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<blockquote data-quote="Gilladian" data-source="post: 5415096" data-attributes="member: 2093">I usually start by asking if they played cops and robbers or cowboys and indians as a kid. Then I say that roleplaying games, especially tabletop ones, are kind of like that. You become, for the duration of the game,&nbsp; a cop or a sherrif or a whatever, and then the dungeon master makes up a story, which all of the players then get to experience. Each person's character makes decisions that will change how the story plays out. Those decisions and their results are influenced by a lot of factors; dice being one, the &quot;character type&quot; being another.Sometimes that's all I say. If they're not interested in understanding more, that ends the discussion. If they are, we go on to talk about genres in the games, about race and class or character building, etc...OR, if the person is really just wanting a VERY brief understanding of the game, I just say &quot;It is like being in a play without a script. We make up the script as we go along, while the director just keeps telling us what the sets look like.&quot; On one or two occasions, I've actually narrated a very brief adventure for a couple minutes for a person. Along the lines of &quot;imagine you are a young, strong warrior. You're out hunting for food when you stumble on a cave. You remember a legend that a cave near here holds great treasure. Are you interested in hunting for it?&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gilladian, post: 5415096, member: 2093"] I usually start by asking if they played cops and robbers or cowboys and indians as a kid. Then I say that roleplaying games, especially tabletop ones, are kind of like that. You become, for the duration of the game, a cop or a sherrif or a whatever, and then the dungeon master makes up a story, which all of the players then get to experience. Each person's character makes decisions that will change how the story plays out. Those decisions and their results are influenced by a lot of factors; dice being one, the "character type" being another. Sometimes that's all I say. If they're not interested in understanding more, that ends the discussion. If they are, we go on to talk about genres in the games, about race and class or character building, etc... OR, if the person is really just wanting a VERY brief understanding of the game, I just say "It is like being in a play without a script. We make up the script as we go along, while the director just keeps telling us what the sets look like." On one or two occasions, I've actually narrated a very brief adventure for a couple minutes for a person. Along the lines of "imagine you are a young, strong warrior. You're out hunting for food when you stumble on a cave. You remember a legend that a cave near here holds great treasure. Are you interested in hunting for it?" [/QUOTE]

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