The above story excerpt is closely based on one created by a group of Dungeons & Dragons players during a recent session at Brigandry Games , a game store in Greenville that specializes in tabletop roleplaying games ( or RPGs ).
Combining elements of gaming , storytelling and improvisational theatre , tabletop RPGs have long been offering fans of fantasy , science fiction and horror a way to enjoy those genres on a whole different level .
Since the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons ( or D & D ) came out in 1974 , that and several other games have allowed players to create virtually any kind of character imaginable and portray them in an interactive story .
Presiding over tabletop RPG sessions is often a “ game master ” or “ dungeon master ” ( GM or DM ), who acts as head writer / narrator , and also role plays all of the antagonists and non-player characters ( NPCs ) to flesh out the world that the other players are navigating with the characters they ’ ve created . Oftentimes , GMs will write their “ choose your own adventure ” style stories in such a way that each gaming session can feel like a selfcontained story , but those individual sessions will often tie in together into an ongoing saga , or “ campaign .”
“ I ’ ve been playing D & D for about three or four years now ,” said Stephen Nevarez , who DMs for the group that played through the encounter described in the prologue . “ This campaign and the individual sessions within it are all original .
“ It ’ s always fun seeing what the players come up with for their characters ,” Nevarez added . “ We once had someone make a barbarian , but his intelligence stats were high for a barbarian , so he was an intellectual barbarian who loved books and learning , which was funny to role play .”
While the vast number of rulebooks , dice , maps , figurines and other tabletop RPG products seen on shelves at game shops , hobby shops and bookstores can seem overwhelming to the initiated , the social nature of the
24 Greenville Life WINTER 2022