As long as I can remember I have always been enamored with storytelling.  I can still remember the first “book” I ever wrote.  It was nothing more than a collection of pages I had stapled together, detailing the adventures of Alf the detective (yes, like the T.V. alien) in a story that could only have been pieced together with 1st grade logic (equal parts magic lasers and I’m pretty sure Santa was thrown in there somewhere).  It was only ten or so pages, extra wide ruled, but I was still immensely proud when I finished it.  I think it was that sense of pride that I felt, paired with a deep sense of connection I often felt by participating in something truly universal, that pushed my love of stories into a full blown addiction.  It permeated everything I came to love. I would take writing, speech and debate classes wherever I could fit in the extra electives, I grew to have a healthy love of theater, and the cinema, and I could not stop consuming books. I blame this on my persistently terrible sleep habits; even as early as 4th grade I would often find myself up until the early hours of the morning, nose deep in whatever adventure I could dig out of the many bookshelves my parents kept in the basement.  It was this love of stories that lead me to one of my favorite and yet most misunderstood hobbies, gaming.

For those wondering what various casino and pool-hall games has to do with a love of storytelling, there is something I would like to get out in the open before you continue reading anything else I write, ever.  I am a huge nerd.  I mean colossal.  When I talk about gaming I don’t mean it in the classic sense as in gambling, nor do I mean it in the more mainstream sense as with video games (though I do love me some video games).  No I mean the most nefarious of nerdy hobbies, table-top role playing games.  This is one of my favorite things in the world and it is something that, even as accepted as geek culture has become, will likely never be cool and has earned me my fair share of raised eyebrows and ridicule from muggles (that’s non-magic folk).  If you who don’t already know what this is, imagine a group of you and your friends all gathered together to play any number of varying board games, now take away the board, add math, and write in the characters yourself.  Are you chomping at the bit yet?  No?  Complex algorithms and statistics governing what is essentially an adult game of make-believe, doesn’t get your blood pumping?  Well it should, especially if, like myself, you are an aspiring writer.  When it boils down to it RPGs are nothing more than interactive story telling.  Forget the dragons, the math, the hit points, and the hours of character creation.  I’ve played games where no one so much as lifted a pencil or threw a single die, and these were some of my favorite sessions. Because it was all about the story, and I was helping to write it.

I would recommend tabletop RPGs to any author who would like to hone their story telling skills.  “Any authors?”  You almost certainly asked in a way that was not at all forced by my narrative. Yes, any authors.  There are certain things in terms of story and character development that you won’t find in another environment.  From the perspective of the storyteller (often referred to as the game master) It gets you into the habit of setting up a flexible framework for a story, while at the same time having to adapt quickly to changing circumstances that are caused by the player characters running around in your world.  This can lend some new perspective in developing story lines, consider options you may not have otherwise, and help you to keep your plots more fluid and unpredictable.  It can also teach a valuable lesson about being too rigid, and what can happen when you force a player, or reader, along too narrow a path.  From the perspective of a player character, you have an opportunity to really test out a character concept by placing them in varying situations with causes and consequences that might  have never come up or been explored had the character stayed in a vacuum.  Additionally, you have the opportunity to see how a character interacts with others, and vice versa, with the only character influenced by your own personality being the one you created. I have found this to be invaluable when trying to create more realistic supporting characters from another point of view, rather than just having a bunch of facets of my own personality roaming about and interacting with an Idealized and stereotyped version of a protagonist.

“But D.A.” you have almost certainly interjected at this point, “I’m not a fantasy writer.  Perhaps these situations and plot devices won’t affect my characters.  Perhaps I wouldn’t find the stories interesting or engaging, or perhaps the existence of magic would take me too far out of the story because I bludgeoned my inner child to death with the rock of skepticism long ago.”  To that I would say “Damn, that was some dark imagery you laid out.  Is there something you would like to talk about?” after which I would also say fair point.  Certainly the most common image when talking about role playing games is a bunch of nerds all dressed up as knights and wizards gathered around a table playing Dungeons and Dragons.  I’m not going to say that isn’t the case. Partly because every time I try to explain that “We don’t actually dress up,” my wife will come out of the wood work wearing her wizard costume, and partly because I refuse to keep being ashamed of my totally bitchin’ chain mail shirt I have hanging in the closet.  Mostly though, it’s because D&D has been and remains one of the most popular role playing games out there. However, like any other book, RPGs don’t exist in only one genre.  Sci-fi more your speed? Try out a character in any popular universe, from Star Trek to Doctor Who.  Prefer a little cyber punk or steam punk dystopia with your futuristic or alt history setting?  Try some Deadlands or Shadowrun. Prefer your stories dark and gritty, perhaps with malevolent forces, politics, and varying factions vying for power?  World of Darkness might be a nice fit for you.  If you don’t know where you want to take a game, or would like to try different settings in the same system (for reasons of cost and sanity) GURPS is the Swiss Army Knife of role playing systems.  “But, what if I prefer to write romance novels?” you ask.  Well I know for a fact that you already know how to make anything dirty, and that’s why I love you.

Thanks for reading,

-D.A. Scott