Around the Table: An Introduction
“As you step out of Irongut Tavern (the local pub) into the dingy streets of Corvoss (a small fishing town nestled between Lake Ashyl and the forested slopes of Mount Stag), you are alarmed by the cries of townsfolk fleeing a small band of goblins and kobolds led by a towering, dark green hobgoblin with a scar running down the right side of his face from his eyebrow to jawline. What do you do?”
This may be gibberish to some but to others this is an opening line for a scene during a night of tabletop gaming.
Because of my passion for tabletop gaming and how much I enjoy talking about it, I wanted to start a blog series introducing this hobby to you. My goal (and hope) is to demystify tabletop games and spark an interest in all of you to learn more about gaming. It really is a great way to spend an evening with friends over food, drink, and of course, games.
Quick RPG Overview
So, for this introduction, I want to give you all a general overview of tabletop games, specifically roleplaying games (RPGs). An RPG is typically any game in which you make or play a character or role. A lot of video games on the market today fall into the genre of RPGs, though my focus here is on tabletop roleplaying games.
A tabletop RPG is any game in which you and your friends get together (typically at a table) and play as characters through some encompassing storyline. The table is really a central part of the game as the table continues to hold its place as the community gathering place in the home. You and your friends engage each other through storytelling, excited yelling, and rolling dice hoping to achieve a mutual goal you and all your friends share. In my example above, you and your friends may want to save the townsfolk from the enemies.
So, who writes the story? Who is the storyteller? The answer: YOU! That is the best part of the game. You and your friends come together to write and create and dream up a world entirely your own and experience the creativity and fun that community brings. The options are limitless. Your imaginations can run wild.
That brings us to the question, “how does this actually work?” “How do we manage these crazy ideas all my friends come up with?” The short answer, rules. The rule system helps govern the flow of the game and gives everyone at the table a base to start creating and interacting with this imaginative world. I will cover some of the different rule systems available in future posts.
Thank you all for reading this introduction and I hope you have enjoyed it so far. Join me next time to learn more about community, friendship, food, drinks, and of course gaming around the TableTop!
-Brady
*Post originally posted on my other site, carliejdesign.com, but I am now separating my business site from the blog site, therefore I am moving the posts here. Aug 16, 2017*
