Why "Appeals to Fun" Are Pointless in RPG Discussions

As folks have noticed, when I'm not talking about RPGs themselves, I tend to talk about how we think about them. The language we use to describe our games, and what themes can expand or contract a game's focus, are some of my favorite topics. In fact, posts like Sexuality Matters in RPGs (And Here's Why) and Calm Down, No One is Taking Your Games Away are some of my most popular articles. So, since it's Monday, I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about something related to gaming, that isn't gaming itself.

In short, I would like to ask that all of us stop making appeals to fun as a way to try and win an argument, or to end a conversation whenever we're online and trying to score debate points.

Appeals to Fun (And Why They're Useless)

The entire point of playing RPGs is to have fun, and tell a story. If you're not having fun, chances are good you're going to quit playing, or find another game that fulfills your needs. However, an "appeal to fun" is something that shows up in conversations about RPGs, not in the games themselves.

And, since examples work best when illustrating a point, I'll use one for you.

Oh good, I was in danger of getting confused.

Let's say we're on a Facebook group dedicated to Pathfinder. A conversation springs up about mental health in adventurers. They have to face awful dangers, and they're often subjected to terrible stresses. Post-traumatic stress disorder seems like a surefire condition many of them might suffer from, though it's far from the only condition that might crop up. Alcoholism, drug addiction, violent acting out, and other symptoms are also discussed. Other people get in on the conversation, either arguing for or against why certain conditions would or wouldn't affect certain races, or whether or not magical treatment would be effective when it came to mental disorders.

And then, in the midst of discussion around this topic, someone chimes in with, "why are you getting so involved in this? It's a game, forget all of this and just have fun already!"

The problem with this sort of statement is that, clearly, someone is having fun with this idea. For some players, the idea of having to face serious repercussions for violent lives, and losing limbs and companions along the way, is engaging. It's the sort of thing they think will improve their roleplaying experience. For other players that aspect of the game might be a downer, getting in the way of what they consider to be the fun part of the game (the power fantasy that comes with slaying dragons and fighting gods, for example). Just as some players will dive face first into cosmic horror, or grimdark sci-fi, other players want something uplifting, or even funny, for their game's tone.

Most of the time when someone says, "just go have fun," what they mean is, "go have my kind of fun."

If It's Not Your Game, Walk Away

The definition of fun will change from one person to another. There is no single activity that everyone will enjoy. So if you're the sort of person who likes to relax with a book and your cat, you do you. If your friend likes to get hammered at the bars while belting our karaoke, good for him. But if your friend tries to get you to come along for his kind of fun, and you don't want to, telling you that if you go out with him you'll experience real fun is a massive logical fallacy. Just because you love something, that doesn't mean anyone else shares your opinion.

The sword is so you can fight off the hangover in the morning.

So the next time you're reading a conversation about gaming, and you think the people having this discussion are somehow missing the point, or they're more focused on rules or tone than having fun, remember this; for some people, that is the fun part.

If you don't have anything to actually contribute to the conversation, keep scrolling. Seriously, it will make your life so much easier, and the people who are actively engaged in what they're doing won't have to deal with comments from people who just want to step in, shout, "you're gaming wrong," before they leave again.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this Moon Pope Monday post. If you'd like to help keep Improved Initiative going, then why not drop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page? As little as $1 a month will help me keep producing content, and it will get you some sweet swag. Lastly, if you haven't done so yet, why not follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter?

You Can't "Overthink" An RPG (And Here's Why)

If you've ever participated in an online discussion about RPGs, or about fiction in general, you've likely come across the "overthinking" defense. It usually comes up whenever someone asks a question about the politics of a fictional world, or about the morality and motivation of struggles which are currently taking place, and the other party is frustrated or angered by these questions. That's around the time the other party starts saying things like, "stop overthinking it, it's just a game," or, "just enjoy it for what it is, and stop trying to make it something else."

Stop making me question my assumptions about my game!

There are a lot of forms this criticism takes. Sometimes people accuse the questioner of trying to make a game about politics, or about social justice, instead of being about stabbing orcs in the face. Other people will question why someone can't just sit back and have fun being a hero in a fantasy world, without having to complicate everything. No matter the accusation, though, the undertone is always the same. "I'm happy with the game as it stands, shut up, and stop trying to change it."

