I'm kind of suprised at how few Table Top Roleplayers there are here. I have been a Roleplayer here off and on for many years, but never knew how to play TT, so since I've been learning recently, I figured I would check out where it all started for me. I was pretty disappointed to see only a few Int Checks open.

I guess the site in general is just slowing down!

personally, I think the dice rolling feature here leaves a lot to be desired. So while I love this site for free-form RP, I do my RPing that requires rolling the bones elsewhere. :)

I'd say the simplest answer is that this forums is more of play-by-post RP by way of writing forum than a Table Top RP forum.

Most people I know that are really into Table Top RPing tend to use stuff like RollD20 and similar websites to create, find, and run Table Top RPs.

Table top tends to be a more unknown and niche in any roleplay forum by my experience. I don't know the exact reasons but I can venture a few guesses:

1. People don't like being tied down to or having to learn a tabletop system. Even extremely simple ones can look overwhelming AND very restrictive at first glance, plus while the former goes away the later is harder to as many effects that people enjoy in freeform roleplay would just utterly break a tabletop system.

2. It's harder than it seems to find a tabletop roleplaying group for more niche systems, much the way finding them for a niche fandom is. However, for both those and more popular ones there is an even bigger hurdle, the need of a GM. GMs don't get characters in tabletops whereas its more common for them to have that kind of participation in freeform. As arguably the most essential person to have for a tabletop game, while at the same time there being an added responsibility far above that of freeform (as it adds managing and knowing the system very well on top of the responsibilities of freeform) AND the fact that for many, not having a character of one's own can make the whole scenario a lot less appealing... it becomes much harder to actually find groups, much less ones that are sustainable.

3. The reasons @rapid reader pointed out probably play a good part in it too.

Table top does not really lend itself well to a forum I feel. In play-by-post, you can genuinely clear a big event or two in a few months. on a table top, it can take twenty or more rounds to finish a dungeon. Figure 4-5 rounds per encounter. If each turn lasts a week, you've dedicated about half a year to clearing a dungeon. Meanwhile, a DnD group can get together and knock out a dungeon in a few hours.

PbP and TT may look similar on paper, but they are different animals. I enjoy them both for different reasons. PbP gives me the freedom to narrate my character's actions. I usually have a few days to think about how I'm going to react to something, be it an opponent or something one of my allies has said to my character. With TT, everything is faster and temporary. My character's words aren't being written to the internet, I'm expected to be more spontaneous with my choices. stats and perks limit what my characters can do, sacrificing creative licensing to make a "game."

Basically, PbP is all about (mostly) freedom story telling, while TT is more about serving as a game with rules that dabbles into story telling.

I don't find the two mesh very well. You can have a good PbP with TT ELEMENTS but to try to do both at the same time is always going to produce something for a niche audience.

I find that quests operating on tabletop systems tend to run much, much easier on forum formats rather than fitting it to a roleplay format.

There are a number here who just do tabletop through Discord rather than here.

@Kelewen@Rapid Reader@Idea@BrokenPromise@Bork Lazer@BangoSkank

I wanted to thank everyone for the replies! I actually didn’t expect to get such a response, but I appreciate them! I definitely understand what you all are saying. It makes a lot of sense!

You can have a good PbP with TT ELEMENTS

Do you mean like incorporating rolls into a PbP, without the strict rules of a TT system?

@thecatinaction

I mean to say that I see the value in determining certain things by chance, yes. You can also have strict rules, just so long as participation in an RP doesn't feel like a game. I'll admit it's a little amusing when the barbarian fails his STR check and bounces off a door, while the halfling bard is able to blow it off it's hinges with his shoulder. It's funny at a table surrounded by players to laugh at the dice rolls. Though most players on a forum will not be happy to have wasted a week narrating the barbarian trying to blow down a door.

Chance mechanics work better as a way to make events more unpredictable. I recently had a spin-the-bottle game going between a bunch of players, and I left my rolls entirely to chance. The interactions that the bottle game created were not ones that I would normally have thought of, but that was part of what made them so entertaining. Though as is always with chance, it can be kind of weird sometimes. That bottle really favored certain characters, and all of my characters got paired up with the same person.

@BrokenPromise

Do you think a PbP with certain dice rolls incorporated would work? Like for combat, certain actions that may need a skill check, rolls pertaining to items, etc? I would much rather have a relaxed system and focus on story, but you and I both know that people can get over enthusiastic at times lol.

For combat, just think of like a JRPG video game. Everyone is playing for the story, but the turn-based combat is what keeps it from getting stagnant.

