It's a Game

It isn't Real!

It is nothing more than imaginary fiction! 

None of it exists anywhere except in our mind's eye. 

It is all just "make-believe".

So why do people get so wrapped up in a game based on imaginary beings in a make-believe world? The hobby has been in existence since 1974 when the first brown or wood-grain boxes containing the original print run of the three little brown books was published. There are many reasons I continue to reference the slightly later print run that came in a white box and was the beginning of my involvement in our hobby. Chief among those reasons is the clarity - yes, clarity - with which those original three books outlined the intent of the game. 

It all starts with a setting, perhaps a so-called "dungeon"- Volume I of the Original Edition of the World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game describes the beginning:

PREPARATION FOR THE CAMPAIGN:

The referee bears the entire burden here, but if care and thought are used, the

reward will more than repay him. First, the referee must draw out a minimum of

half a dozen maps of the levels of his “underworld,” people them with monsters of

various horrid aspect, distribute treasures accordingly, and note the location of the

latter two on keys, each corresponding to the appropriate level. This operation will

be more fully described in the third book of these rules.

Volume III elaborates on the process of designing the underground or "dungeon:

THE UNDERWORLD

Before it is possible to conduct a campaign of adventures in the mazey dungeons, it

is necessary for the referee to sit down with pencil in hand and draw these labyrinths

on graph paper. Unquestionably this will require a great deal of time and effort and

imagination.

If adventure outside the dungeon is desired, the referee is required to once again put pencil to paper as Volume III describes designing the wilderness:

THE WILDERNESS:

The so-called Wilderness really consists of unexplored land, cities and castles, not

to mention the area immediately surrounding the castle (ruined or otherwise) which

housed the dungeons. The referee must do several things in order to conduct wilderness

adventure games. First, he must have a ground level map of his dungeons,

a map of the terrain immediately surrounding this, and finally a map of the town

or village closest to the dungeons (where adventurers will be most likely to base

themselves).

The referee - that person who conceives of the campaign and brings the other players together, assists the players with character creation and with navigating the rules under which playing the game will proceed -  it is this person who bears much of the initial creative burden. The reward of course is to witness as the players bring this imaginary world "to life" through play. It is a cooperative effort aimed at creating a fun experience for everyone. (It is important to keep this in mind!)

The maps, once created, give form to the setting, but what is a world without inhabitants. The referee must "populate" the setting with various creatures, both benign and malevolent, who will both assist and seek to hinder the players through interacting with their characters during play. The non-player characters bring life to the fictional world, giving it personality and making it seem "real" in a sense. Other creatures are likely to play the role of "monsters" serving only to threaten the player's characters with harm and in their defeat bolster the heroic reputation of the player characters.

Forty-six years later the hobby is amidst a rebirth of sorts. Many of the concepts of role-playing have entered media and formats other than tabletop gaming. The popularity of this "make-believe" activity suggests that it serves to satisfy some desire in our being. The activities of role-playing at the table, online and with various video platforms appeals to a large and growing audience. Arguments about how best to play the game also exist - they have from the beginning. Let us not forget that it is all just a game of make-believe.