WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING, OR WHAT IS AD&D?

If you are an experienced gamer and/or roleplayer, this article may hold only slight interest for you. It is not all that original, and many others like it are probably out there, no doubt essentially saying the same thing. But my site, in a vain quest to be more complete, really should have such an article of its own as an offering for the newbie or inexperienced player who may not wish to search elsewhere for it. Here it is.

So if you're a curious soul and aren't exactly sure what it's all about, this may help. Perhaps you only have a vague idea based upon something you saw others doing while you were passing, or you only caught the slightest glimmer of the whole while playing some computer game loosely based on roleplaying games, or you may have only heard about the game but never actually seen it. If this is so and if you're interested in learning more or even giving it a try, then you're in for a treat. Theoretically, I mean. This hobby is not for everybody, but if you have a vivid imagination and like adventure and interaction, you'll love this hobby. But I shall no longer mince words, so I'll get on with it - yes? Very well.

AD&D is the game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It's a roleplaying game, like many other roleplaying games out there, but it's probably one of the first, if not the direct descendent of the first. Besides, it's still the best-known roleplaying game in existence. It's both famous and infamous, though in my opinion it doesn't deserve any infamy.

AD&D is a game of magical and medieval fantasy, and it can take many forms and expressions. The variations from one game to the next are myriad. No two games are ever completely alike, and the differences even within this one game system can be staggering. But it's all good.

Alas, this article is not about AD&D. Rather, it is about ROLEPLAYING in general. I will use AD&D as an example throughout this article - and have some more specific things to say about it at the end - but instead of doing that now, I would like to address the larger topic. What is Roleplaying?

WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING

The short answer? Players take on the roles of imaginary characters, usually in a setting created by a referee, and thereby vicariously experience the imagined adventures of these characters.

Huh?

Well, OK, maybe the short answer will not suffice.

As games or hobbies go, roleplaying is, in my honest opinion, the most innovative, unique, and enjoyable kind of game ever invented - so far. It far surpasses board games, leaves computer games behind as rather limited, and can go in so many different directions that it could easily be your primary pass-time hobby for decades to come. It's that good.

Unlike traditional games where we have set playing times, very specific rules, given victory conditions, winners and losers, etc., a roleplaying game is quite different from that. The time to play can be a few minutes - over coffee - hours - a quiet afternoon - days - holiday get-togethers, conventions, etc. - or more. And instead of having a victory condition that brings the game to a close, it is more like real life and may last for years as the players keep getting together whenever they can and add to the ongoing story. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself, so let's start at the beginning.

Roleplaying games are where one or more players "pretend" or "make believe" they are another character, often quite apart from themselves or their own personalities. The characters often have entirely different backgrounds and skills than the player's own, and the characters use these to help solve their own problems in their own lives.

These characters can be mighty warriors, wise sages, mystic magic users, devout clergy, captains of industry, politicians, spies, starship commanders, historical figures, time lords, kings, beggars, princes, paupers, generals, admirals, privates, guards, thieves, swashbucklers, super heroes, etc., etc., etc. The list is endless. From the highest of the high to the lowest of the low, you can pretend to be any character. If you can imagine it, you can play it.

Naturally, we probably wouldn't have a lot of fun playing the mundane and the ordinary, so most games center around playing heroes and heroines, similar to any that might be found in your favorite literature. But like literature, the flavor of the game can be picked to suit your preferences. To do this, each game system has a setting or type of backdrop called the genre of the game, and players pick their preferred genres.

The genre is a category, or family, or style that sets the tone for the whole game. If you wish to play a science fiction game, that's one genre where you can play characters similar to those on Star Trek, Babylon 5, Star Gate, Dune, or Farscape, just to name a few of the dozens or hundreds of science fiction settings in which you could play. Or perhaps an espionage game is for you, James Bond and spy novels being some of your favorites. Post apocalyptic games exists and you can play a character like Mad Max from the Road Warrior, or a mutant with unusual abilities while growing up in a radiation filled environment after the big war. Or, if you like comic book heroes, maybe super heroes like Superman, Batman, the X-Men, Spiderman, Dare Devil, or many others could be the characters of your game world. There is really no limit to the kinds of genres out there. Mystery, Horror, Suspense, Fantasy - if you've read it or seen it in a movie or on TV, you can play similar characters in a world setting where they live.