@BrokenPromise

Do you think a PbP with certain dice rolls incorporated would work? Like for combat, certain actions that may need a skill check, rolls pertaining to items, etc? I would much rather have a relaxed system and focus on story, but you and I both know that people can get over enthusiastic at times lol.

For combat, just think of like a JRPG video game. Everyone is playing for the story, but the turn-based combat is what keeps it from getting stagnant.

I'd suggest asking @Lady Absinthia for advice on that particular question.

Sir this is a Wendys.

I think there are plenty of people here who enjoy tabletop, we just do it on different sites like roll 20 or RPOL that are designed for that.

@thecatinaction Actually you can and it can work very well. It depends on how in-depth you want to get with it. I have run over the decades everything from straight up ADnD TT rules on a forum to my own systems. It depends on what you are going for and how much you want to invest in it. For many they find it not something they like to do. For me personally, I adore it. I find it helps opens up so much for control for the players as long as you have a set system and good character sheets set up with stats. If you do that you can execute it with ease.

I recently changed over my Walking Dead Rp from Gm full control to a full stat and skill based system with rolls for actions. The group took a bit to get switched over but in the end it was seamless and now they don't have to worry as much for me waiting to get back to them. They have tables for success and failure, certain scores remove the need for some rolls because they are proficient enough. I was a bit worried since we had been in the Rp for years already, so to make such a dramatic change (including a fully redone CS), was daunting but damn it paid off. I am so happy with the results I will be continuing the same system in future rp's.

@Lady Absinthia

Thanks for that awesome reply! What you explained in your Walking Dead RP sounds like what I would like to go with. A proper CS that has everything listed a character would need for the rolls, and be simple enough for everyone to catch on and actually enjoy it, but also strong enough that it helps balance the game, and make it even more immersive.

Could you link me to your RP? That sounds awesome, I would love to check it out. The fact that it’s been going for years is mind blowing to me.

@BrokenPromise

Do you think a PbP with certain dice rolls incorporated would work? Like for combat, certain actions that may need a skill check, rolls pertaining to items, etc? I would much rather have a relaxed system and focus on story, but you and I both know that people can get over enthusiastic at times lol.

For combat, just think of like a JRPG video game. Everyone is playing for the story, but the turn-based combat is what keeps it from getting stagnant.

I've been hosting play-by-post roleplays for a decade or so and few if any had any sort of dice rolling mechanics. Unless you're slaying mooks, free form combat is more about your character's theme and how powers work against each other conceptually. Think Jojo's bizarre adventure where everyone has very specific powers that are loosely governed by a few rules. What's stronger, the ability to control gravity or the ability to control time? The answer lies somewhere in the player's creativity, how the CS is worded, and how the GM decides to roll with it. Having a heavily structured TT system gets in the way of that and makes things more about the game and less about the story.

In the end, any system you use should work for your players. That's really what it comes down to. Lady Absinthia has had luck using her own TT systems and she is not the only one. But her players are not my players, and most of my players would turn their nose up if their fights were suddenly decided entirely by dice rolls.

Find something that works for you. If you present it well, it might work for a few other people.

@BrokenPromise

Thanks for the well constructed reply!

@thecatinaction Sure thing, here ya go: The Walking Dead: Year 5 - it's also linked in my signature and on my bio page. And @BrokenPromise is right. It boils down to what works for you. Every Gm is different as are players. Heck even each Rp can be. I've run them heavily diced and free form, each worked great for their own reasons. Also had both ways crash and burn. Frankly, every pun intended, it's the roll of the dice and Lady Luck is a gamble.

Generally when people play tabletop, they want to play it with a group of friends they already know. Even if you have a bunch of roleplayer friends, chances are they aren't going to know one another that well. It's always fun to just joke around with people in between attacks or scenes, so. Plus tabletop is generally meant to be played in real time rather than waiting on someone to post. But hey, it still works on the site. I'm running one right now.

Sir this is a Wendys.

I think there are plenty of people here who enjoy tabletop, we just do it on different sites like roll 20 or RPOL that are designed for that.

Omg I never thought I'd see RPoL mentioned

I second what a lot of other people are saying: Roleplayer Guild isn't the best site for most tabletop games. It's doable, but RPGuild isn't designed for the sheer amount of paperwork many tabletop games require.

I'm also picky about my tabletop games. I've been following the same GM around on this one site for the last decade or so because it can be very hit or miss, just like with any RP, but tabletop games I find require a lot more effort just to get started so I want a decently sure bet.

<Snipped quote by Penny>
Omg I never thought I'd see RPoL mentioned

Slight off topic but what is RPoL? I've heard of RPG, RPN, RPA, Iwaku, etc. but never RPoL.