Many parents ask this question, usually seeking answers from their
church, their childrens' schools, and other similar sources instead of going to the horse's mouth.
As a result, they are often fed highly exaggerated, alarmist tales of the "evils" of gaming,
with no solid body of evidence to support them. I'm not a parent & so I don't pretend to be as
informed regarding the issues of raising children as one who has already done so; however, I am
a gamer with over 20 years' experience, and I'd say that qualifies me to speak on behalf of gaming
more than any well-intentioned fire & brimstone preacher who's never even read the books. That
having been said, let's move on...
When you were little, did you ever play Cowboys & Indians, or Cops & Robbers? How about Tea
Party or Dress-Up? Did you ever use action figures or dolls to act out scenes from a favorite
movie or TV show? If you answered "yes" to any of these, guess what?
YOU WERE ROLEPLAYING!!
At its simplest, roleplaying is simply a game of make-believe. Each player assumes the role of a
fictional character and together these "player characters" interact both with each other and with
the other characters created for the game by the Game Master, or GM (also known as the
Dungeon Master/DM, storyteller, referee, or marshal, among others). The GM's purpose in the
game is threefold:
1. Set the scene for the players, and play the roles of all the non-player characters ("NPC's"), monsters, and other entities encountered during the game;
2. Determine the outcome of rules-related issues and arbitrate disputes (this is important -- after all, when you were younger, how many games of Cops & Robbers ended in arguments? [BANG! BANG! I got you! Did not! Did too!]);
3. The most important function of all -- make sure everyone has a good time playing!