AD&D, in particular, is one of my favorite genres. Medieval fantasy and magic, swords and sorcery, or yes, dungeons and dragons may set the scene. In that game system, you can play a warrior like a knight of the round table, or a savage like Conan the barbarian, a mage like Merlin the wizard, a monk like Cain - from Kung Fu - a rogue like the Gray Mouser, an assassin or ninja, or a holy man, or any one of countless variations on nearly countless themes.

Each game system will help direct your choices. Primarily, for example, in AD&D you are given four choices: Warrior, Mage, Cleric, or Rogue. Each of these may have a few subclasses for choices that are more specialized. Basically, you assume the role of a character you create - in AD&D, it may be a mage - wizard, illusionist, or other mage specialist - a warrior - fighter, ranger, paladin, barbarian - a cleric - priest, druid, monk - a rogue - thief, assassin, bard - or others. Other players do the same.

And there are more choices as well. Clerics may be priests, druids, monks, or something else, sure, but each of these may have an allegiance to a different god from a given pantheon of gods, each one striving for a different goal, ethos, or philosophy. Or you may choose from many pantheons, from classical mythology, other sources, or gods entirely made up for that game. Other classes may be equally detailed and have a staggering number of choices as possibilities. And you are just getting started. You may even play various combinations of these classes.

Then you can play any one race from a large cross section of races, like elves, dwarves, hobbits, lizard men, gnomes, half orcs, humans, mixed breeds, or others. So a mage is one thing, but a human mage, or an elven mage, or a dwarven mage, etc., are not necessarily the same.

And the gender, too, will be chosen - it can even be different from your own gender, and have any sexual orientation you wish, if the game deems this important and the players are mature enough, or never even mention that or consider it, if it's unimportant or too adult for younger players. A female elven mage, for example, might be played very differently than a male elven mage, or a gay or bisexual magic users could be played quite differently than a heterosexual magic users.

NOTE: Most adult content, situations, and subjects are NOT typically standard choices within most game systems, and thus younger players never have to see this material, as it is not included. However, older players may include more adult aspects and themes to their gaming sessions, as most roleplaying games do nothing to prohibit this if players wish to explore such topics. But, far more often than not, this never approaches real life intimacy - it is a game, after all - so most parents should not worry roleplaying games might lead their children into such adult situations for which they are not ready.

Now, if you wish, other choices, like age, eye and hair color, height and weight, cloths, equipment, etc. can play an important part of your creation as well. It goes on and on, with you making a new, never-before-seen character from the ground up, all while using the game system as a guide to help you along the way.

But that's AD&D. Other systems, other genres, other choices. The important thing is what is the same in all roleplaying games; you play and develop your character, interacting with the characters made by the other players, and all of you interacting with all other characters that are played by the game's coordinator or referee. It's a lot like playing make-believe, house, dolls, army, cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, or whatever games you played as children. The primary difference is that here, the game is more structured, and there are rules that set limits and help keep all players on the same page.

Some systems - like AD&D - are 'class based.' That is, your character will have a 'profession' that already has many of its skills laid out for you. You will have defined powers and abilities and a standard approach to your skills. Of course you can go in any direction or act in anyway you wish using the tools of your character's trade. And such systems usually have secondary skills to augment them as well, so not all your character's skills must be associated with their profession or class. For example, though you may play a wizard with many wizarding skills, he or she may also learn non-wizard skills, such as horseback riding, swimming, healing, tracking, or most any other skill you might imagine.

Other systems are 'skill based' systems - like GURPS, or the Generic Universal Role Playing System. In those games, instead of being handed a package of predetermined skills for your chosen profession, you may have a list of dozens if not hundreds of skills from which to pick. From these, you customize your character and have free reign to totally make up anything you wish. Skill based systems are usually more complex and detailed and take more effort to generate characters, as learning and coordinating all those skills can be confusing. This is especially true if each skill may interact with each other in a synergistic manner, augmenting one another to some small degree. This makes the wise selection of skills not always obvious at first. But after character generation is out of the way, it's pure roleplaying, just like any other system.

