What
is an RPG?
The
roleplaying hobby began in the early 1970s, and grew out
of miniature wargaming. Some players became bored with just
sending historical armies up against each other's forces;
they had a desire to mix it up with a more fantastical flare.
They incorporated elves, wizards and orcs, as well as other
races. Fantasy gaming was born. From there, the boundaries
were extended even farther; by playing individual heroes
rather than whole armies. Wargaming turned into roleplaying,
where players not only fought enemies, but acted out the
roles of their created characters, creating dialogue for
them and detailed histories that inlcuded the character's
birthplace, their upbringing and goals.
Players
soon collaborated in the creation of whole worlds and environments
for their characters to adventure in. These worlds were
usually inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert
E. Howard. Roleplaying game publishers provided pre-made
worlds for gamers to use, and new supplements for the most
popular of those worlds were eagerly awaited by avid gamers.
Eventually, gamers began experimenting with new genres,
such as science fiction, post-apocalyptic socities, superheroes,
horror and even Westerns.
The
hobby has grown over the years to encompass a wide variety
of gaming methods, from hack-and-slash combat with detailed
rules for combat resolution, to intensive storytelling with
much broader rules designed to help move a story forward
rather than slow it down with dice rolling.
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