by Neal Banks

Created on: July 14, 2008   Last Updated: July 17, 2008

While not a man of a great many words, my father did speak on occasion. His words resonated much more profoundly since they were much harder to come by. He spoke succinctly and was always pithy. He was also a speaker of great truth and wisdom, and his words still ring with timeless authority.

One thing he told me was, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I suppose that would be my best argument for whether or not tabletop roleplaying games are better than online roleplaying games. They are both very entertaining and stimulating, and frankly I have enjoyed them both for hours on end. Truth be told I am much more familiar with tabletop, since both they and I have been around far longer than the other type of roleplaying games. And while most (if not all) online roleplaying games have their roots firmly grounded on the tabletop versions they are based on, and have for the most part the same audience on both sides, I firmly believe tabletop to be vastly superior. Even though I concede the argument that they are also vastly different and in many cases hard to compare.

First and foremost were it not for the foundation that tabletop RPG has laid than online RPG would never have seen its gargantuan empire built. Easier to lay rest than the chicken and egg debate, tabletop came first. Many online RPG enthusiasts either are or were tabletop gamers, and much of the game play of said games hails back to the dice-rolling, tables and charts of tabletop. World of Warcraft would not have come if Dungeons and Dragons had never been published. Mechwarrior would be nothing without Battle Tech having preceded it.

Not to say that the automobiles of the 1930's are superior to the ones we have today simply because they came first: we cannot presume something is better merely because of its age (although some wine drinkers and classic automobile owners might disagree with that statement). Roleplaying games have evolved and changed over the years and so have our gaming habits.

I submit that our change in gaming habits have turned for the worse, however.

Sitting around a table for hours, with pencil, paper, books and dice is a far cry from sitting in front of a computer screen for hours. Whether you are playing a roleplaying game or a board game, you are spending time with friends and family, socializing, interacting, fellowshipping and having fun. When you are online you are spending equal time with strangers you only know through means of a persona, and most likely neglecting the afore-mentioned

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