaying gaming.''

See TabletopGames for the broader category of games that don't necessarily involve role-playing.

!!Tropes commonly used by tabletop [=RPGs=] include:

* AnAdventurerIsYou
* AGodIsYou
* {{AKA47}}
* BagOfHolding
* BitzBox
* BlackMage
* BoltOfDivineRetribution
* CharacterAlignment
** UnconventionalAlignment
* CharacterCustomization
* CharacterLevel
* CharacterTiers
* ChunkySalsaRule
* ClassChangeLevelReset
* CombatMedic
* ConvenientQuesting
* CriticalFailure
* CriticalHit
** CriticalHitClass
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul
* DamageReduction
* DamageTyping
* DemiHuman
* DumpStat
* DungeonCrawling
* DungeonMaintenance
* DungeonmastersGirlfriend
* EliteTweak
* ExperiencePoints
* FailedASpotCheck
* FantasyCharacterClasses
* FighterMageThief
* FiveRaces
** FantasyAxisOfEvil
* GameMaster
* GameSystem
* GamingStatTropes
* {{GMPC}}
* GrandTabletopRulesList
* GrapplingWithGrapplingRules
* HonestRollsCharacter
* HouseSystem
* HybridOverkillAvoidance
* InAndOutOfCharacter
* JunkRare
* KillerGameMaster
* LawfulStupidChaoticStupid
** ChaoticStupid
** LawfulStupid
** StupidGood
** StupidEvil
** StupidNeutral
* LevelDrain
** MaximumHPReduction
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards
** EmptyLevels
* LiveActionRolePlay
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules
* MadeOfPhlebotinum
* MagicAmpersand
* MagicKnight
* MagicWand
* [[TheMagocracy Magocracy]]
* MechanicallyUnusualClass
* {{Metaplot}}
* MiniaturesConversions
* TheMinionMaster
* MinmaxersDelight
* MinMaxing
* MontyHaul
* [[TheNecrocracy Necrocracy]]
* {{Nerf}}
* NoCureForEvil
* NonPlayerCharacter
* NoSavingThrow
* NoSneakAttacks
* OffTheRails
* OneNationUnderCopyright
* OneStatToRuleThemAll
* OpenRoleplayingDecay
* OverusedCopycatCharacter
* PathOfInspiration
* PlayByPostGames
* PlayerArchetypes
** TheRealMan
** TheRoleplayer
** TheLoonie
** The {{Munchkin}}
* PlayerCharacter
* PlayerParty
* PointBuildSystem
* PrestigeClass
* PVPBalanced
* {{Railroading}}
* RandomNumberGod
* RocksFallEveryoneDies
* UsefulNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms
* RolePlayingGameVerse
* RulesConversions
* RulePlaying
* RulesLawyer
* RuleZero
* SchrodingersGun
* SchrodingersSuggestionBox
* SetAMookToKillAMook
* TheSixStats
* SlidingScaleOfTurnRealism
* {{Sourcebook}}
* SpecialSnowflakeSyndrome
* SpellCrafting
* SpellLevels
* SplashDamageAbuse
* {{Splat}}
* SquishyWizard
* StopHavingFunGuys
* ThatOneDisadvantage
* ThatOneRule
* TheGMIsACheatingBastard
* ToBeLawfulOrGood
* TotalPartyKill
* TreacherousQuestGiver
* TurnUndead
* {{Twinking}}
* UniversalSystem
* UrbanFantasy
* UtilityPartyMember
* VancianMagic
* WeHelpTheHelpless
* {{Whatevermancy}}
* WhiteMage
* YouAllMeetInAnInn

Another permutation of tabletop [=RPGs=] are '''l'''ive-'''a'''ction '''r'''ole-'''p'''laying or {{LARP}}. [=LARPs=] are similar to tabletop [=RPGs=] in how they play, but instead of sitting around the table, players actually act out the story physically. Since these situations don't lend themselves very well to long stat sheets or rolling dice, most [=LARPs=] use greatly simplified game mechanics, ranging from the "rock-paper-scissors" system used under Creator/WhiteWolf's first-edition ''Mind's Eye Theatre'' rules to semi-contact boffer-weapon systems clearly influenced by the SocietyForCreativeAnachronism and other recreationist groups. These games vary greatly in size, from intimate affairs similar to traditional [=RPGs=], to massive events such as those run by the [[http://www.ifgs.org/ International Fantasy Gaming Society]] or [[http://www.live-adventure.de/ConQuest_english/start.php Mythodea]].

Another permutation of tabletop [=RPGs=] are '''l'''ive-'''a'''ction '''r'''ole-'''p'''laying or {{LARP}}. [=LARPs=] are similar to tabletop [=RPGs=] in how they play, but instead of sitting around the table, players actually act out the story physically. Since these situations don't lend themselves very well to long stat sheets or rolling dice, most [=LARPs=] use greatly simplified game mechanics, ranging from the "rock-paper-scissors" system used under Creator/WhiteWolf's first-edition ''Mind's Eye Theatre'' rules to semi-contact boffer-weapon systems clearly influenced by the Society for Creative Anachronism and other recreationist groups. These games vary greatly in size, from intimate affairs similar to traditional [=RPGs=], to massive events such as those run by the [[http://www.ifgs.org/ International Fantasy Gaming Society]] or [[http://www.live-adventure.de/ConQuest_english/start.php Mythodea]].

The {{role playing| game}} and [[RealTimeStrategy strategy]] games that one sees on computers and video game consoles are one permutation of a much older legacy. The originals were played with a book of rules, pencils, paper, dice, models and imagination - a form of low-tech virtual reality. [[http://www.harappa.com/indus5/page_420.html D6 dice are]] OlderThanDirt, while [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120587-New-York-Museum-Boasts-2-000-Year-Old-Ancient-Egyptian-d20 D20s are apparently]] OlderThanFeudalism, though no one knows what they were used to play. These are still popular today, in many forms, the most widely known of which are tabletop {{RPG}}s and tabletop wargames.