I still remember how I discovered tabletop roleplaying games. Late-eighties. I was in grade seven, maybe… being an attentive student was never my forte. I despised reading, avoided it with a passion, and I had a book report due.
I remember wandering aimlessly through my school library hoping something would grab my attention. Ended up choosing a book mostly out of disdain; I just remember the cover-art looked cool.
The book was “Dragons of Winter Night”…
…and from the moment I began reading it I couldn’t put it down.
I discovered it was actually the second book in a trilogy, so, of course I had to start over from the beginning. Almost overnight the Dragonlance Chronicles, authored by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, transformed me from a child who hated reading to one who couldn’t stop.
An aside: there are currently 150+ books written for the Dragonlance setting. I have read the vast majority of them, still own my original paperbacks of many of them, own collector’s editions of the core trilogies – I suppose you might say I remain a fan.
Dragonlance authors Weis and Hickman worked for TSR, the company that at the time owned the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game. The story told within the Dragonlance novels were inspired by the adventures of Weis and Hickman during their own D&D games. And complimenting the novels, TSR had published a collection of adventures written for Dungeons and Dragons which led players on a journey through the Dragonlance world.
So child me discovered a series of books I loved, discovered that they were inspired by a game played by the authors, and then discovered that I could play the game myself – taking control of one of their characters.
Going-on forty years, I still love playing.
I also remember that when I first became interested in roleplaying games I felt overwhelmed. TSR was releasing Dragonlance Adventures for their Advanced Dungeons and Dragons system (even the name is intimidating). That meant I needed not only the adventures but also the AD&D rule books. Plus all the accessories (like dice)… it was a lot.
Keep in mind there was no internet at this time (that’s weird to say). And being openly associated with anything geeky, especially D&D, came with an almost immediate social ostracization (thankfully we’re past all that now – geek is the new cool right?). That meant no one to ask questions to… honestly, most of my early D&D days were just my brother and I making it up as we went along (but that’s sort of the point isn’t it?).
A lot has changed since then, however, for someone new trying to get into roleplaying games, I feel things may have actually grown more overwhelming.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen people ask, “I want to start playing but where do I even begin?”. When I began it was just Dungeons & Dragons. Now it’s Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, World of Darkness, Savage Worlds, Powered by the Apocolypse, and a thousand other options. When I began players were typically a small group of close friends sitting around a table. Now games and players are vastly more available, but the community is much harder to navigate.
All of that to say, that on behalf of the people who are struggling to find their start, I want to take some time to offer some direction – starting simply with the basics.
Which despite the label “basics” is itself a huge subject.
What is a roleplaying game (rpg)?
Dictionary definition: a roleplaying game is any game where the players take on the role of a character. The players then interact with a fictional world through the actions of their chosen character, who the player controls.
Roleplaying games are entirely about a shared story experience.
When you read a novel or watch a movie, you experience the story but are also removed from it. You have no control over it… no matter how much you love a character, or how loudly you scream at your tv, you cannot change what happens (Jack will never climb on the plank after the Titanic sinks despite there being more than enough room).
In a roleplaying game, you experience the story by assuming the role of one of the characters in it. You control your character in the story, meaning you can effect change on the story (as the player in control of Jack you can ask Rose to scooch over a bit and try to climb up beside her).
As well, in a roleplaying game, you often experience the story as one of the characters in a group. Other characters join you, each of them controlled by a different player, and you experience the shared story together (as the player in control of Rose, when Jack asks you to scooch over a bit, you carefully shift your body to one side while helping pull Jack out of the water opposite you).
What is a tabletop roleplaying game (ttrpg)?
If I had to broadly classify roleplaying games there would be three families: computer roleplaying games (crpg), live-action roleplaying games (larp), and tabletop roleplaying games (ttrpg).
A computer rpg is a roleplaying game played via an electronic game system (including consoles like Nintendo, Playstation, or XBox). Think Skyrim or Zelda. The important distinction is that there is no narrator, the world you interact with is pre-programmed, and the extent to which you can interact with it is limited by the programming.
A live-action rpg usually involves elements of improvisation and theatre. Players gather in a real-world location (maybe a park), take on the role of their characters (imagine actors in a live play), and it typically involves costuming (cosplay). This video explains it 1000x better than I ever could.
Tabletop roleplaying games are exactly what they sound like. Similar to what you might imagine with a board game; a tabletop roleplaying game involves a small group of people sitting around a table, each in control of their own characters, playing through an imagined, shared, and collaborative story. The obvious example is Dungeons and Dragons.
A quick caveat: the tabletop experience has evolved since its beginning. While the name is derived from literally sitting around a table, and games in that style definitely still take place, virtual tables now exist allowing people to also play online.
How do tabletop roleplaying games work?
While there are vast differences between different game systems, the vast majority of them follow the same basic principles.
Sitting around the table will be a group of players, each of them in control of their own characters. Joining you at the table will be a narrator, oftentimes referred to as the Game Master or Dungeon Master.
The narrator is the storyteller and the referee. Their job is to tell the story; they describe the setting, describe the actions of any non-players in the setting, and describe the reactions to any actions your character makes. Your character interacts with the story through the narrator; you describe your actions, and they describe what happens when you act. The only limitation is your imagination.
Narrator: “You cling to the edge of the debris, freezing cold water sucking the life out of you, as you watch the Titanic slip beneath the waves. It’s dark, and silent save for the exhausted breathing of Rose, herself semi-conscious, laying on the debris you cling to. What do you do?”
Jack: “I ask Rose to make room so I can climb on the debris beside her.”
Rose: “I carefully shift my body to make room for Jack and help pull him up on the debris beside me.”
