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What We Learn From Roleplaying Games

Some people sit around a table. A few hours ago, someone might have eaten dinner there,
but now it’s something quite different. The table has been transformed into the birthplace
of an entirely different world. It may just look like a table covered in stacks of rulebooks,
strangely shaped dice, graph paper, and maybe miniature figurines of orcs and sorcerers,
but it is far more than that. This is where the magic happens. This is where those people
come together to create a shared story of adventure, excitement, and wonder. And they get
to eat junk food and make jokes while they do it. Roleplaying games, or rpgs, are something
really special. They’re special in the kind of imaginative escape they offer, and special in the
kinds of skills playing them can teach us. There are many different games, covering different
genres and offering different approaches, but those are just details. Let’s look at the very
essence of the whole activity, and see why it’s so vital, and what we—both kids and adults—
can learn from it. Roleplaying games are a group activity. You do it with your friends, face to
face. You talk, you ask questions, you reason… sometimes you argue. Many credit the hobby
with providing them with their closest friendships. One of my favorite pieces of “fan-mail,”
hanging in my office for years, came from a guy who described himself as a friendless loner
who came out of his shell and found a group of close friends thanks to D&D. The social
aspect of rpgs literally changed his life. For the better. While all kinds of games and hobbies
have their place-- the strength of roleplaying games is that unlike computer games, even
multiplayer games, is that they are a social pastime. Even activities like reading or watching
movies aren’t as interactive and communal as rpgs, which encourage players not only to be
imaginative, but to share their imaginations with each other. (To be clear, I’m not interested
in putting down anyone’s hobbies. I love reading, movies, and in fact, computer games. But
I love rpgs as well, and I love them for the different experiences they offer.)

One of the first things you hear from a new player regarding an rpg is “there’s no board.”
They’re used to Scrabble or Risk, but a game played mainly in one’s imagination-- that’s a
more difficult concept to swallow. Some, however, point out that while there’s no board,
there certainly are a lot of books. A game of books and charts. Sometimes you wonder how
the hobby ever caught on at all. Yet I’ve heard from mothers who exclaim that they couldn’t
get their kids to sit down and read even the simplest books, but after starting to play rpgs,
those same kids spend hours pouring over big thick books filled with difficult concepts,
challenging vocabulary ,and extensive math.

Playing an rpg is not a passive experience. It’s participatory. Everyone around the table needs
to join in on the shared creative enterprise. Roleplaying games challenge our imaginations,
and compel us to envision places beyond those we are familiar with. Moreover, they ask us
to put ourselves into the role of another, and make decisions regarding what this imaginary
person does. It teaches us to see things from the perspective beyond our own. That kind of
skill allows people to understand why other people do what they do. This is a life skill that

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 serves us all every day. We see all too little of it in the real world, to be sure. Of course,
there are those who don’t trust rpgs because they seem pretty weird. And they have got
some pretty bad press in the past. Perhaps the most prevalent idea was that the games
weaken our ability to see the difference between fantasy and reality. But my experience is
exactly the opposite. Roleplayers, it’s always seemed to me, have a better grasp of what’s
real and what isn’t than many people. It’s absurd to think that because a player slays a
dragon in an rpg that he will then consider using a sword to solve his problems in real life.
Do kids watching the Wizard of Oz really believe that a pair of red shoes can transport them
home? Do those playing Angry Birds go on to believe that they should fling birds at pigs? It’s
pretty insulting, really, to suggest that anyone could believe something so ridiculous simply
because of a game.

I believe the real problem that most people have with roleplaying games is that they don’t
understand them. I get asked a lot, “how do I show my parents that rpgs aren’t going to warp
my mind?” My answer is always the same. Just invite them to watch a game session, even
for 20 minutes. They’ll see that it’s not a weird, mind-altering experience, but instead just a
bunch of folks eating Cheetos, making silly jokes, rolling dice, and using their imaginations.
Compared to what a group of teenagers could be doing in the basement, it’s charmingly
innocent, silly, and fun.

In fact, what those observing a game might actually see is people learning problem solving
skills. Because what is a roleplaying game other than a series of problems that you have to
solve using your own creativity and imagination? The Game Master asks the players time
and again, “what do you do?” To succeed in the game, you have to come up with good
answers to that question. Fearlessly approaching a problem, knowing that if you understand
the whole situation you might just be able to think your way to a solution-- that’s the kind
of mindset we could all use, even if it’s to solve an everyday hassle, and not to stop a mind
flayer from eating your brain. That’s another life skill that will prove invaluable in a variety
of situations. Roleplaying games offer a unique opportunity for all concerned that simply
can’t be replaced by other pastimes. Introducing kids to them early—or even the general
concepts behind them—is a fantastic thing to do. Through the ABCs of RPGs, you open up
a whole new world of exciting exploits and imaginative journeys for children, so that they
can be ready when the call to adventure comes. Personally, I started playing rpgs very early
on, and I know that regardless of where my real life takes me, I’ll be a roleplaying gamer for
life. In fact, I may just start the first roleplaying game retirement home one day, where my
friends and I can roll dice and fight orcs in a twilight years. I can think of no better way to fill
that time than with excitement, imagination, and Star Wars references.

Monte Cook

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 Color your own Dragon Mask! Have a
grown-up help you cut it out first!

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 Frost giants can’t get very far
without legs. Draw some for him!

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 These kobolds seem pretty happy...

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 Why do you think it is? Maybe
draw them some fancy hats or
what they are thinking of!

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 Help the adventurers
navigate the dungeon!

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 Help the Rogue disarm the trap!
Find the matching symbol on the
other page.

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 You can’t be a great knight without a
coat of arms

What is in your coat of arms?

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 The Liche’s lifeforce is hidden
inside a unsuspecting Object,
...what is it?

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 Draw the Dragon’s
Breath Weapon!

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 Something has grossed out
the Neo-Otyugh, what is it?

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 Connect the dots to finish
the picture of Vex and Vax!

©2016 Critical Role

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 Draw the Tattoos on
Grog the Barbarian!

©2016 Critical Role

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 Percy needs help matching the baby
animals to their names, can you help him?

©2016 Critical Role

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 Paper Doll

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 Paper Doll

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 Make your own Uber-Hulking Monster.
Assemble your giant using materials
from home!

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