Pen and paper role-playing game

A role-playing game, often abbreviated to "RPG" and sometimes called a pen and paper or tabletop RPG to differentiate it from other styles of role-playing game, is a form of interactive storytelling game where the players each control a created "player character" (PC). Usually, the players are not in complete control of events, but must react to situations described by a referee, or "game master" (GM).

An analogy would be that role-playing games are "playing pretend". But whereas every child has played such games as "cops and robbers" or "cowboys and indians", the pre-defined cause-and-effect rules of RPGs provide a coherent set of conditions which will determine the characters' success or failure. For example, a child playing "cops and robbers" may argue back and forth with his friends about whether he has "killed" one of the other players - a player in a role-playing game knows that if she rolls a certain number or better on a dice roll, then her character will successfully strike her target.

The vast majority of role-playing games take place in fictional settings. The fantasy genre is the most popular, but almost every fictional genre is catered for by games publishers, including science fiction, horror, superhero, crime and mystery, conspiracy, and "real world" adventure. The fictional world the players' characters adventure in may be based on a published work or may be created from scatch by the game master.

Ultimately, the goal of RPGs is for the players to have fun, often emphasized by a "golden rule" displayed prominently in the beginning of the main rulebook. The secondary goals of a game are either to accomplish some goal of the player characters (PC) within the story world, or to "win" the game by either constantly improving a PC's stats and equipment, eliminating all opposition, or merely surviving. All of this is mediated by a "game master" (GM). In most RPGs, co-operative play is emphasised - the players (and their characters) must work as a team to accomplish their goals.

Basic RPG terminology

• The game master (GM) fulfills several roles in a game. He is the referee where rules are concerned, but a more important function is to involve the players in the game by describing what their characters can see, hear and experience. He must also play the role of every other character in the game world, other than the players' characters, and must ensure that everything reacts appropriately to the PCs' actions.

• A player character (PC), is a character controlled by, but different from, a player in the game. Depending on the game and the genre it is set in, a PC may be a valiant knight, evil vampire, or a bold explorer. While the player may describe the actions his character is taking, the "role-playing" aspect is expressed when the character speaks - a player is generally expected to speak in the first person as if they were the character they are playing.

• Conversely, a non-player character (NPC) is a character controlled by the GM. Players and GM don't usually control characters outside of their own.

Origin

The first modern role-playing game is Dungeons and Dragons, which was created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in the early 1970s. The concept for the game arose after Gygax, Arneson and their friends had been playing miniature wargames for some time, using a fantasy setting. They developed rules allowing for combat between figures representing individual heroes, rather than units. Over time, their play came more and more to focus on the individual level, which led to them developing adventures where these adventurers would take on fantasy monsters such as orcs and dragons.

Rules

Characters

A PC's stats determine what he or she can do according to the rules. Stats are generally sectioned into primary stats, secondary stats, and special abilities. Secondary stats deal with specifics (e.g., skills) and are based on primary stats (e.g., intelligence). Both primary and secondary stats can be modified by advantages and disadvantages applying to specific situations, such as being more (or less) apt with social skills. Special abilities can be thought of as superpowers; they're character-defining abilities that are neither constant enough among character types to be primary stats, nor specific enough to be considered secondary. Special abilities can modify and be modified by primary and secondary stats, however. Specific kinds of magic, advanced technology, or superpowers are the most iconic kinds of special abilities. (in progress...)