Many claim skill based systems are far more realistic than class based ones, while others do not like the additional effort and still feel it may lack realism in many instances, anyway. Others sometimes claim just the opposite, feeling class based systems are more realistic since a profession would require one to have a specific set of skills, more often than not, and not just some of them. Ultimately, you will need to decide these things for yourself. Whatever system you choose is relatively unimportant. The important thing is that the system supports a good roleplaying environment.

Now, unlike a lifeless game piece you move around the board, in a roleplaying game your character will have a personality, a name, thoughts, feelings, hopes and aspirations, dreams, fears, worries, loves, enemies, family members, and a history. And part of this history - perhaps the most important part - is how and why he or she acquired various skills. Or perhaps more importantly, why they may be motivated to do anything in the world set before them in the first place.

It may sound hopelessly complex at first, but it's not, and there's the game's coordinator to help you through all this and get you started. In most games it is the Game Master or GM. In AD&D, they are called the Dungeon Master or DM.

Unlike a mindless computer game - that is limited and will never allow you to do the unexpected, no matter how clever - the GM is a living, breathing part of the game who can make adjustments accordingly. Different from other games, the GM is not trying to "win" by beating you, nor are you trying to achieve victory by beating the GM. Not at all; instead, you are working together to create a story and have fun - not trying to beat each other.

The Player's Characters are known as PCs, and all the GM's characters - everybody else - are NPCs (Non Player Characters).

The GM creates the story's framework, and you and the other players play your characters within this framework. The Game Master assumes all other roles - minor characters, villains, monsters, guards, other heroes and heroines, mentors, kings, princes and princesses, beggars, prostitutes, sailors, shop keeps, innkeepers, black smiths, potters, porters, scribes, washer women, etc., etc., etc. - and all other aspects of the game world environment. Depending on the audience's maturity, this can be G rated to X rated, though I must confess I've never seen the latter, and suspect most would be rated PG.

The GM will control most aspects of the world, like the weather, the world's geography, the politics, the gods, the earth worm under the ground, the grasshopper at your feet, or any other fact the GM uses to make a story. In this respect, the GM is quite like the author of a book, writing an interesting story. However, there is a huge difference. An author controls everything, writes everything, and decides everything, and it's all set and fixed before you even start to read it. It never changes after the author is finished, too, and the story is the product of a single imagination. A GM only decides part of this, while the players decide things for themselves and their own characters within the framework provided by the GM. Players are more like actors, except instead of playing the role given to you and reading the lines written for you, you make the role and write your own lines as you ad-lib your way through the game. You just play your character - usually. The other players just play their own characters - usually. It's really very simple. That's why children do it so effortlessly and naturally, while adults almost need to be taught how to do it again after being exposed to years of board games and sports competitions, etc.

More than anything else, playing a role is about making choices for the character you've created. This is even more important - the choices - than actually acting out the role, like an actor might on stage. To be sure, some players like to act out the roles, too, to a certain extent, while others prefer to just make the choices. Roleplaying games are often a complex mix of these two approaches, as multiple players make choices for their characters and help the GM create and shape a story, together, through a collaborative effort. Better than just reading a book or watching a show alone, you get to be part of it, write part of it, and help decide what direction the story will go. You get to help or hinder yourself, as well as other characters, be they your fellow players' characters, or the GM's NPCs, it's all good, quite exciting at times, and a great hobby.

It is the GM's job to create a world in which your characters develop. He - or she - describes the world, you ask questions, he answers, you make decisions for your character based upon what your character knows, sees, believes, thinks, feels, wants, etc. The other players, sitting around the table, make decisions too - for their PCs. You usually work together to achieve some common goal or help each other out, but like life, you may hinder each other too or attempt to thwart their efforts.

But your characters may not know each other at first. They are neither you, nor your friends all sitting around a table. They are other people, so they will have to meet, talk, get to know each other, find common ground, and perhaps - hopefully - there will be some goal discovered that may take all their diverse skills and working together to achieve. If so, you will form a group, or a band, or a party of adventurers. And after that - if you survive your first quest - perhaps other causes or quests can be found, or you might all go your separate ways, too. It's up to you to decide what your character wants, whom they like, and why they do anything.

