Welcome RPG Writers, Players, and Fanatics!

"Looking back, I guess I used to play-act all the time. For one thing, it meant I could live in a more interesting world than the one around me." -Marilyn Monroe

Welcome to the world of warlocks & wizards; knights & dragons; detectives and murderers; living and undead. It is a place that allows our beloved genres--fantasy, science fiction, mystery, horror--to come alive. It is the world of role-playing games and I welcome my fellow creators of such activities to join me in exploring the process that goes into their creation.

Uttered by the beloved movie star Marilyn Monroe, the aforementioned quote provides a glimpse into the circuitous psyche of an RPG player. These games allow the player to immerse herself/himself into an entirely new identity in a world that differs from what is plain, familiar, and uninteresting. While role playing video games offer a small taste of this experience enhanced by animated visuals, they are inevitably limited--the story comes to an end; the choices are forced; the designs are limited. Tabletop RPGs, on the other hand, allow a freedom that is limited to the imagination of the players as well as the game master.

I first discovered a passion for RPGs during the early years of high school, when the awkwardness of different-aged teenagers made planning Girl Scout activities a seemingly insurmountable task. After months of searching, we discovered a pastime that everyone enjoyed--Murder Mystery Dinners. Despite the triumph of this finding, we soon faced an additional obstacle--once the games were played, they were no longer usable. After all, what is the point of trying to solve a mystery when you already know who the killer is?

Searching desperately online and in stores, we found that the prices only went as low as $60 game that was good for one use only. The solution, though daunting, was simple. I would write the games myself.

My first mystery dinner took place in an archaeological dig in Egypt and I did my best to ensure that our surroundings strongly exuded that fact. Tiny sphinxes and pyramids lay on every available surface in my dining room. I built a human-sized sarcophagus out of cardboard boxes and paint. These were fun tasks; yet, the most exciting part of the process concerned the writing itself. Many hours were spent writing character descriptions, working out plot points, and creating contingencies in case my players ventured too far off the beaten path.

There were certainly a few bugs--for example, I learned that it is unwise to write a mystery while taking pain medication for wisdom teeth surgery, unless you welcome the chance to make such mistakes as featuring an advanced computer hacker in a story that takes place in the early 1900s. However, the more practice I got, the more I learned the ins and outs of such a process.

The initial event, warranted by a desperation for common interests among adolescent girls, led to the birth of my "Grimm Allusions Mystery Dinner" business, which offered mystery dinners and themed events as fundraisers and team-building activities for clubs. I have learned and experienced a wealth of information about the creation of this activities and I continue to expand my knowledge as I delve into new varieties of RPGs. I welcome the chance to use this blog as a platform to discuss this unique genre of writing.