I'd like all those people leaving these comments to do me a favor. Take a deep breath, and remind yourself of the justification you constantly use when you're on the receiving end of arguments that aren't going your way. "Everyone likes different kinds of games, and that's okay."

The, "it's a game, stop overthinking it," argument could be seen as a form of the ad hominem logical fallacy. This fallacy is when, during an argument, you attack the person making the argument instead of the argument itself. If someone asks, "why does this setting endorse killing creatures who are sentient, and who have their own culture, without treating it as an evil act?" then you should answer that argument with an argument of your own. Simply saying, "you're overthinking it, and that makes you wrong," is no more valid an answer than saying, "you use black dice, and thus your questions are invalid."

You Can't Overthink Stories

Roleplaying games are, at their core, about stories. Saying, "stop asking questions, it's just a game," makes about as much sense as saying "it's just a comic book movie," or, "it's just a chick flick," or, "it's just a YA novel, stop picking it apart." Being an RPG doesn't provide the game world and story any special protection from analysis, critical thinking, or criticism.

With that said, however, players should be encouraged to find the kinds of games they like, and which suit their wants and needs. If this sounds like a dichotomy to you, then you need to remember that the same game, and even the same game world, can be used to tell vastly different stories, depending on the DM, the players, and the materials they're choosing to use.

You wanna back that up with some examples?

All right, let's take Pathfinder. One campaign might be a clearly drawn, black-and-white, heroes versus villains game set in Golarion. The party are all good-aligned, and the enemies they're opposing are unquestionably evil. Vile necromancers who seek to end all life as we know it, demons and devils spawned from the darkest places in the nine hells and the infinite layers of the abyss, and corrupt antipaladins commanding legions of black-armored killers are what you're standing against. There is no taking prisoners, and no way to negotiate a peace. It's unlikely that any of your foes can be redeemed. It's a fight with steel and spell for the fate of a nation, and perhaps the world.

There's nothing wrong with that kind of stark setup, and if that's your kind of game, then play it to the hilt. However, the same system, and the same setting, can also support other kinds of stories. For example, a game where the usual, "protect this town from being raided by orcs," might have more layers to it than there at first appear to be. Players can still storm the orc stronghold and fight to the death, but when they do reconnaissance they realize this isn't just a band of hulking warriors. There are women, children, and pets in these camps. Lives are being lived down there, and these raids aren't done out of spite, or evil, but purely out of a need for resources, and to try and reclaim some pride and standing by a marginalized people. The orcs, in this case, aren't just fodder for a battle glory fantasy; players have to ask if they're willing to just summarily execute thinking, feeling creatures. That doesn't mean they can't do so, but it also doesn't mean they can't try to find alternative solutions. Single combat between champions, for example, might get the orcs to surrender with minimal casualties. Diplomacy could turn the raiders from foes into friends, recruiting them to care for the very town they were preying on. For characters who earn the orcs' respect, it might even lead to them becoming your followers, and fighting under your banner against greater enemies.

Both of these approaches are equally valid, in terms of what a game can do. The question is not whether you can play a certain way, but how you and your group want to play.

You Shape The World, You Shape Your Story

The easiest way to make sure everyone's on the same page for a game is to actually answer the questions players have, and to be sure everyone has the facts for your world. For example, if you want a game where things are clear-cut, where heroes can be heroes and villains can be villains, then make it clear that certain creatures are universally evil in your world. There are no goblins just waiting to be taught how to be good, and hill giants will never understand anything beyond might makes right. There isn't a heart of gold inside that drow noble, and those kobolds are killing you because they want to take your stuff, not because they're protecting their clutches of eggs.

The swans all radiate an evil aura. All of them.

It's important that you deliver these statements as facts, if they are facts in your game world. If they aren't facts, then make it clear that these are beliefs people have, and that they may not be universally true. The same approach should be used when players have questions about race relations, human ethnicities and where they're found, and what is considered "normal" in terms of religion, gender identification, sexuality, and a thousand other areas.

