RPG Roundtable 2, Part 3 at RPG Vault
Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 18:46 CET by Veldrin

RPG Vault has posted part 3 in its RPG Roundtable feature. This one includes Chris Avellone, Jeff Vogel, Alexander Mishulin, Steve Wartofsky, Kai Rosenkranz and Mike Gallo. Here's a clip:

Chris Avellone
Designer, Obsidian Entertainment
Unannounced project
I tend to agree with the responses that CRPGs have relied too heavily on pen and paper elements, which I think are fine when sitting around a table, but playing a computer role-playing game has an entirely different element about it, and a great many things about pen and paper games just aren't as much fun when you're sitting in front of the monitor. Here's a selection of stats I have grown to hate:

(Note: I would add the Halfling race to the list of stats and classifications I hate below [if it's not a hobbit, then drop it already], but I see where Brent Knowles is coming from, and I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there who would like to play a Frodo archetype as a character. And as a GM, I would love to kill those characters.)

Hit Points
Armor Class
Gold and Gold Pieces (which I would argue is a stat)
Spell Level

Speaking of that last classification, let me rant about spells for a while, since it's tangentially related to character development - basically, almost every spell system I have encountered in an RPG has done wonders for sucking all the mystery and enjoyment out of magic. Each one of them is basically "here's how much damage it does, and here's the type of damage it does." Maybe, in an exciting twist, the spell paralyzes the opponent for a while. Or stuns them. But everybody knows what a Fireball spell does now, and instead of being a source of wonder, it is now officially a dirty old whore of a spell.

See it all here.