My History with Roleplaying Games
Before we start examining this issue in depth, let's make sure we know what we're talking about. A roleplaying game is one in which players play a role. Most people are familiar with Dungeons and Dragons , but that's only one of many. In D&D , players take on the role of an adventurer. A warrior, a wizard, an assassin, a sneaky rogue, a priest of some fantasy religion endowed with mystical gifts of their god... these are just a few of the roles that can be played in D&D . These 'characters' encounter monsters or other enemies, whom they must defeat in combat, and are often rewarded with whatever treasure the monster was guarding. There are other types of adventures, and other types of encounters, but the trope of 'kick in the door, kill the monster, take their stuff' exists for a reason. Many roleplaying games (or RPGs for short) follow a similar format: a GM (game master) or DM (dungeon master) describes what the other players see, the players descr...