What are RPGS?

Oxford English Dictionary offers the following definition: a role-playing game (abbreviated RPG) is "a game in which players take on the role of imaginary characters, usually in a setting created by a referee, and thereby vicariously experience the imagined adventures of these characters.''

 

Wikipedia – a free online Encyclopedia has a great source of info.
The following is information I've ascertained from them. They say it better than I ever could.

Concept

At their core, these games are a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling. Whereas cinema, novels and television shows are passive, role-playing games engage the participants actively, allowing them to simultaneously be audience, actor, and author. An example of this difference could be the classic scene in a horror film when a doomed character ventures alone into the basement to fix a broken fuse. The audience experiences dramatic irony and says, "Don't go down there!" because they know the monster is lying in wait. In a role-playing game, the player may choose what to do about the broken fuse.

In role-playing games, participants play the parts of characters in an imaginary world that is organized, adjudicated, and sometimes created by a gamemaster (aka narrator, referee, dungeonmaster (DM), storyteller). The gamemaster's role is to provide a world and a cast of characters for the players to interact with, and to adjudicate how these interactions proceed. In addition, the gamemaster may also be responsible for advancing some kind of storyline or plot, albeit one which is subject to the somewhat unpredictable behavior of the players.

In a sense, the players are the "actors" who play the heroes, improvising more freely while the gamemaster plays all the supporting roles (ranging from villain to victim) and keeps them at least partly limited to the script s/he had in mind as the "writer." At the same time, the gamemaster "directs" or referees the outcome of each decision, and his/her descriptions "produce" and "stage" the game setting.

Some newer role-playing games expand the players' powers beyond dictating the actions of their player characters . Some groups or games have rapidly rotating gamemaster duties, or in the more radical cases, no gamemaster at all.

The cooperative aspect of role-playing games comes in two forms. The first is that the players are generally not competing against each other, nor against the gamemaster . Most sports, board games and card games place players in opposition, with the goal of coming out the winner. A role-playing game is not a zero-sum game; in the majority of these games, the only way to actually lose is not to enjoy the game. The second form of cooperation is that all of the players are writing the story together as a team. At the end of a role-playing game session, the events that transpired could be written into a book that would tell a story written by all of its participants.

Game mechanics

Despite this generally non-competitive nature, RPGs usually have rules, or "game mechanics", which enable the players to determine the success or failure of their characters in their endeavors. Normally, this will involve assigning certain abilities to each character (such as exceptional strength, x-ray vision, or magical spells ). Frequently, dice are introduced in order to bring in an element of chance, though this is not always the case.

Game mechanics commonly center around the fictional characters represented by the players. An essential step is character creation , where aspects such as the background, abilities, personality and resources of the character are recorded, often onto a character sheet . This usually takes the form of numerical values that represent different physical and mental aspects of the character, such as dexterity or charisma, or the character's skill in some task, such as singing, computer operation, or martial arts. In early role-playing games the emphasis in character creation was often in the combat prowess of the character. Later, there have appeared games that emphasize personality and background.

Adherents of a gaming style accentuating character personality, background and story development sometimes use the pun roll-playing to describe the style of gaming more focused on mechanics, combat rules and their resolution using die-rolling.

Variations

The term "role-playing game" is used for a few distinct methods of play. The traditional method is a pen & paper or tabletop game played with dice by several people. These frequently use several types of polyhedral dice. Some games and gamers also use miniatures , either on a square or hexagonal grid, or on a plain table, to depict strategic and tactical situations for play. Combat can be (but does not have to be) a significant aspect of such games. Position, terrain, and other elements can affect the probabilities of success for a given action. For example, a character making an attack from an opponent's rear or flank may gain a significant bonus on their chances "to hit" and may also gain advantages on any damage they inflict.

Another mode of play is live action role-playing (LARP), in which the players physically act out their characters' actions. The two types of LARP are theater-style and live combat. Theater-style gameplay is usually more focused on characterization and improvisational theatrics and less focused on combat and the fantastic , if only because of the physical limitations of the players themselves. Live combat games, as the name implies, feature actual combat using padded props called "boffer" weapons. Live action gamers often dress up as their characters and use appropriate props in the game. The related style of freeform role-playing is less physically oriented, and is often played at conventions .

Online text based role playing games have gained popularity throughout writing-based communities. These games often have little to do with the dice or random number generators used by some players to determine outcomes; rather, characters are created and manipulated by their players in the form of a large interwoven story , using only the imagination to determine what occurs. These are usually conducted through internet forums , but can also occur through e-mail or chat programs. This type of role playing can be a form of fan fiction , with players taking the roles of characters from their favorite movies, television shows or books.

The term is also used as a name for a genre of video games that almost always lack the "role-playing" element of pen-and-paper games but borrow many gameplay elements from said games. These games are called CRPGs which stands for " computer role-playing games " or "console role-playing games" depending on whether the game is played on a personal computer or on a video game console .

These computerized simulations have become increasingly prominent over the last two decades. The most recent computer role-playing games have endeavored to incorporate social interaction via networking , beginning in the realm of text based chat rooms , and soon moving to static persistent worlds represented in the text MUD and the like ( MUSHes , MOOs and MUXes ). Currently, these have evolved to incorporate graphical representations of tokens (characters, equipment, monsters, etc.), as well as physical simulations obscuring much of the underlying rules of the games from users. Today, online role-playing games are epitomized by massively multiplayer online games such as EverQuest and City of Heroes . These games ( MMORPGs , or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) are played exclusively online and feature graphically intensive gameplay in a virtual world shared by thousands of other players simultaneously.

Genres

Role-playing games can also be divided into genres by the fictional setting where they take place.

Fantasy role-playing games draw their inspiration from fantasy literature , such as the works of J. R. R. Tolkien . The setting in these games is usually a world with a level of technology similar to that in Europe sometime between years 800-1400. Fantasy elements include magic and supernatural creatures, such as dragons . The genre can be subdivided into high fantasy where supernatural events are commonplace, and low fantasy where there are little or no supernatural aspects.

SF role-playing or sci-fi role-playing games are inspired by science fiction literature. The setting is generally in the future, sometimes near future but also quite often in the far future. Common elements involve futuristic technology, contact with alien life forms, experimental societies, and space travel. Psionic abilities (i.e. ESP and telekinesis ) often take the place of magic. The genre can be divided similarly with science fiction literature into sub-genres, such as cyberpunk or space opera .

Historical games take place in the past. Settings that have been explored in role-playing games include Maya civilization , Ancient Rome , and Victorian era .

Horror games take their inspiration from horror literature , such as the works of H. P. Lovecraft . The setting in these games is often contemporary or from the 19th or 20th century. Creating the correct mood and suspense is important in these games.

Several games combine different genres . Ars Magica can be considered a fantasy role-playing game in a historical setting whereas steam punk games combine elements of science fiction with history. There also exist games unique enough that they do not fit comfortably into easily-defined genres, but these are rare.