I am fully aware of all the current controversy going on between tabletop roleplayers and the new 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Most of the folks complaining simply look like old men complaining about “the good old days”. They are told if they don’t like it, then they should just stick to 3rd or even 2nd Edition. Meanwhile, on the other side of the argument, all the people that do enjoy 4th Edition are looked upon as the World of Warcraft players that are ruining gaming.

Ultimately, there are three groups of tabletop roleplayers. The Gamists, the Simulationists and the Narrativists (those familiar with the GNS Theory will already be familiar with the idea). These three sectors often enough cross over, similarly to a Venn Diagram, but most often the goals of the Narrativist and Simulationist collide with that of the Gamist. The Narrativist and Simulationist goals are to experience a world and story that cannot be provided through other mediums, such as video games or novels. The Gamist, on the other hand, has the ultimate goal of simply winning, especially if they can maximize their character for any situation (see Pete from Darths and Droids).

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