While I spend this year’s Thanksgiving recovering from a nasty chest cold, I figured I may as well write about why RPGs –both digital and tabletop– are so important to me and are more than just a way to pass the time. This may turn out to be a long love-letter to my favorite gaming genre, but maybe something inspired will come from it too!

Choices

Without nitpicking into what qualifies a game as an RPG (especially when it comes to video games), I think one of the most important components is being able to make choices that make a tangible difference in the game. In TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu, the impact your choices have on the story are determined by the Keeper/Dungeon Master. Whether players want an open-world sandbox adventure, a fiercely driven narrative, or anything in between, we all chase that “Oh Shit” moment when we know our actions change the game.

Did our brash fighter botch the recon mission by directly challenging a corrupt prince in castle and now the story shifts from subterfuge into surviving as enemies of the state. Or, perhaps one of the crafty investigators stole a book containing powerful spells from a crazed librarian, gaining a way to finally fight back against the eldritch horrors stacked against them. In both cases, these should be instances where the game master embraces the opportunity to let the players drive the story.

Building stories around choices is different than writing fiction. The latter is weighed, measured, and controlled entirely by the author. Everything flows through one perspective, and the narrative runs along a linear path to a known conclusion. It’s predictable.

The former, however, is wildly chaotic; the storytelling becomes reactive in nature. Everyone at the table becomes an author in the story, and the excitement of new possibilities is ever present. No NPC or creature can be written off as “fluff”, since you never know who or what the players may decide to invest their time into.

In video games, like The Outer Worlds, choices are less impactful but can still reward players with in other ways. While players can’t change the themes, genre, or plot in a video game the way they can in a TTRPG, games like The Outer Worlds do a great job of creating the illusion of choice. Like, I know at the end of the day I’m going to move on from Terra 2 and onto the Groundbreaker, but whether I do so as a wisecracking rebel or a pragmatic Company Man is up to me. I affect the aesthetics, not the core. That being said, video games are still remarkably fun and can tell rich and powerful stories.

Adventure

Another thrilling part of RPGs are the absurd triumphs and tribulations you’ll encounter, often so far removed from our normal lives. There is something so endearing to me about a medium that can remove us from our current circumstances; roleplaying games sell the escapism on a level you can’t often find in films, books, or plays because we, the players become the protagonist(s).

When I’m reading a book or watching a movie, even ones as immersive as Lord of the Rings, I’m only a spectator. I cannot feel the weight of my presence in this new place because I have none. I’m not part of the story unfolding, I’m simply seeing it occur. In roleplaying games, however, I’m an integral part of the adventure largely in part, to bring it back again, because of the choices I can make along the way.

Conclusion

As I lose my train of thought here, I’m going to wrap up this short post. Ultimately, I think why I love RPGs so much, and why I think you would like them too, is how they can so effortlessly do what many books, films, and plays struggle with: to temporarily remove us from the hardships and boredom of our normal lives by implanting us in rich adventures where our choices have impact. I feel like we’re in control of so little around us, it’s exhilarating to explore a medium where anything is possible, and all we have to do is ask the right questions.

What do you all think? Why do you enjoy RPGs?

Blessed Be,

Matthew Wulf

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