This is a blog about tabletop games, especially role-playing games. I frequently ponder what role my games play in the wider scope of real life. The following thought stream may be of interest, or not, but writing often helps me clarify my many thoughts.
We are all special, unique human beings AND we are all normal, regular people who are capable of doing amazing things.
Stories shape our reality. We imagine what can happen which can give us insight into how to accomplish or how to avoid certain outcomes.
The so-called modern fantasy game seems to focus on telling stories about super-powered characters who exercise abilities well beyond the normal. A side effect of this is that the stories, the characters in the stories, are significantly detached from our selves and from reality.
The game I prefer involves characters who seem more normal, more relatable to ourselves, but who can accomplish fantastic feats of heroism often while aided by magic in the form of spells and items, but ultimately it is force of will, determination and a good bit of luck (in the form of the dice) that also play a significant role in the outcome. The stories that develop from such play can inspire and motivate our real life actions because we can see ourselves in our more normal and believable characters. Drive, determination, willpower, clever tactics and knowledge are all things that we ourselves can achieve and use to shape our real world, solving problems and accomplishing great deeds. We can perhaps see ourselves in some aspect of our game characters and becomes inspired. This is the power of role-play and the power of story, and why I favor a more realistic level of character in my games.
