What is a Role-Playing Game?

By Kevin Siembieda

New to Role-Playing Games?

Online games are fun, visceral and visually stimulating. The Palladium crew enjoys playing such MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) as EVE Online, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Everquest and Age of Conan, as well as others. In fact, Palladium has been searching for several years for the right partner to port over some of its own pen and paper (P&P) role-playing games into online games.

As much fun as online games are, however, we still role-play face to face, where we laugh, shout, make jokes, slug down soda, roll dice, and interact in person in role-playing game experiences that outshine the best online games.

I’m not saying pen and paper role-playing games are better than online games or videogames, I’m saying that while the genres of games are similar, pen and paper role-playing games are a fun and different experience you might enjoy.

Pen and paper role-playing games are not for everyone. They are more demanding than electronic games and tend to appeal to people who like to read and have a sharp imagination.

Role-Playing Games are a unique gaming experience

Role-Playing Games (RPGs) that are played out of a book are deeper and more intense than you’ve ever played in the electronic medium. In fact, MMORPGs call themselves “role-playing games” because they are inspired by and born from pen and paper RPG books.

MMORPGs capture many elements of true role-playing games and are a blast to play, but even the best MMO can not capture the full experience we pen and paper RPG players have enjoyed for years which is why RPG books (increasingly known as “pen and paper RPGs”) are still unmatched in pure riotous fun and imagination by anything online or locked inside a videogame.

Role-playing game books have all the elements of an MMORPG.

Fantastic or alien world settings.

Powerful and unique (often inhuman and bizarre) heroes that are YOUR player characters.

Alien and exotic worlds and dimensions for settings, as well as our own modern world with a twist.

Incredible powers and abilities.

An array of mind-boggling vehicles and weapons.

Dynamic player characters and compelling stories . . .

And More . . .

In Palladium’s RPG worlds you can play a dragon, Wolfen, Changeling, Elf, True Atlantean, vampire, were-beast, mutant animal, mutant human, superhero, or alien from any of a thousand worlds.

Players can be a power-armored warrior, robot piloting champion, demon-slayer, zombie killer, ghost hunter, vampire hunter, wizard, Elemental Warlock, cyborg, robot, superhero, dimensional traveler, healer, warrior, thief, assassin, or more than a thousand other heroes or butt-kicking characters; human and inhuman.

And these are just a few of the broad stroke characters. Every Palladium RPG, from Rifts® to Heroes Unlimited™, offers a range of wild and interesting characters for you to play. In Rifts®, for example, there are Cyber-Knights™, Combat Cyborgs™, Robot Pilots, Techno-Wizards™, Ley Line Walkers™, Elemental Fusionists™, Juicers™, Crazies™, Glitter Boys™, Psi-Stalkers™ and HUNDREDS of other characters. Sound intriguing? Check us out.

Players wield a vast range of weapons, body armor, power armor, robotics, vehicles and other gadgets and gizmos or may wield a wide range of magical powers, or psychic abilities, or superpowers, or dimensional powers.

Or command pets, monsters or henchmen that may include animals, mutants, alien beasts, demons and more.

Experience amazing adventures and pulse pounding stories. Stories you help build with your character’s actions.

Enjoy the exhilaration of creating a shared experience. An epic story that you help create.

Be enchanted by the powerful imagery, inspiring artwork and dynamic writing.

Read the back-story of the world setting, people, heroes, villains, powers, monsters and conflicts.

Lose yourself in the setting and story. Lose yourself in your fictional character.

Give yourself to adventure and cut loose.

Each game session is a private party where you enjoy the camaraderie of friends, laugh, shout, joke and get as vocal and excited as you want. Feed off the energy of the other players and have a blast.

Dare to unleash your imagination like never before.

If that’s not enough for you . . .

Pen and paper RPGs offer these unique features and experiences.

You shape the story. The games you play with Palladium’s role-playing game books are completely your own. One-of-a-kind adventures created and shared by you, your fellow players and the Game Master.

Total interactivity. You – or rather your character – directly and immediately influence the story. EVERYTHING your character says and does is part of the story and its outcome. You may be the hero or the goat. The savior of millions or the harbinger of doom.

YOU are the story! Your character and those of your fellow players are the main heroes. You and the other players have complete control over your characters. You can say or do anything. Go anywhere. Of course, your actions have consequences and may bring reward or invite danger.

Combine elements from any Palladium RPG or world setting. You can bring characters, weapons, magic, powers, monsters, villains, and ideas from one game or game setting into any of the others. The Rifts® RPG is a setting that does that for you in a wild, magical and alien setting where Earth is linked to countless worlds and dimensions via magical tears in space and time known as the Rifts.

One game system, a Megaverse of adventure. Palladium’s RPGs use ONE basic, Megaversal game system. Learn one Palladium RPG and you can play them ALL.

