Whether you’re a brand new or super experienced in tabletop role-playing games, we’ve all run into the challenge of how to describe to others what playing stories is really like.
Today’s #newbieTuesday post aims to empower folks of all experience levels with the tools to break through the barrier of understanding when you’re trying to describe what it is we do when we play stories at the table. And then, hopefully, just about anyone you’re talking to will have that “ah ha, that’s really cool” moment and maybe even join-in on the next session.
It’s All About Choices
At its core, playing stories boils down to a group of people making choices as characters in a story that grows and evolves. Rolling dice helps dictate the results of those choices, and, with the story facilitator/game master’s creativity and input, the story progresses and moves along.
So instead of experiencing stories by ourselves, we live the twists, turns, and big reveals together. But the main difference is that we are the characters in the story…we are an intimate part of how the story grows and evolves. Like in any great story, we make choices, those choices have consequences, and the results of our actions bloom before our eyes.
The Jimmy V Great Day
If once you’ve been able to express what playing stories is like and you feel that the other person perhaps for the first time gets what tabletop role-playing games are, the next logical question that usually comes up is “so what? why play?”
Coach Jimmy V once famously said that you needed three things in order to have a great day: you need to laugh, you need to think, and you need to be moved to tears; if you do those three things you’re going to have a great day.
Playing and experiencing a story as a group not only checks the boxes for a great day, but creates a sense of belonging, of bonding, and of community. Like any great story, it can change your perspective on life, broaden your horizons, bring wisdom and maturity, and help reinforce life lessons.
Getting Started
And if they’re able to understand what playing stories is like and why it’s so fun and they want to get started, StoryTogether’s StoryNite system is the perfect launching pad for getting started in tabletop.
StoryNite is a framework for anyone, anywhere, regardless of experience level, to play just about any type of story. From epic high fantasy adventures to heartbreaking romantic journeys to small town horror tales or even Through the Looking Glass Sci-Fi like StoryTogether’s One Giant Leap…StoryNite rolls out the red carpet for just about anyone to experience the beauty, positivity, bonding, the laughter, the tears, the jaw-dropping moments of playing amazing, rich, and inspiring stories together.
Just head over to StoryTogether.com where it’s all right at your fingertips. Sign up for email and you’ll never miss a beat!
