Alea Iacta Est - The Die Is Cast

These immortalized words were uttered by the legendary Julius Caesar as he crossed the river Rubicon with a roman legion, defying Rome and igniting a civil war, eventually leading him to become a key player in human history. His words have often been interpreted as an acknowledgment that he was at a point of no return, where he no longer would be able to back out of a civil war. But maybe, in another world, these words were uttered by a player who wanted to make the game master aware that he had rolled the die for his attack roll. Judging by his subsequent success, he seems to have rolled quite high...

Leaving the Romans behind, we do know that the birth of the modern roleplaying game occurred 50 years ago, in 1974, when the first edition of Dungeon and Dragons were published. Even though some aspects of roleplaying have developed quite a lot since then – which will be expanded upon below – the core of these games have narrowly evaded having to change. Rapid technological development has not been able to significantly change this. To this day, the essential tools for a roleplaying game remain: a paper, a pen, books for the game master, and some dice. One reason might be that the game only exists in the shared imagination of those playing. Thus, it is only the tip of an iceberg that is visible. Everything else is hidden beneath the surface. Compared to other cultural phenomena such as movies, books and videogames, roleplaying stands out in that it does not provide the consumer with a detailed description. Rather, it provides a rough outline which the players then collectively fill with details from their own imagination,therefore giving a greater agency to the creativity of the consumer.

It might seem very counterintuitive that a concept that has remained largely unchanged for 50 years has become a modern success story. The exposure of roleplaying in other media has been a catalyzer for this development . The most noteworthy case is the high importance of Dungeons and Dragons held in Stranger Things. Furthermore, new media possibilities thanks to modern technology have proven perfect for products based on roleplaying. Critical Role is the best example of this. Consisting of professional actors and seasoned roleplayers, they livestream their roleplaying sessions. The YouTube channel took off immediately, and is still viewed by hundreds of thousands. Their success has inspired a multitude of similar creators. Together, the increased media presence of roleplaying games has created a greater awareness and interest in roleplaying. Honor among thieves, the well-received movie based on DnD can be seen as an indicator of the new level of commercial success.

Photography by Wilma Geust

Another reason for the current success of roleplaying today, is that the risk associated with playing seems to have decreased. During the early life of roleplaying, the games had not been polished into the streamlined products of today. One key element that had not been polished away was the apparent satanism and demon-worshiping some worried citizens claim the game to be endorsing. In fact, a session of roleplaying was in many ways to be seen as a satanic ritual, where one unlucky roll of the die could lead to the summoning of a demon, not only in the game, but also in reality. By playing, you put your own morality at great risk, as the game was based on

“demonology, witchcraft, voodoo, murder, rape, blasphemy, suicide, assassination, insanity, sex perversion, homosexuality, prostitution, satanic type rituals, gambling, barbarism, cannibalism, sadism, desecration, demon summoning, necromantics, divination and other teachings”

according to Patricia Pullin, founder of the organization Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons and one of its strongest critics. The risk culminated during the 1980s and the 1990s, a period known as the satanic panic. It was characterized by growing concern that devil worshippers - such as fans of heavy metal and roleplayers - across the country were performing satanic rituals with horrific elements. Investigations during the time revealed that roleplaying games could thus be the reason for a multitude of disappearances, murders, suicides, and the decay of society. Today, the morality destroying demons seem to have evolved together with technology and migrated to video games, meaning that roleplayers no longer need to hide their dice as if it were a gun when they sneak out to play. However, there are still dangerous elements to playing that you should be aware of. In 2010, a court in the US upheld a ban of Dungeons and Dragons in a prison. This was done to maintain safety and not endanger rehabilitation of inmates, as roleplaying was said to promote gang-related activity, violence, competitive hostility, and addictive escape behaviors. You should therefore be cautious when roleplaying, and immediately take a step back if you experience an increase in violence or constant escape attempts. However, you do not need to worry about the inmates, as the Judge recommended them to instead play other games such as Risk – a game well known for creating friendships and feelings of gratitude.

Throughout this article, I have primarily used Dungeons and Dragons as an example as it is the oldest and most well-known out of all roleplaying games. However, it is not the only one. At the beginning, all games had a very narrow focus on slaughtering evil creatures in a setting relatively similar to the Lord of the Rings. Usually these games were based on a point system requiring a mind on the level of Håkan Lyckeborg’s, in order to calculate how much damage a simple attack dealt. These games were often highly deadly (for the characters, the players are emphasis on the story of of new, more only gambling their mortal souls of course) and did not put much the game. Today, the commercial success has led to a multitude accessible roleplaying systems being published. Therefore, you should not think that roleplaying is not for you just because you do not like fantasy or slaughtering orcs. There are games based on fantasy, sci-fi, almost all successful movies or tv-series, or just our ordinary world. Some of these games rely heavily on battle, but there are also games where you never even mention a weapon.

Photography by Wilma Geust

Furthermore, how these games are played varies greatly between groups – as so much of the game is playing in the realm of imagination, there is a lot of room to form the game according to your wishes. Different groups thus play differently. Some dress up as their characters and put on amazing theatrical performances when speaking as their characters. Others just want to roll some dice and see what happens. Some are super serious; others just want to fool around with friends. Some play as heroes; others as villains. It is important to note that even though the theatrical approach dominates in media portrayals, it is by no means a necessary or mandatory part. There are even games such as Alice is missing, where you must remain silent throughout the entire game. The high flexibility of roleplaying games also means that they can be used to explore things you otherwise would not be able to. This could be the world of your favorite tv-series, a specific time era or a particular kind of situation or dilemma. But it could also be more personal issues related to exploring your identity, either through playing with an emphasis on something you think might be a part of your identity, or by playing as something very different compared to you. Clearly the world of roleplaying has something for everyone. So, what are you waiting for, adventurer?

Fact box - roleplaying for new adventures

Have you never really understood what roleplaying games are? Consider yourself lucky, because here is a very brief explanation! They are usually played by a group of friends. Everyone except for one controls their own player character, who they design themselves. Each character has a set of stats and skills that develop during the game. Performing something with your character usually involves the rolling of dice, to check how well you succeed (or, way too often, how badly you fail). Usually, the characters strive to complete some sort of quest that might be a part of a campaign that goes on for (real life) years. The one who does not control their own character is the dungeon master - the god of the game. With the help of formal rulebooks they rule the game and play all non player characters. Furthermore they control the narrative of the campaign, often with the help of published campaigns. However, roleplaying is not strictly bound to published rules or campaigns - what actually happens is up to the players and the dungeon master.