Intro to roleplaying
Not surprisingly, most games that are even somewhat like this one include a section at the front that explains what goes into a role-playing game. It’s a necessary step, to make sure that the game is accessible for players who are less familiar with the genre, and it is our hope to make this game as accessible as possible. So with that in mind, let us take a departure from the discussion of what goes into a role-playing game, and talk about what a role-playing game IS. Many people who pick this book up will know this information, and we request your patience. You’re more than welcome to skip this part, if you are an avid gamer, but perhaps it may be worthwhile to explain in more detail so your aunt who’s never heard of this before might be convinced to let your little cousin play with you. Unless he smells funny. Management has no control over that.
There are many ways to approximate what a role-playing game is, but in its most abstract and generic form, it’s an attempt to model reality so that heroic or exciting things can be accomplished from home, with friends. All role-playing games involve conflict, because that is how the storytelling tradition works. An interesting story cannot exist without conflict, because a retelling without risk or danger is simply dull. Or a biography (of a dull individual, perhaps?). At its core, role-playing is interactive storytelling. One person takes on the responsibility of the setting, the bit characters, the villains, and the plot. The others all take the roles of the main characters, dealing with the challenges posed to them, overcoming and achieving things in pursuit of a satisfactory ending.
It’s amazing how simple this concept is. Four-year-olds do it. They play Cowboys and Indians. All we’re doing is playing with more rules, and trying to model a more interesting story, in a slightly more coherent framework. We’ve got rules for how to decide whether Billy really shot you, and you have to sit out for five minutes now, but we also have so much more. There are so many skills that these games can impart, above and beyond existing things like board and card games. One of the most important skills inherent to storytelling is causality, the fact that everything you do has consequences.
Let us look for a moment at how important that really is, and how integral to games of these types. What makes this different from a strategy board game is the arbitration of the Game Master. He (or she) decides how the setting reacts to the players’ plans. Sometimes things work out, sometimes unexpected things happen, but there is reinforcement which allows for growth. If, in the course of a game, your character is rude to another character, and that results in you being forced out of town, barely able to preserve your wellbeing, perhaps you will consider being more polite next time? Perhaps not, but maybe you will learn when that rudeness results in similar difficulties.
Games of this variety can be great tools for learning. Courtesy, strategy, repeated math, creativity, language and social skills… the list goes on and on. There’s a lot that can be gained from these experiences, and we hope that you take a look into this game, and have an enjoyable time with it. We’ve a strong suspicion you will.
There are many ways to approximate what a role-playing game is, but in its most abstract and generic form, it’s an attempt to model reality so that heroic or exciting things can be accomplished from home, with friends. All role-playing games involve conflict, because that is how the storytelling tradition works. An interesting story cannot exist without conflict, because a retelling without risk or danger is simply dull. Or a biography (of a dull individual, perhaps?). At its core, role-playing is interactive storytelling. One person takes on the responsibility of the setting, the bit characters, the villains, and the plot. The others all take the roles of the main characters, dealing with the challenges posed to them, overcoming and achieving things in pursuit of a satisfactory ending.
It’s amazing how simple this concept is. Four-year-olds do it. They play Cowboys and Indians. All we’re doing is playing with more rules, and trying to model a more interesting story, in a slightly more coherent framework. We’ve got rules for how to decide whether Billy really shot you, and you have to sit out for five minutes now, but we also have so much more. There are so many skills that these games can impart, above and beyond existing things like board and card games. One of the most important skills inherent to storytelling is causality, the fact that everything you do has consequences.
Let us look for a moment at how important that really is, and how integral to games of these types. What makes this different from a strategy board game is the arbitration of the Game Master. He (or she) decides how the setting reacts to the players’ plans. Sometimes things work out, sometimes unexpected things happen, but there is reinforcement which allows for growth. If, in the course of a game, your character is rude to another character, and that results in you being forced out of town, barely able to preserve your wellbeing, perhaps you will consider being more polite next time? Perhaps not, but maybe you will learn when that rudeness results in similar difficulties.
Games of this variety can be great tools for learning. Courtesy, strategy, repeated math, creativity, language and social skills… the list goes on and on. There’s a lot that can be gained from these experiences, and we hope that you take a look into this game, and have an enjoyable time with it. We’ve a strong suspicion you will.