I recently read a post that said (in that poster’s opinion) there are only three RPGs worth running: Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, and Cyberpunk (R Talsorian).
It’s an interesting point of view. And not just because none of ’em is D&D. First, they represent three different genres, and a very nice spread it is. But for me, the most notable aspect is that there are only three. As opposed to folks I often encounter who have a list a mile long of the RPGs they love. Who, if you were to ask them what their favorite game in any one genre is, would list five games and look at you funny if you pointed out that they hadn’t answered the question.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that subset of gamers who play only or mostly online, probably through one of the official tabletop simulators with all their automated systems. They never actually “learn” the game. It’s a completely different environment from the days when we pored over rule books. Especially because how much capacity does your brain have to hold all the varied rules from that many different games; and for how long? For…how…long?
That’s how I played Cyberpunk Red. Online only, and even with the book open beside my computer I never really figured out how to play, because it’s all automated. I can’t even write a review of the rules.
Of course, I don’t have a good grasp of 1e WFRP either, again because I’ve only played online. But at least that game wasn’t automated.
Oh, I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with that kind of gamer. It’s just another version of how we played at the dawn of the hobby. Only the guy who introduced a game to the group would buy it, learn it, and initially run it. The rest of us would sit and do what we were told. Because we might never play that game again, after the initial adventure. And it’s a role-playing game, after all. Tell the GM what you want to do, and he tells you how to proceed and what the results are.
OTOH there was that 3e D&D game I played one session of, where the kids at the table sneered at me for not having the rules memorized. Kids.
But. All that automation, and not learning a game but just experiencing it, can make it easier to play a whole lot of different games. And thus we get those people who, when you ask them what their favorite game of whatever is, will list twenty or more games that they just love to play.
If I say that I run six or so RPGs, and I know their rules, that’s about the size of the hard drive in my head. I really don’t think it’s the same thing for someone to say that they have a list of their top twenty favorite RPGs – which even implies that there are a good deal more games they play that didn’t make the cut into the top twenty. It’s just ludicrous, unless you allow for the existence of that auto-pilot style of player.
Divergent rant. People don’t read the instructions. They don’t answer the question. If the question is, “What’s your favorite fantasy RPG?” then you get to reply with one game. If you then want to ramble on about all the runners-up, or various genres they fall in, or all the games you’ve yet to try, then first answer the damned question. And on a related note, if I ask you a series of three questions, then answer all three. What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color? That’s three. I’d better see the answers to all three.
Can you tell I spent a lot of years as a teacher?
Anyway. I would say that if you get beyond playing just an adventure or two of the same game, learning the rules will enhance your gaming experience as well as those of the people you play with. Also gives you the option of taking a turn running it. Heck, if you’re going to be playing the game on an ongoing basis, won’t you eventually want to sit down with the rule book?
And I don’t see auto-pilot players as any kind of burden for a halfway-decent GM. Better to have enthusiastic players than no players.
The Michlin Guide 
I agree that at least the DM should know the rules well, even if obscure things need to be looked up sometimes. Some automation is nice in Roll20, though now and then it’s a bit of an annoyance to figure out how the program came up with an unusual dice roll.
What I really don’t like is the player who doesn’t know the rules even though he has the books, uses a half-remembered rule from some other edition of the game if he can’t recall something from the edition we are playing, and continually asks other players or the DM things like penalties for long range shots when he could just open up the book and find it easily himself. It’s probably obvious this is a real player in a game I play . . .
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LOL! Sorry to hear!
The way things work in my games is that the basics are on the character sheet. I walk the player through what they need to do. They give me a total based on their die roll, plus any bonuses from skills or characteristics or special items. Because I’m not going to keep track of all those individual bonuses for each player. But again, I make sure they have all that on their sheet. Then I take the total sum which they give me, and apply any additional modifiers that are my responsibility as game master.
Of course, specific spells (for instance) may call for one of us to look something up. Sometimes it’s me, sometimes them. But over all, I’m one of those game masters who don’t need players to memorize rules. A good rule of thumb for me is that if it’s a rule that would’ve been in a Players Handbook, it’s on them. If it would be in a DMG, it’s on me. I don’t enjoy sparring with rules lawyers, and I honestly think the game is better if they players aren’t experts on the odds and modifiers I might be wielding behind the screen.
But that’s just me. Everyone’s got their own preferences. Sounds like you’re tearing your hair out with this guy.
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