In most roleplaying games there is an element of randomness and chance that uses dice as a decider. Different systems do this in different ways, but the basic mechanic is you roll dice, and if you roll above a specific number then you’re successful. But if you roll under that number… well… things go wrong.
Narrator: “Ok, Rose, roll to see if you’re able to shift your body and help pull Jack up. Jack, roll to see if you have the strength left to pull yourself up.” After examining the result of the dice rolls, “Rose, you shift your body to the side. You grab onto Jack’s arm and pull… Jack you feel the strength leaving your body, but with Rose’s help you muster your last remaining strength and pull yourself up and out of the water beside her.”
If you really want to see what roleplaying games are all about, and how they work, there are groups that broadcast and record their games online. I’ll link to a couple below but a warning first: the groups I’m going to share are all professional actors, don’t expect your games to be the same as theirs. Still, they’re an amazing way to get to know the game, and honestly, just a lot of fun to watch.
- Critical Role using the Dungeons and Dragons system
- WildCards using the Savage Worlds system
- Chaosium using the Call of Cthulhu system
- L.A. By Night using the Vampire the Masquerade system
What do I need to play?
Honestly, not a lot. The most important requirement is simply a group of people willing to play with you.
One of the things I love most about tabletop roleplaying games is that a small investment equates to near-infinite play. That’s not to say some people don’t invest a lot, only that it’s not necessary (for most of us one set of dice is not nearly enough, you’ll see what I mean).
You’ll need some basic accessories. Pen (I prefer a good mechanical pencil) and paper. Some dice (most systems use a set of polyhedral dice, but there are exceptions). A table to sit around.
And you’ll need a rulebook.
This, if anywhere, is where it gets complicated. You need to have an idea of what you want to play, there are literally hundreds of options. A future article, that I’ll link to once I get it done, will go over different systems and which are good for beginners. For now, my suggestions are:
- Dungeons and Dragons (fantasy); despite being more complicated it has the largest fan base and is, therefore, the easiest system to find players, resources, and help for.
- Savage Worlds (generic); it’s a much easier system to learn and can cover any setting you want to play (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, superheroes) under a single rule set. My favourite system personally.
I should mention that many settings have cheap or even free “beginner rulebooks” that provide just enough to get you started. Often these rulesets are available online. These are a great way to try out a system without spending any money at all.
Where do I find people to play with, or help if I need it?
Many people are introduced to tabletop roleplaying games through friends who already play. The people in this group are often pulled into existing games, meet others through those games, and learn to play via those experienced players. Lucky.
Many others hear about tabletop roleplaying games through books, movies, tv shows, or just common knowledge. The people in this group are the people I often see inquiring “where do I even begin?”.
Thankfully these days finding other players isn’t difficult.
In-person; the easiest way is to visit your friendly local gaming store (FLGS). Almost every city will have a locally-owned store that caters to the gaming community. The majority of the time your FLGS isn’t just a store, but more of a community hub. A clubhouse and sanctuary for the geekiest of us. And in my experience, they all tend to be pretty welcoming – often hosting gaming nights for roleplayers, board gamers, etc.
Online; it would take me forever to share an exhaustive list of online ttrpg communities. Easiest to find; Facebook groups dedicated to specific systems (type Dungeons and Dragons into the search bar for example). Reddit as well, the ttrpg communities are massive and very active. Discord servers; since many of us use it for our online games already, the Discord communities keep growing. I’ll post some of my favourite groups below.
If any of you are really struggling, make a Facebook post. Seriously. Assuming you have an average number of friends, I can almost guarantee you someone you know plays. And as a general rule, we all love talking about our games. Probably too much… actually, you may regret it if you do this.
Why am I so passionate about Tabletop Roleplaying Games?
From the start my intent was to finish this article with why I love playing.
I want this article to help people looking to start, but I also want people who are on the fence to know why I love ttrpgs as much as I do.
I was an imaginative child. And save for an unfortunate period in my life where I believed being an adult meant hiding that side of myself away, being imaginative has persisted long into my adulthood.
Both as a child, and as an adult, I enjoyed anything that allowed me to draw on and expand my imagination. Video games and novels especially… but nothing has ever allowed me the freedom to do this more than tabletop roleplaying games.
Everything has its limits. When reading I could imagine the characters and the world they lived in, but I had no control. With video games I had a degree of control, but the imagery was provided to me. With tv shows and movies you have neither control nor the ability to imagine, everything is spoon-fed to you, which makes them barely imaginative at all. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy these things, they just don’t fill this specific need.
With tabletop roleplaying games your only limitation is your imagination, and so they became my outlet.
It’s my experience that imaginative activities also tend to be solo activities. Books are read quietly. Conversation during a tv show or movie is difficult, and often even considered rude. Video games, until recently, were largely something you played on your own.
With tabletop roleplaying games it’s a collaboration. The worlds you imagine and interact with are shared. You’re sitting around the table with other people, and those people get you.
I love world-building. In my head I have designed and explored countless realities and the people who inhabit them. Their geography, history, etc. Through the games I play I get to share the worlds I’ve imagined. People experience them with me, but even more, through our collaborative and shared stories the worlds grow beyond what I could ever have imagined on my own.
In the games I play I can be anyone I want, do anything I want, be anywhere I want, take my closest friends with me, and every adventure we take together is indescribably fun.
That’s why I’ll never stop playing.
I would love to hear from anyone who actually made it through this longer-than-expected article. My intent is for it to become a sort of living document, and also expand on specific items in additional articles later.
From the beginners: Did my article help? What did you end up playing and how did it go? Is there anything I should add here that would have helped you? From the experienced: Did I miss anything? What would you add to this article that could help people wanting to learn?
Please leave a comment below with any advice or feedback you have.