Independent Study Project On Role Playing Games Essays -

Independent Study Project on Role Playing Games What are Role Playing Games? Quite simply, RPG's are games where YOU assume the role of a different person. Then, you with other adventurers, must play that role in the setting in which the game takes place. Playing and RPG is much like acting, only you don't know what is going to come next. RPG's utilize at least 3 players. One, called the Game Master, or Dungeon Master, is the person who runs the game. He is "the umpire," who decides where the players are going and who knows everything about the adventure. The GM is a storyteller, who is relaying the story to the players, who make the decisions. RPG's are like one big Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story, only the choices are infinite. The other 2 people are the players. They are the ones who make all of the decisions in the game. For example, the GM might describe to them a room, and in the room are a desk, a shelf with books, and a rack with lots of vials and bottles. The players then have a choice to leave the room, explore the desk, shelf, and rack, take whatever they want, destroy everything, etc. Any of these decisions could result in something good to the player or bad. "Every action has an opposite and equal reaction." How do RPG's work? Basically, they are a story being told. Each player has their own character, who they are playing, or acting in the game. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses. Below is shown part of a character sheet. A character sheet is where all information on the character is shown. This includes things like reaction time, strength, intelligence, etc. CHARACTER SHEET FOR THE GAMEPLEX-AMS ROLE PLAYING GAME In this RPG, there are 7 Main Attributes. Each Main Attribute is then sub-divided into smaller secondary attributes. Here, we will describe the most important main attribute, the physical attributes. PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES: STRENGTH: The amount of power, or strength, a player has. This is a generic term, used in general. (Lifting boxes, hurting people's hands when shaking them, physical bulk, etc.) ATTACK STRENGTH: This is the amount of strength the player can exert when attacking someone. Since combat is an integral part of any RPG, this attribute is very important. This is even more important if the player is assuming the role of a fighter, who engages in combat more often than a wizard, for example. An attack strength of 1 out of 48 would not give much power, if any, when a person is attacking, but an attack strength of 48 out of 48 out surely kill, or seriously injure, anyone when hit. Attack strength does not count the skill at which the person can attack. If a person blindly swings at someone with their sword, the chance of hitting them is adjusted, from say, 50% when properly focused and alert to 10% when attacking blind. A lucky hit though, when swinging blind, would still inflict the same damage as when swinging alert. Only the chance of hitting the enemy would change. DEFENSIVE STRENGTH: This is the opposite of attack strength. Defensive strength regulates how much a person can defend themselves. For example, if the defensive strength is 1 out of 48, one hit from an attacker would kill the person. In contrast, with a defensive strength of 48 out of 48, a hit would not hurt the player very much if at all, because they can defend themselves very well. As in attack strength, skill is not counted in the way a person can defend themselves. If a person is prone and lying down, and only has their hands to defend themselves, the attacker would have an adjustment made to how they attack the person. For example, if the attacker, when attacking the person normally, had a 25% chance of hitting, when the person was prone, the attacker would then have a 80% chance of hitting. The amount of damage inflicted is still the same though, as always. OFFENSIVE TOTALS: This is a numerical constant used in determining other attributes, even those other than physical. It is also a measure used in combat, used as an adjustment in dice rolls to determine wether an attempt at a hit is successful. DEFENSIVE TOTALS: This is the complete opposite of the offensive totals. It is a numerical constant used in determining other defensive oriented attributes. It is also used in combat as a defensive adjustment in the dice rolls used to determine wether an attempt at a defense

buy custom Fascinating Argumentative Essay Sample on Higher Education

buy custom Fascinating Argumentative Essay Sample on Higher Education Argumentative Essay Sample on Higher Education by Tom Nixon Introduction The main purpose of the paper is to study and analyze the article Higher Education Is Now Ground Zero for Disruption by Tom Nixon, the contributor of the Forbes magazine that is devoted to the problem of higher education cost and quality within the contemporary American education system (Nixon, 2014). The author claims that the contemporary higher education in the United Stets is of the poor quality, high costs, and does not guarantee the future success of the graduated specialists. At the same time, he underlines the rapid growth of the popularity of on-line education that can be the effective solution to the enlarging problem that exists within the society. On the other hand, despite the facts that are presented to the readers within the article, it is essential to mention that there is a series of arguments opposing to that of the author. Although Nixon makes a good point about the weak sides of the higher education within the country, he ignores the fact that this system is suppo rted by the years of successful work and the generations of graduated professionals, while the on-line education has not proved its efficiency and high quality.

Compare and contrast the ways in which one of the main ideologies Essay

Compare and contrast the ways in which one of the main ideologies (i.e. liberalism, socialism, conservatism, - Essay Example This study is being undertaken in order to conceptualize a thorough understanding of the development of liberalism throughout the years. Discussion Liberalism came about in the Enlightenment period and it was initiated by the views of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes who set forth that man â€Å"always acts with a view to his own benefit, with the avoidance of violent death as the greatest of evils† (Sorrentino, p. 2). He saw the government as a necessary agency which would protect man from his instincts in gaining as much as he can from his actions. This thought process was supported to a certain extent by John Locke, but with some modification. Locke leaned more on the belief that man is by nature good and was rational enough in following his natural rights – that of protecting and preserving his life under the inherent laws and conditions appropriated by God. Locke also emphasized that there is a need for man to protect his natural rights and to carry out the na tural rules given to him by God (Sorrentino, p. 3). In a way, this formed the basis of the thought process in liberalism which accepts the need for government control. Nevertheless, the importance of protecting man’s basic rights has been highlighted by early liberalism ideals. French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau supported the fact that government was needed in order to unite people (Sorrentino, p. 3). These philosophers had different views of the social contract as they supported the liberal ideal that government is essential in protecting social harmony. The ideas of these philosophers were advocated and supported during the Enlightenment era and further supported by nineteenth century philosophers. Adam Smith also saw the roots of his commercial liberalism in these philosophers. He believed that commercial liberty has a natural counterpart in the constitutional order where the civil and political rights are protected (Sorrentino, p. 4). Jeremy Bentham had also a simil ar view with Adam Smith as he advocated the laissez faire policy in economic policies. Bentham however did not support the idea of natural law because he believed that the state is there to protect human welfare. This view seems to be supported in the current context of liberalism. Liberalism somehow evolved with the period of Enlightenment as the people seemed to take on a more ‘enlightened’ view of the world and of their natural rights within contemporary society. In general however, it is John Locke who is credited for advocating the formal foundations of liberalism. From his ideas, liberalism found its roots in his claims that all men are â€Å"by nature free and equal against claims that God has made all people naturally subject to a monarch† (Tuckness). Locke believed that people have basic rights to life, liberty, and property and these rights are the foundations of a liberal society. Locke’s belief in the freedom and equality of men justified the e xistence of legitimate government based on a social contract where men transferred their rights to the government in order to secure their enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and their property (Tuckness). However, even before these concepts of liberalism were laid out, the principles which have fundamentally differentiated liberalism from other ideals have already been present in civil society. The â€Å"