By Jeff Okamoto, Sandy Petersen, and lots of others

The whole thing started around 1983 or so at a party at Pacificon at the Dunfey Hotel in San Mateo in which the idea came up of classifying the different styles of roleplaying. They came up with four different types, which are explained below. Special credit goes to Perry Caro, Chris Guthrie, Rick Heli, Robert Allen, and Ken Kaufman, to name a few.

Definitions:

The Real Man: The tough macho type who walks up to the attacking dragon and orders it to leave before he gets hurt.

The Real Roleplayer: The intelligent cunning guy who tricks the constable into letting you all out of prison.

The Loonie: The guy who will do anything for a cheap laugh, including casting a fireball at ground zero.

The Munchkin Need we say more?

Player Relationships

Real Men:

Real Men think they're brothers in arms.

Real Roleplayers hide behind them.

Loonies harass them with stupid suggestions.

Munchkins say "I'm a Real Man, too!"

Real Roleplayers:

Real Men protect them, on the off chance they may come up with something useful.

Real Roleplayers sigh with relief to know they're not alone, and then get their characters involved in love affairs and death feuds.

Loonies harass them with stupid suggestions.

Munchkins say "I'm a Real Roleplayer, too!"

Loonies:

Real Men ignore them.

Real Roleplayers sometimes harass them back by taking a stupid suggestion and making it work.

Loonies declare a pie fight at 20 paces . . . and cheat.

Munchkins try to imitate the jokes, and fall flat.

Munchkins:

Real Men attack them on sight.

Real Roleplayers trick them into being cannon fodder.

Loonies make reasonable-sounding suggestions that will get the Munchkin killed in an amusing way.

Munchkins query, "What's a Munchkin?"

Ars Magica

Capsule Opinion:

Real Men think there aren't enough combats

Real Roleplayers like the setting

Loonies like the myriad of possible spell effects

Munchkins think magi aren't powerful enough.

Advantages of the setting:

Real Men like the Crusades

Real Roleplayers like the richness of the paradigm

Loonies like mendicant monks

Munchkins like being able to look up the answers

Advantages of the game:

Real Men like _starting_ with battle-worthy wizards

Real Roleplayers like the long-term character development

Loonies like the chance to make the Crown-prince think he's a slug

Munchkins like being able to spont level 80 spells

Problems with the game:

Real Men think the Code of Hermes is too restrictive

Real Roleplayers think there aren't enough flaw points to define their characters

Loonies think there aren't enough ways to pull pranks on the mundanes

Munchkins think longevity potions don't last long enough

Favorite Houses:

Real Men join House Flambeau or House Tytalus

Real Roleplayers join House Jerbiton

Loonies join House Criamon or House Merinita

Munchkins join House Bjornaer

Favorite Variant Magi:

Real Men don't do variant magi

Real Roleplayers play Shamans

Loonies play Faerie Companions

Munchkins play Diabolists

Favorite Virtues for Magi:

Real Men have an affinity with Ignem or Perdo

Real Roleplayers have the Gentle Gift

Loonies have Withstand Magic and Berserk

Munchkins have Heartbeast - Great Worm of the Pyrenees

Favorite Flaws for Magi:

Real Men take Fury

Real Roleplayers take Sense of Doom

Loonies take Magic Addiction, Lack of Concentration and Chaotic Magic.

Munchkins don't understand the concept

Means of overcoming flaws:

Real Men kill their Enemies

Real Roleplayers join monasteries

Loonies use self-flagellation

Munchkins seem to have lost that bit of paper

Favorite Companions:

Real Men play crusading knights

Real Roleplayers play wandering friars

Loonies play time-travelling Californians

Munchkins play Richard the Lionhearted

Favorite lab work:

Real Men find it too fiddly, and stick to the library

Real Roleplayers take familiars and apprentices

Loonies use experimentation with vis

Munchkins invent 'Cleanse the Verminous Infestation of People'

Favorite Spell:

Real Men cast Pilum of Fire

Real Roleplayers cast Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie

Loonies cast Confusion of the Insane Vibrations near a clifftop

Munchkins cast Opening the Earth's Pore

Favorite Skill:

Real Men like Penetration

Real Roleplayers like Guile

Loonies like Scribe Pig-Latin

Munchkins like Affinity - everything

Favorite Rule:

Real Men like open-ended die rolls

Real Roleplayers like personality traits

Loonies like botches

Munchkins like spontaneous magic

Favorite Quotes:

Real Men say "I kill demons and eat them for breakfast."

Real Roleplayers say "How can you believe him? He's a Christian!"

Loonies say "I healed the dog. I took his toe nails."

Munchkins say "Certamen!"