For kids of today who are weaned on video games or hand-held games, understanding non-electronic RPGs could be a little difficult. So, for them, here is my brief guide or tutorial to RPGs.

Basic Concept Of RPGs

As the name itself suggests, in RPGs, every player takes on the role of a character while one player becomes the guide or game master. Each player’s character is fleshed out by having his own set of qualities and special abilities.

The player characters form a team and go about looking to accomplish missions as part of which they come across various challenges and threats and have to combat them. The description of the landscape, the challenges, the non-player characters and the results of these interactions is revealed by the game master as per the rules of the game.

Players gain abilities or suffer damage due to experiences and both changes and their extent is revealed by the game master as well.

Rule Books

The mechanics of the game, that is, how everything works from the powers and abilities of the players, results of different interactions, progress made from different tricks, etc. is derived from the rule books which form the core of the game. It is these rule books that both players and game master have to refer to. The players have character sheets that inform them about the traits of their character while the game master carries the rule books.

Tools

The basic tools for the game include pen and paper for both the guide and players to note the progress, dices made specifically for these games, by rolling which the game moves forward, a basic game mat for diorama and miniature figures.

You can also have other things like tokens or images but they are not essential.

That’s all you need to know before diving into these games. So, don’t wait and get started.