And like real life, success or failure depends on their skills. Sometimes sticking together and doing odd jobs just to hone these skills may be enough at first, but if you really get into your character, they'll probably want more than that, or more than just doing enough to pay the bills and survive another day. But until something greater comes along, or until they seek out a worthier challenge, developing one's skills and paying their bills will often suffice. Still, they don't wish to fail or die when a real challenge comes along, so they must be ready. But how does one succeed or fail in this game?

The game system answers questions like: 'How good are they with those skills, what can they do with them, and what can't they do - yet?' But most game numbers answer questions about physical skills. The essence of roleplaying is not about that, but is rather about making decisions and playing the role of your character.

Often times success or failure of proposed actions will depend on your character's skills, statistics, or abilities - all of which are represented by game numbers where each character in the system has their own set of numbers recorded on their own character sheet or record. Dice may be used help to determine random events, probabilities, and unforeseen circumstances. It isn't just saying, "I'll do this," and the GM arbitrarily deciding for you if your character can or cannot do it, but a game mechanical system is usually incorporated within the game, giving the GM and players guidelines to help determine success or failure.

And you often don't simply state things like: "My character will attempt to convince the barkeep to tell him where the dark-haired man went." Instead, you usually play the part more.

For example, "Listen, friend, this dark hair man stole my sister's wedding ring, and that's a despicable thing to do. The man has a gambling problem. Please buddy, help me find him before he pawns it off and throws it all away."

Of course, your story line will be different, and your character can say anything you wish it to say, but you usually act out what your character says - at least to some small degree. To what degree varies for each game or group of players, but soon you'll strike a comfortable balance as play progresses. If you'd prefer more or less acting, you might have to find a group of players who share your preferences in this regard, but there is no real right or wrong to the level or degree of playing the role. Usually, whatever is fun for your group is the only benchmark.

Others actually go further than trying to act the role of their character while sitting at the gaming table, sometimes going so far as trying to dress the part in costumes or act the part by animating their stance, or using props, for example. This is never necessary, of course, but those who engage in this level of acting the role are doing what is called 'Live Action Roleplaying.' The vast majority of games have none of that, and don't need it, or want it to that degree.

Usually, the majority of roleplayers just sit around the table and move their little miniature figures around, roll dice, and make decisions as the GM allows the game to unfold, but they still try to think, speak, and act like their character in many regards. That's the most important part of playing the role of the character you have created for yourself, and this is the main distinction between a roleplaying game and a board game. For example, you don't pretend to be the dog in Monopoly, and ask yourself whether or not you should, or even why you stopped at Boardwalk to stay in a hotel you could scarcely afford. So dice don't determine where you go; you do. Dice may only help determine if you can open that door or not, or succeed or fail in other countless tasks your character may attempt once they get where they are going.

Also, I will point out, the main distinction between acting and roleplaying, is that an actor, though they might improvise a bit and bring life to a character, more or less doesn't invent the character, the dialogue, or decide the direction their character is going. The author does that. In a roleplaying game, the player decides these things for their own character, and acts out the role to whatever degree the group wishes or deems necessary. Thus, a GM is like an author of a novel, but different, and a roleplayer is like an actor, but different.

Remember that it is not the GM's job to win by killing your character, and also not his job to let you win by giving you all that your character desires. He is there primarily for three things:

One, to make the world and the help develop the story.

Two, to adjudicate the system's rules, make rulings, and decide if your character can or cannot do as you request when the rules and the dice will not suffice. And

Three, to make it challenging, exciting, and potentially lethal - for your character, that is.

Your character may die, so you have to play well - usually by playing smart and being wise and cooperating with others, and not just by having lots of power by yourself.

Unlike most traditional games, there is no board, no clear winners or losers, and no set playing times. You can play this game for years, or just once. You can play a different character each time, or more typically, the same character again and again as they survive, gain in power, knowledge, and complexity, develop relationships, fall in and out of love, acquire enemies, or anything else you can imagine.

