Roleplaying for the Masses

Steve Hatherley

I have a dream. It's a simple dream - I don't want much. My dream is this: next time I'm chatting up a cute girl, I want to be able to say "I play roleplaying games," with pride. I want to be able to say "I play roleplaying games," without having to launch into a detailed description of how I fill my spare time. As with comics, I would like to see roleplaying games cast aside the "childish" label. I would like roleplaying to be a respectable pastime. I look forward to the day when they are seriously discussed in the Sunday papers.

Is this too much to ask for?

Unfortunately, in its present form--lurid artwork, complex rules and puerile settings--roleplaying has reached its limits. The current crop of RPGs cater for the select taste of the dedicated few. Vampires, dragons, starships, sword and sorcery, cyberpunk, and aliens are the domains of the genre fiction shelves in W H Smiths. And for as long as I can remember, such fiction has occupied the same few shelves, ignored by the enlightened masses.

So, if I want more people to play RPGs, the games themselves will have to change. But how?

It's easy for me, gaming (and I use the term interchangeably with roleplaying) is an all-consuming passion, a hobby, a pastime. My lady friend (let's give her a name: Kate, for the sake of an argument) has other demands on her time. Tennis, swimming, nightclubbing, reading, work, whatever. How is she to fit gaming into her busy life?

Now, I'm not trying to turn everybody into gamers. Instead I think it would be nice if Kate had experienced gaming - and not just D&D with her younger brothers when she was twelve. I want her to have experienced contemporary roleplaying, but not necessarily in the company of dedicated gamers. In which case, RPGs need to be approached with a different design philosophy:

RPGs need to be simpler. Kate doesn't want to spend an entire evening rolling up her character - nor does she want to spend another evening mastering the rules.
RPGs need to be rooted in reality rather than fantasy. Kate has a great working knowledge of people, current events and has seen dozens of movies. Perhaps she has read some fantasy or science-fiction, but probably not. She knows who Robin Hood is, but not Griselda.
RPGs need to be less obsessed with combat. Kate doesn't care for violence, real or imagined.
RPGs must be self-contained. Kate has only limited spare time to play RPGs, maybe the occasional evening every few months or so. And she certainly doesn't want to have to buy a dozen supplements. (If she becomes that enthusiastic she can get involved with a traditional system like the rest of us.)
RPGs must be easier to run. Kate doesn't want to have to work out an adventure for her friends. Everything must be available in the box. The referee's duties must be light, and fully explained.

Well, you can probably see where this is leading. The style of roleplaying to suit Kate is a freeform. With freeforms (or whatever we call them) RPGs can throw off their shackles and join the human race. Through freeforms we can show other people this fabulous hobby of ours.

But what will these freeforms look like?

I think their closest existing relatives are the How To Host A Murder games. These follow all of the rules I've outlined above - and are already popular. It is only a small step from producing a Murder game to a freeform.

The rules must be simple. The characters will be pregenerated, with no statistics - just background information, objectives and rumours. The setting will be generally historical and self-contained (as the Murder games are). There will be no need for further expansions or supplements.

Some RPGs are already heading this route. The Masquerade is White Wolf's freeform version of its successful Vampire game. Its packaging clearly shows that is aims for the Murder/Trivial Pursuit audience. However, The Masquerade fails on almost all counts: it has a complex rule system; its background is too rich for casual immersion; supplements already exist; and once the sample adventure has been run the Narrator is left with a huge amount of work. The Masquerade is a freeform for gamers only.

Kate doesn't want to buy a "How To Create Your Own Freeforms" package; she would rather take one from the shelf and find everything she needs contained within it. She doesn't want superfluous rules - if the game doesn't need romance rules then they aren't included. The game will be simple, self-contained, and a huge amount of fun.

I still have my dream. And, as I write, it is still just a dream. But maybe one day, as freeforms become more commercial, Kate will know what I'm talking about.

"I play roleplaying games."

"Oh Sure. I've done that."

This article appeared in slightly different form in the Convulsion 94 programme book and may be re-published as long the following paragraph is included at the end of the article and as long as you link to the URLs:

Article by Steve Hatherley. Steve is an active freeformer in the UK and has written a number of freeforms. For more information about UK freeforms, please visit uk-freeforms.wikidot.com. Steve is also a partner of Freeform Games LLP and has a website dedicated to freeform-style murder mystery games: http://www.great-murder-mystery-games.com