Limited only by your imagination. Even the best online MMO or videogame is limited by its programming and budget. Role-playing game books are limited only by the imaginations of the players and Game Master.

The ultimate computer. The action takes place in your mind where special effects have an unlimited budget. If you can imagine it, you can play it, see it, or be it.

The pen and paper RPG experience will leave you with spectacular memories of your character and his adventures the same as you remember a movie or book you read. The BIG difference is YOUR character and fellow player characters were the stars of the show. The adventure is your story and nobody else’s.

Play anywhere. All you need is two or more players, a Game Master, a game book, dice and imagination. That means you can play anywhere!

Role-Playing Games are not for everyone

RPG books require reading, imagination, creativity, time, thought and preparation.

You’ll need to read and understand your character, the world setting, and your character’s purpose in it.

Good imagination. In many ways, pen and paper RPGs are mostly games but with a touch of improvisational theater. You don’t dress up in costume and act things out, but you do imagine, play roles, and the things your character says and does advance and change the story. Not just the outcome, but every step of the way.

Pen and Paper RPGs also require teamwork. Players need to work together, as a team, toward a common goal.

Face to face interaction. RPG books usually require players to be in the same room and engage in face to face interaction. That means you’ll need a house, apartment, living room, backyard patio, school lunch room, or someplace to meet and play.

The human experience. As cool as an online avatar may be, nothing beats the excitement of people playing face to face in the same room. There is a collective energy that cannot be matched. You feel each other’s joy, triumphs, fears, failures, apprehension, cleverness and every other emotion. Tension and excitement build into a palpable experience. You’ll laugh, crack jokes, make suggestions, and worry about your teammates. You may scream, shout and argue, jump out of your chair, and cheer out loud in triumph for the heroics or clever action of a fellow player. It’s like a small, intimate party of friends. There is conversation, laughs and fun in between the action and adventure. It’s awesome high fantasy or epic sci-fi, and high energy.

Players have it easy when it comes to rules. Only the Game Master (G.M.) needs to know and understand most of the rules. The G.M. is the director and storyteller who sets the stage, builds the story and plays all the villains and Non-Player Characters. He’s also the referee who interprets the rules and makes all final decisions in game play. Then again, the players drive the action, build the story and enjoy the limelight.

The full RPG experience

If you have never played a pen and paper role-playing game (RPG), you have never enjoyed the full role-playing experience.

If role-playing game books sound interesting to you, and if you have two or more friends willing to give it a try, you should take a closer look at some Palladium role-playing game books.

The core rules are in the role-playing game. Palladium RPGs are designed so that the core rule book is ALL YOU NEED TO PLAY. A creative mind can build adventures from just the core RPG and run adventures for months or years! Sourcebooks, World Books and other supplements offer more adventures or adventure ideas, weapons, powers, equipment and so on. Purchase only the sourcebooks that sound interesting to you.

Great Games for Newcomers

The following Palladium games offer fun world settings and characters that are easy to learn, understand, and play with little or no previous experience. Consequently, they make excellent games for newcomers who have NEVER PLAYED before or played only a few times.

These are not “baby games” for kids or beginners, quite the contrary, they are quite intense, grim and gritty. However, the storyline is straightforward, easy to comprehend and relate to, and fun to play.

- After the Bomb® (play mutant animals in a world gone mad).
- Dead Reign™ – The Zombie Apocalypse (be a survivor, kill zombies).
- Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game® (the name says it all).
- Robotech® (giant, transformable robots, alien invaders and war).

We would rank most other Palladium role-playing games as “Moderate” in complexity. This would include:
- Rifts® (science fiction, fantasy, adventure and much more).
- Heroes Unlimited™ (superheroes of every variety).
- Nightbane® (horror/conspiracy/superheroes).
- Beyond the Supernatural™ (modern horror).
- Ninjas & Superspies™ (martial arts and superspies, can be used with Heroes Unlimited™).
- Splicers® (killer robots and heroes with bio-genetic armor and weapons).
- Rifts® Chaos Earth™ (surviving the Great Cataclysm that creates Rifts Earth. Yes, that makes this a prequel to the famous Rifts® RPG).
- And many others.

Some games like Rifts® are more complex because of the limitless range of possibilities and expansive, “anything goes” world setting. Other games like Beyond the Supernatural™ (modern horror) are more complex because of the demands on sophisticated role-playing and the limitations of the setting.

Rifts®, The Rifter®, Megaverse®, Phase World®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Nightbane®, RECON®, Splicers®, After the Bomb®, and Palladium Books® are registered trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. and Kevin Siembieda. Rifts® Ultimate Gold, Chaos Earth, Heroes Unlimited and all other titles, names and slogans are trademarks of Palladium Books®.

Last updated May 20, 2010.