Quite often, players will have a different character for several different games, possibly even at the same time. That is, they might, for example, play one character on Tuesdays under one GM, but play an entirely different character on Sundays under a second GM, or they might even run a game and be the GM on Friday for a different group of players. It's all good. How much time one devotes to playing the game is like most hobbies - it's up to you, and often solely dependent on how much enjoyment it brings you.

Now, you can play a game with just the GM and you as the only player, but most games are best with 3 to 6 players and the GM. AD&D is especially balanced for the DM and 4 or more players so at least one may play the fighter type, one the mage type, one the cleric type, and one the rogue type, but this is not a hard and fast rule. You and your friends could play with 4 fighter types, for example, but you'd have a few problems. Yet, you may overcome them. It's all good.

Playing for 4 to 6 hours once a week - on the weekend usually - for years - two or more - is typical. You may start with high school buddies, brothers and sisters, and/or neighbors and friends, at first. Later, a new group of people may fill the bill. Perhaps vocational college or 4-year college acquaintances, then grad school buddies, then local friends who are still around, or perhaps just your coworkers. Then maybe Internet play, gaming conventions, or some local gaming club. The mind boggles.

And if you live a long life, perhaps this will fill your days while you are in a nursing home and your own body starts to fail you; roleplaying would be an ideal hobby in that setting, if you ask me, since it is a game of the mind. As long as you remain mentally sharp, this game is for you for the rest of your life. In fact, playing it may help keep you mentally sharp.

Sometimes finding players is easy. Other times, it may be nearly impossible. This may particularly be true if you are isolated or in a smaller town or rural area. You'll have to see this for yourself, but if you can't find players, this may not be for you. Then again, there's always playing on the Internet, but I would highly recommend that only after you have had some real life experience at roleplaying. Unless, of course, you have no other choice and really wish to still give this hobby a try. Then go for it.

So, though not exactly a short answer to the question "What is roleplaying?" this article still only begins to give you a glimpse of the majesty that awaits you. Quite simply, it's the best game I've ever played, or am likely to ever play. And I've been doing it for over twenty-five years now, and I'll keep doing it as long as I am able.

THE INFAMY OF AD&D

I won't sling BS at you or mince words, or try to be particularly understanding of a certain, narrow-minded cross section of people out there. But they exist and frequently feel the need to mischaracterize AD&D as demonically inspired, brain washing, cultist activity, that warps the mind and corrupts the soul with overtones of Satanic rites and genuine symbols of real devils or demons. Such people have small minds and tiny lives and no understanding of AD&D, and despite their claims, have little compunction about bearing false witness to things they haven't really tried first hand.

And no, I'm not talking about religious people in general. Being religious is fine - in fact, often a pretty good idea, and many, if not most, roleplayers are religious and they are not so daft or addlebrained as to believe what their fictional characters believe or do has any particular bearing on what they believe or do in real life, in much the same way most players of Monopoly aren't so dim as to believe the game money is real and can really be used to buy things in the real world. Thus, most roleplayers have a clear understanding and distinction between what is real and what is fantasy or make believe. Unfortunately, some people don't believe this is the case, and often erroneously assume players in roleplaying games are precariously walking a tightrope and can easily get confused. This is nonsense.

Therefore, I do not have a problem with those who are religious. It's being what I call "overly religious" that I have a problem with. Such zealots are often not happy with making choices just for themselves, so they feel compelled to make choices for you as well. If you don't know the type, consider yourself lucky. If you do know the type, then you know what I'm talking about.

Now, it is true that a very small number of psychologically unbalanced people may not be able to handle it, but that is not because AD&D warped them. Such delicate individuals had serious problems and issues to begin with, and if it wasn't AD&D, it probably would have been something else that finally cracked them. The same evil lies and 'false witness' can be said of nearly anything - even many accepted religious practices. But the vast majority of people are not so fragile and can clearly keep straight in their mind the distinction between 'make believe' and reality. If you can't, then roleplaying is probably not a wise choice for your pass-time. Therapy would be a better choice. But that's not true of 99.99+% of the rest of us, and examples of one or two nut jobs out of millions of players shouldn't ruin it for everybody.

