I suppose many of you either are outright role-playing game geeks or, at the very least, have played a game with friends at some point, so you can perfectly well skip this post. Although you can also read it and tell me if you more or less agree with me, or if you see role-playing games differently.
Someone who has never played might not be very clear on the difference between a board game, a card game, and a role-playing game, and might think they are all more or less the same. Or else you might have a vague idea that mixes theatrical performance, war games, and costume parties, and then think: «And this is going to help me with my English? No way! »
So, first of all, I’m going to explain what the role-playing games we’re suggesting are, and in a future post I’ll tell you why I think they’re so useful for learning a language.
If I have to explain to someone who has never played what a role-playing game is, or a fantasy role-playing game to be more precise, the first thing that comes to my mind is to tell them that it is, more or less, like a novel. Those of you who play will undoubtedly say that reading a novel and playing role-playing games are completely different things. And you are absolutely right: one reads a novel alone, usually in silence, to oneself, whereas a role-playing game session is a group activity, in which you spend all your time talking and rolling dice; furthermore, when you read a novel you follow the thread of the story, but you don’t take part at all in its development, whereas in an adventure (that’s how we call a role-playing series of game sessions) you are one of the protagonists, and everything depends on the cunning, skill or luck of the players. One could almost say that novels and role-playing games are completely different precisely because in a novel everything is written, while in a role-playing game almost everything is yet to happen.
Nevertheless they resemble each other. Let’s do an experiment: think of a fantasy novel with medieval inspiration, or a gothic horror novel that you liked. You got it! Right? Imagine then that you have read only a few pages: the story has begun, with a good setting; some of the characters, both secondary and main, have appeared; some of the plot is starting to unfold, although not too much… in short, a promising novel. Okay! Now, stop right there, and imagine that, instead of continuing to read alone, several friends get together with the author of the novel and each of you takes on the role of one of the characters, while he tries to develop the plot. Of course, you are not obliged to follow the course of action intended by the author. In reality, you can do whatever you want: behave like selfless heroes or unscrupulous villains, follow the expected path or invent unorthodox and original ways of facing dangers, row together with the whole team or slink away like rats to save your skin… Everything is allowed.
The author of our peculiar novel, let’s call him the Game Master, or Dungeon Master, or simply Master, is the only one who knows the plot, and will try by all means to guide the actions of the protagonists, the Players, or the Characters they portray in the adventure, so that they more or less complete the mission entrusted to them. But, beyond the general guidelines, nothing is set in stone. Players can triumph and conquer glory, or fail at the first obstacle; they can devise completely crazy plans or discover unexpected ways to solve problems…
The action unfolds freely in a continuous dialogue between the players and the game master, between the characters whose roles they assume, and countless secondary actors whom the game master moves like a puppeteer through the world he creates with his narrative. What’s truly exciting about the game is that it allows you to live a life that isn’t your own, to identify with an imaginary person and act as if you were that alter ego in an alternative reality. And as each person does their own thing and all the players become imaginary people, with noble ideals or dark secrets, full of ambition and greed, or examples of sacrifice and altruism, but always facing extreme situations due to the circumstances that arise from the plot woven by the game master, conflict soon emerges… and this is the soul of the game: conflict, dispute, risk, and uncertainty.
Each player takes on a role, whose main traits have been previously defined and written down; the game master will push them to the limits of their abilities and put them in impossible situations… The stage is set for conflict. And that’s where the dice come in, along with the rulebook, because conflicts must be resolved, and their outcome will determine unpredictable future courses of action.
Imagine the scene: a dwarf warrior, a ranger bard, an aspiring sorceress, and a cunning thief who, by chance, have become entangled in the kidnapping of a young princess. They are traveling through a misty forest at night when they are suddenly surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves that mercilessly attack their terrified mounts. « It’s your turn, » the Dungeon Master invites them: « What are you doing? » Each of these unfortunate souls is the alter ego of one of the players, so that, in turns, they explain what their next action will be and how they plan to face the danger. « I pull out my double-edged axe and prepare for defense while shouting: “To arms, my friends! Or we are lost…”, » says the player who portrays our dwarf, honoring the proverbial stubbornness of these beings. « I cover myself with my invisibility cloak,” says the apprentice magician, “and prepare a fire spell (as I understand it, wolves fear fire more than anything in the world, so I hope to scare them away this way and be able to save at least some of the horses). » « For my part, » our thief announces with a certain cynicism, « I am not willing to risk my life for the daughter of any king. Besides, I think the wolves will prefer her meat to mine, which will undoubtedly be tougher… I go to the princess and shield myself from the wolves with her body. That way, if they break through our defensive line, I can push it into their jaws and take the opportunity to escape. » Finally, the ranger bard, outraged by his companion’s selfishness, also draws his sword and comes to the dwarf’s aid. « I would opt to climb the trees, » he says, starting a heated debate among the players about the loss of the mounts and the slim chances that the dwarf will even manage to climb the first few branches.
Actions are decided by referring to the game manual (handled by the game master), the character sheets that each player keeps carefully, and, of course, the dice (after all, it’s a game). « Okay, Zapapico » (that’s how one of the players decided to call his dwarf, to the shame of his race) —says the game master— « the first of the wolves is coming at you. Roll the dice if you want to repel him with a blow from your axe. » The result of the roll is added to the skill that, according to his character sheet, the dwarf has in that sort of combat. In addition, several factors are taken into account: the darkness of the night, the surprise that the appearance of the wolves has caused everyone, the agility of the wolves themselves according to their description in the chapter on creatures… The result is consulted in the combat tables of the game manual, and thus the action unfolds, in a mixture of chance, skill and cunning, giving rise to new situations impossible to foresee and always challenging.
Well, that’s more or less what a role-playing game is: a novel yet to be written, where each chapter is decided on the fly, in a continuous dialogue between the players and the game master, mediated by the randomness of the dice, the character sheets and the tables that determine the probability of success of any risky action in the game manual.
If you’ve never played, I sincerely encourage you to do so. It’s incredibly fun…
I hope you found this interesting and I invite you to read my next post: « Why I believe role-playing games are an optimal tool to improve your communication skills in English. »