When push comes to shove the RPG experience has a lot of pushing going on.

We push the envelope in game design or in stepping out of our comfort zones. We push the limits of what a mechanic or system can do and see what happens. We push ourselves and our group to get better at the hobby in many different ways, depending upon our priorities.

Sometimes we push the limits of what our characters are capable of. Sometimes they push themselves. Sometimes we or they just push their luck and see what happens.

The characters push towards their agendas, and the world often pushes back. Sometimes the whole point of a game is to push on the character’s desires, values, and beliefs, and other times the pushback is nothing more than the NPCs pushing their own agendas.

Sometimes one of us needs to give the game a little push to give it momentum. In any event, RPGs involve people doing things, and stuff happening. Without action and force, nothing happens. You say pushy, I say proactive. 😉