RPG: Systems vs. Story

I've written a lot already about tabletop games, both of the board and roleplaying varieties, but I'm still something of a newcomer to the scene. As such, I struggle with a lot of elements that long-time players have taken for granted. I didn't start playing these games until my mid-20's, so I don't have any nostalgia factor for any of these systems and settings. Rather, I mostly just take each game at face value. No matter what I've played, there seems to be an issue with balancing the fictional "flavor" of the games and the systems by which they are played.

The first tabletop RPG's came into existence more than a decade before video games managed to do anything more than simulate ping pong. The idea of a concrete system that allowed players to perform complex actions like sword fighting and conjuring magic spells was still novel. These days, sadly, everything tabletops can do in that regard, less involved, high-tech media can do a lot better.

Because of this, I've noticed that newer games tend to be much heavier on the story than they are on their systems. This isn't always a good thing, but it plugs into what makes tabletop games worth playing. Tabletops, especially RPG's, are often called "story games", indicating that it's really more about characters, settings and a sort of improv theater than crunchy mechanics. We still roll dice and monitor character statistics, but most modern RPG's have been all about streamlining.

Take, for instance, the newest World of Darkness system by White Wolf. The mechanics of that game line have been pared down for as much simplicity as possible without rendering complex actions too random or pointless. Still, WoD is mostly concerned with its story. Often times a situation that requires a roll is the result of a failure to properly roleplay. At the same time, I often feel that this particular brand of games puts too much effort into the setting. The books are so filled with tone-setting text that they begin to feel a bit bloated and the mechanics end up reflecting the quasi-novel of the story rather than the open-ended system any good tabletop ought to be. Ultimately, there's only so much a player can do with a game that lists larceny and subterfuge as built-in mechanics.

Compare the above to the great original, Dungeons and Dragons. Currently in its fourth major iteration and fast approaching its 40th year on the scene, D&D has always been a very mechanic-dependent game. Players have to hold onto complex, loaded character sheets and handle many different kinds of dice in a single session. What's more, the extremely limited setting (town, path, dungeon) doesn't lend itself to a very wide application of these mechanics. In the end, D&D is more about the multiple calculations involved with throwing a fireball at a monster than it is about giving a character more to do than throw fireballs at monsters.

There has to be some kind of sweet spot when it comes to the mechanic/story balance in a tabletop RPG. I've yet to find a game that handles both elements with equal grace, but there's no reason players should have to choose between dice-guided play acting and an imaginary video game.