But yes, there may be some historically accurate material in the games we play. A 'pentagram,' for example, was historically thought to hold power - sometimes for good, sometimes for evil, depending on how it was oriented and used. If you believe that, that's your call. I don't think it holds any real power and the only reason you may see it in some AD&D games is because historical information is often lifted out of the library books and placed in the game to help create a more realistic setting or lend the game a more authentic or historical feel to it. But it isn't required at all, and I've never personally met a single player who believed otherwise.

And, bowing to such foolish pressure, many companies have tried to take out this "objectionable" material. Fine. They did this and you might never even see it in newer editions, but since the game didn't need it or use it as certain people claimed, the game is still the same, and the percentage of nuts jobs finally cracking on AD&D hasn't changed, thus proving these people were wrong. But that's not important. It just interesting.

You may also notice in many stories or movies that are made for the general public - that are based on AD&D or other roleplaying games - they will skirt the issues of clerics, gods, and other religious matters. Some people are just too easily offended. But I don't mean the majority of people, even religiously inclined people, but the zealots who would no doubt raise such a stink over anything "questionable" - which is nearly anything religious yet not of their own faith - that it's often wiser just to avoid the problem in the first place and leave those aspects out of the movie or story to begin with. But the game itself usually keeps them in. Usually.

Though I must confess, I have met one or two religious zealots who seemed to go off the deep end. Destroying records and CDs that didn't even belong to them, and running around with a cross painted on their chest while condemning the infidels, was typical of this one guy's behavior, but that didn't make religion the culprit. Such people often have problems already, and they'll usually end up 'resting' somewhere safe with the men in the white coats caring for them. And they didn't even play AD&D to get that way, nor engage in the liberal use of sex, drugs, or rock and roll. Those are other things and are not necessarily part the game.

Lest you get the wrong impression, however, I'm not suggesting religion will warp you and crack your mind, either. I'm just relaying my experience in that for some people, anything can do it, even things that are supposed to be good and pure and helpful. The point is, most people don't have such problems, and certain practices - like roleplaying - are not going to give them problems they don't already have.

Sometimes the popular media will greatly exaggerate various issues, or portray roleplayers as geeky fools who actually believe they are wizards, witches, or mighty warriors in real life. I've yet to meet a single AD&D player who actually believed that, and I've met a lot of players. The vast majority of players do not have such problems, and parents who live in fear AD&D will warp their children have bought into the lie of these zealots, or taken the fictitious ramblings sometimes found in the media as gospel, or at least likely or probable occurrences. I assure you, they are not.

So AD&D is not some Satanic rite or some cult, nor a bunch of twisted individuals gathering to summon demons, exercise gothic powers, or indoctrinate and initiate the unenlightened; nor is it a call for wild orgies, a time to get high and use drugs or alcohol, or engage in base behavior of questionable morality. It's just a game. A fun game. One of the best. And the reason people play it is simply because they like having fun and socializing with their friends and coworkers, and for a brief time, living vicariously though a different set of eyes, often seeing wonders we will never behold ourselves in our real, perhaps humdrum everyday lives.

Roleplaying holds no more evil than small children playing make believe. In fact, it's surprisingly similar, though a bit more structured. And it's as enjoyable as reading a great book, but instead of spending hours alone doing that, you can spend many, many hours with your friends, sharing the experience, even helping to shape and create the experience for yourselves. This is something you can all take a great deal more pride in than you might from just reading a book.

I hope this little excursion into infamy hasn't upset you or turned you off the idea of roleplaying games, but I placed it here in this article as sometimes roleplaying games get a bad rap. If you were unaware of what really went on in a roleplaying game, or you asked the wrong sort of person, or logged onto the wrong sort of Website, you may have heard such stories. But since I'm trying to tell you how it really is, I took this opportunity to correct some of the biggest lies told about the hobby.

I wish to assure you that roleplaying games do not deserve such unwarranted infamy. But if you think they do, then please, by all means avoid them. I, for one, will not avoid one of the best games ever devised. It's simply too much fun.

Finally, in case you haven't had enough of the debate, you may find a lengthy response to a so-called Christian zealot by following the link below.

Should Christians Play D&D? (A Response To One So-Called Christian's Assertion That They Should Not.)

Happy Gaming ;-)

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