Josh_Kablack wrote:*some good stuff*
This is pretty much why I was recommending HERO, yes. It is a great example of a 1) generic-ISH RPG, that 2) teaches effects-based design. I think it both shows the limitations of generic RPGs and also their strengths very well.
Vampire is pretty much "the otherwise-typical RPG that tried to actually enforce a genre and told you it was doing so and what it used to do so." So it's fairly instructive. Someone who walks away from reading Vampire is way more likely to consider the utility of genre emulation, and even if Vampire wasn't always good at enforcing a theme through its mechanics, it plants a
seed that is important.
And a board game is useful, partially because if you are going to seriously consider involving strategy and/or tactics in your RPG, you should uh, actually play a game with those first. And frankly pretty much any board game is going to outperform an RPG on those. And probably outperform most wargames, too.
Aryxbez wrote:Making this thread more useful, how does one avoid getting bored or "eyes glossed" when trying to read a given RPG book? I've had this issue when I go to a hobby shop and just read/skim whatever they have on shelf. I think part of it is lack of fancy art (much as I don't feel it should be needed), and the ever infamous page-bloat.
I know its a stupid query, but this thread's purpose is on similar pretense, so figured I'd see if any useful information can come from asking.
Mask De H pretty much nailed it here. Any decently written text should try to tell you what it's going to tell you in that section within the first couple paragraphs of a section. If it doesn't have a useful ToC, check the index. If it doesn't have a useful index, put it back on the shelf.