Some people like to read Tolkien, some people like Rowling, and some people like George R. R. Martin. Some people like the escapism of a world where good is an easy choice to make, and others like games where doing the right thing is always hard. Just as two people might like vastly different books, so too they might want different games. There's nothing wrong with that, and you need to remember that just because someone else wants a game that's more in-depth, gray, and complex, that doesn't mean you have to play in it if you don't want to. Nor does it mean you have to agree with another person's views of a class, an alignment, or a race if you're not sitting at the table with them.

Most importantly, if all you have to say is, "stop overthinking it," keep it to yourself and move along. You're not adding anything to the conversation.

Also, for some other thinky pieces I've penned on RPGs, take a look at Absolute Good, Absolute Evil, and Alignment in RPGs and Sexuality Matters in Roleplaying Gamers (And Here's Why).

As always, thanks for stopping in to have a look at this week's Moon Pope Monday update. If you liked it, please share it with your friends, fellow players, and DMs. Also, if you're feeling generous, why not stop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to help fund Improved Initiative? $1 a month goes a long way when it comes to getting you content just like this. Lastly, if you haven't done so yet, why not follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter?

Why Character Optimization Isn't Bad (The Stormwind Fallacy)

So, there is a term I came up with a while ago to describe certain types of RPG players. That term is the Fluffkin. A Fluffkin is a player who is concerned solely with non-mechanical aspects of a character (appearance, history, etc.), and who believes that the "fluffier" aspects of their characters should excuse them from following certain rules in a game. For example, someone has brought a dashing swordsman to the table. He's charming, quick-witted, and fast on his feet. During combat the player declares he wants to grab an enemy, spin him around, and shove him out of a window. The character doesn't possess the feats to do this, and gets frustrated when informed that that action would take a minimum of two turns (one to reposition, one to bull rush), and it would also draw two attacks of opportunity.

In short, Fluffkins are players who want to treat this game like a novel, with them taking the pen away from the DM whenever it's their turn.

Plot Twist!

Don't get me wrong, I completely advocate players being unique, creative, and putting a lot of work in to create characters with depth, complexity, and soul. However, I am also the sort of fellow who gets irritated when the character that exists in the player's imagination is not the character who exists on the sheet. There needs to be a marriage of rules and imagination, because you are sharing this space with several other people, and everyone needs to be on the same page regarding what they're looking at. However, I have found there are lots of players out there who recoil from discussions of mechanics like Bela Lugosi from a crucifix.

"What do I look like, some sort of rollplayer?" they ask, explaining that anyone who reads through a game's manuals to find the most mechanically optimized method of creating a character is stripping the soul out of the roleplay.

I found out there's a name for this kind of attitude. Apparently, it's called The Stormwind Fallacy.

What is The Stormwind Fallacy?

Well, the full description of this logical fallacy can be found right here. However, here's the short version:

"If you are a player who mechanically optimizes your characters, you therefore cannot be a good roleplayer."

That's not how this works... that's not how any of this works!

Now, let's break that down. Mechanical optimization and roleplaying are two completely separate skills. Some players can do one, some can do the other, and some can do both. More often than not, players can do both, but are simply better in one arena than the other. Like how Mary can churn out heavy-hitting fighters with no sweat, but struggles to play more than the one personality, or the one backstory. Or how Mike is great at coming up with a huge variety of backstories, cultural quirks, and clever motivations for his characters, but anything past level 3 or 4 just makes him seize up as far as his mechanical plans go.

There are two generalizations we can draw from realizing this is a fallacy. The first is, obviously, that someone is not inherently a worse roleplayer if he or she can mechanically optimize characters. The reverse is also true; being unable (or unwilling) to optimize characters does not make someone an inherently better roleplayer.

Always Bring Your "A" Game

Every player should bring a character he or she is comfortable with, and which is something they want to play. However, the rules are how we interact with the game world. That's why it's important to have a character concept, and then to use the rules that allow that concept to do what you want it to within the game world. For other articles you may find helpful, check out How To Build An Effective RPG Character Every Single Time, and The Reason Rules Matter in Roleplaying Games.

Thanks for stopping in on today's Monday update! If you want to make sure you don't miss out when I post, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. If you'd like to help support me, and make this holiday a reason to rejoice, then please stop by my Patreon page to become a patron today!