"We're going to pilot a submarine into Cthulhu's Face" - A Friend

There is no small amount of wonder that comes from roleplaying games. The ideas, the dreams, and the hopes inspired by a session of Dungeons and Dragons allow people around the world to believe that someday we will be able to live lives as exciting as the stories that roleplaying games tell.

It’s a shame, though, because a lot of misinformation was spread during the 1980s to discourage people from playing the games; that they were an offense against religious institutions, that they were a waste of time and resources, and that they were a way to cloud younger peoples' judgment and would lead them to the occult.

As an avid fan and advocate of roleplaying games, it seems only fair that I provide a breakdown of the storied history of roleplaying games, and why they have a place in the modern world.

Meet the Parents

If anyone wanted to learn how to participate in a roleplaying game, all they would need is an afternoon or two and some patience. But in order to fully appreciate the complexity that comes with roleplaying games, you need to understand the history and evolution of the genre.

Because while chess is incredibly complex and engaging, the first game that involves any amount of imagination was Kriegsspiel, otherwise known as the War Game. The goal was to represent units with little figurines and figure out what they could and could not do. While it was originally created to train officers of German and Prussian armies, it eventually lead to the creation of Wargaming, or Conflict Simulation.

Wargaming was more similar to modern roleplaying games in that Wargaming wasn’t (for the most part, I hope) used to predict real world war outcomes, but rather to engage in the question of “what if?” What if the Carthaginians had destroyed the Roman Republic? What if China had industrialized before Japan? The fictional positioning and situations allowed for imaginative solutions, and some of the first formalized rules were H.G. Wells' Little Wars published in 1913, a century after the earliest records of Kriegsspiel.

But still, Wargaming lacked the ability to appeal to wide audiences. After all, as exciting as playing the battle of Waterloo is, it lacks a certain appeal after the 500th time. Fans who grew disinterested in Wargaming eventually found an offshoot known as Miniature Wargaming (also known as tabletop games, tabletop wargaming, or simply Wargaming).

Even more interesting is a split that was created within Miniature Wargaming. Eventually, due to the outrageous costs of buying tens of hundreds of miniatures, rules were eventually released which allowed players to portray a unit’s worth of troops in one model figurine. Around the same time, J.R.R. Tolkien was raising interest in the fantasy setting.

These divides would eventually give rise to a system which would forever shape the social interactions of geeks and nerds everywhere: Chainmail.

Chain-what?

For those not in the know, Chainmail is a type of armor worn by knights during the early medieval period. Chainmail is also the first roleplaying game system that allowed magic and monsters to populate the battlefield, not just Romans and Union Soldiers.

To many, this might not seem like a big deal. After all, the line between fantasy warfare and real warfare might seem insignificant. But remember that the birth of Wargaming was realistic combat simulation, and that they strove to be as accurate as possible (for a bunch of wooden blocks being pushed around a grid).

In 1974, Gary Gygax was encouraged by Chainmail’s limited success and published the first print copy of Dungeons and Dragons.

And This Means…?

Well, Dungeons and Dragons didn’t do super well, sold less than 50,000 copies, and died quietly but nobly.

Except it didn't.

Gary Gygax himself assumed that the only people who would buy model airplanes and sat around testing calculators would buy his ruleset. But to everyone’s surprise, Dungeons and Dragons took off. In its wake, there were new systems coming into existence, from Traveller, the first science fiction roleplaying game system, to Vampire Masquerade, with its grittier, more visceral atmosphere.

And with the birth of roleplaying games came a release for active imaginations of all ages.

People could easily escape the tedium of their normal lives and enjoy stories of their own creation for a while. They could be dashing adventurers or dastardly villains, heroic warriors or heinous spellcasters. It was a way to create a story that mattered (if only to themselves).

Yet there were some who believed that roleplaying games were not a cathartic release but rather a negative influence on the conscious mind. These individuals would become more vocal as roleplaying games increased in popularity.

“Those are the RPGer’s”

If you watched Dark Dungeons, a film endorsed by Jack Chick who wrote an anti-roleplaying game comic series of the exact same title, then first of all allow me to say, I am so sorry for the time you wasted.

For those lucky enough to never have even heard of it, allow me to summarize. Two college girls get seduced by the “dark powers” of roleplaying games, the crazy partying that RPGer’s get down to, and eventually are used to summon some ancient horror.

If you think this sounds like a lot of laughs, let me save you some time. It’s not. The film has received acclaim for being a piece that satirizes the original comic by Jack Chick. Ignoring the fact that I absolutely despise the film and the original comic, there is a particular reason why I bring it up (other than to publicly express my distaste).

There were legitimately people in the 1980s who believed that not only did Dungeons and Dragons lead to interest in the occult, but also that it would jeopardize the participant’s souls. And while I have strong feelings about this belief, I cannot countermand other’s religious beliefs, and so I will make no additional commentary there.

But much like the anti-videogame lobby, there were parents who often blamed communication problems, mental health conditions, and disobedience in their children on roleplaying games. An independent study on publicity for Dungeons and Dragons found that there were 111 articles released, 80 of which were negative publicity.

But Why Does It Matter?

While we can just ignore this criticism, to me, it’s symptomatic of a much greater problem. Roleplaying games allow people to engage in creative problem solving, enjoy each other’s company (in person even), and also just have some way to unwind. It can also be nerve-wracking, with tense action moments followed by emotional development and growth.

The genre is not limited to shooting things and being violent (stabbing things and being violent?). It allows people to ask, “What if?” and be able to actually get an answer.

Heck, in Call of Cthulhu, a game about HP Lovecraft's adorable Elder God, Cthulhu, a friend of mine asked me if there were any weaknesses. I said no, of course, because that’s the point. You don’t defeat the Elder God’s in direct combat.

My friend then spent hours arguing with me, trying to combine real world physics with a system that allows people to summon mead from space.

Those moments are precious, but they are also important because in today’s social climate, we are not only told how to think but also that attempting to create original thought is frankly inefficient.

So how will they defeat Cthulhu? Or convince a dragon to part with an impressive artifact that is necessary to save your village?

To some, this might sound super boring or like a waste of time. But to some people? It’s a life worth playing out.