I present to you a transcript of what generally happens when I play a tabletop RPG and Mr. J is the DM…
Mr. J: Okay, so Regina’s walking in the woods. What is she doing?
Me: What kind of trees are there?
Mr. J: They’re trees.
Me: <Knows I’m not going to get a deeper explanation> is it hot or cold?
Mr. J: <Rolls dice> cold.
Me: But it’s summer, isn’t it?
Mr. J: Yes.
Me: Is it cold because that’s what the dice said or is it cold because something’s making it cold?
Mr. J: Roll to check.
Me: Intuition Check! <rolls dice> Two!
Mr. J: You have no fucking clue.
Me: Can I make an Observation Check?
Mr. J: That’s not going to help you.
Me: Why?
Mr. J: Because you’re more concerned about how cold it is than where [insert character in peril] is.
Me: Oh! Where is [character name]?
Mr. J: Make a fucking roll, Jessa!
End transcript.
What we know: 1) There’s someone in trouble. 2) It’s Regina’s job to help them.
In the game, Mr. J didn’t want me to focus on the setting, he wanted me to get on with the objective of the game. But in a book the setting can effect how Regina approaches solving the problem.
Read Part 1 of Turning an RPG Campaign into a Book Series HERE.
*
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
