Intro to Pen-and-Paper RPGs

What is a Pen-and-Paper RPG?

A Pen-and-Paper Roleplaying Game (RPG), or Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TTRPG), is an imaginative game you play with your friends. It is a kind of cross between a board game, improv game, and writing exercise. Players in these games will come up with a story little by little, as they play through different scenes and situations. Each player invents a character, and decides what that character does inside the story. One special player (in MAGIC WORDS, this player is called the Judge) comes up with and controls the setting that the other players' characters live in. The Judge also controls incidental and supporting characters. In this way, the players and the Judge come up with the story together, scene by scene.

It works like this: the Judge describes a scene where the characters face a challenge. One of the players then has an idea of what they want their character to do, and they describe it. The Judge then explains the consequences of the character's action on the scene, sometimes letting random chance decide if an action is successful. That's it! Repeat that pattern until the story is over. The Judge and the players can refer to characters by their character names, or they can refer to them as "I" or "you." For example, the Judge might tell a player that their character, Red, is in trouble by saying "You get knocked over by the blast" OR "Red gets knocked over by the blast." Either choice is alright.

Why do I need rules?

That's the neat part: you don't! If you want to roleplay with your friends using just the above guidelines, feel free! This is called "Freeform Roleplay" and you don't even really need a Judge or anyone in charge. It's a lot of fun, and you can tell any kind of story you want.

However, rules, such as the ones found on this website, can make playing more consistent, more approachable, and more exciting.

First, they guide the direction of the story. Stories in MAGIC WORDS are about transforming superheroes who always beat the bad guys in the end, and the rules are set up to make those kinds of stories work well. If you want to tell another kind of story, try out a different RPG. There are hundreds!

Second, the rules add an element of risk and randomness to the game. Some RPGs use dice, but MAGIC WORDS uses "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to find out if events favor the heroes, or the villain. This means that neither the players nor the Judge know what is going to happen next in any scene, and stories are much more exciting when you don't know what twists and turns are ahead.

Finally, the rules of MAGIC WORDS require players to act out a little theatrical sequence when the characters use their superpowers. This might feel a little silly at first, but everyone is required by the rules to play along, so it's a perfect excuse to live out your imagination and have fun!

Examples of Play

Below, you can see what playing out a scene might look like. This first one is very simple.

Examples using MAGIC WORDS rules

Next, here is an example using game rules such as Contests, the Upper Hand, and Transformations, in their proper context. Click here to read all the game rules.