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Originally Posted by Nightshade
I gave my criteria before; if they don't suit you they don't, but I again think this is little more than trying to stake out a definition of RPG to exclude ones you don't like.
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I'd just like to add my voice to the chorus of people who don't think D&D is an RPG. I'd classify it more as a tactical/strategy game with social mechanics. When I say "social mechanics," I'm referring to skills like "Bluff" and "Diplomacy," not players interacting under the guise of a persona. Also, I think the use of props that can potentially enhance the idea that the character is NOT the player (having a miniature represent the character rather than the player himself), this further distances the connection between the player and playing the role of his character.
For me, the system is so intensely gamist as to render the attention to mechanics as paramount rather than actually playing a role in the sense of taking on a persona.
That said, I like D&D for what it does: offer a strategy/tactical fantasy game of epic power levels. I like to attempt to play a character, but most people I play with have been turned off by such concepts. I've even had a player respond, "Oh... you do it THAT way... that's all right." As in, he didn't want to act out a role in his roleplaying game. Very, very odd.
I digress.
We can scale this argument so far as to say everything is an RPG, or to say that only BRP games are RPG's. Neither is "right," neither is "wrong."
I will state simply, *I* don't consider D&D as an RPG as it's designed. To me, it seems to work less under the assumption that players will be acting out the role and playing the persona. Just my opinion.