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Thus far, in these articles on the Aspects of Role-Playing (ARP), we've been speaking of standard role-playing games; here, we'll talk about diceless role-playing and the problems with meta-gaming in both dice and diceless games. You're probably thinking, What's the difference?' In truth I've not defined, to this point, what a standard role-playing game is, so I'll attempt to do so now.

A GamesMaster (GM) is the person that picks up the role-playing game to be played and who develops a story for their friends and fellow players to think their way through, to solve. The story often includes a relatively clear beginning which includes pulling the character party together and allowing them time for introductions and banter, if they weren't already together, and briefing them through role-playing on what needs to happen in the game, including information relevant to the situation the GM has developed. From there the players utilize their characters attributes, skills, and abilities, more often than not recorded on sheets of paper called a Character Record Sheet, which is similar to a dossier, with various sided dice to overcome obstacles requiring successful dice roll tests. The game does not require only the use of a group of character record sheets alone, but also the intelligence, intuition, and logic-problem solving abilities of the players who run those characters to get through the game.

More often than not a role-playing game involves puzzles, obstacles, and opposition that must be thought, fought and worked through, and using only simple dice rolls while the GM pulls the characters around by their proverbial noses is simply not good enough. The primary reason many players have continued to play in role-playing games was to exercise their mind, their imagination, and relieve stress. To allow themselves to be lead around by the nose is, generally, something most players are loathe to do, although there have been exceptions in various groups I've participated in.

Diceless role-playing is the very same thing as role-playing using dice except for that one important distinction, no dice. This means GMs must be able and willing to interpret all situations involved in role-playing certain mechanics in the game such as combat, magic, psionics, and skill use. Although players in diceless games have characters, they are defined by descriptive means rather than numbers, and players still must use their wits and intellect to solve the puzzles; indeed, sometimes

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