Hello, Adventurers and fans of Tabletop Roleplaying games! Let me now be your guide in the many realms of storytelling! Games can go sour, and have people wondering why they played, but these games are supposed to be fun. Tabletop Roleplaying Games are a different breed of games. It is more than just rolling dice and putting on a mask. As the storyteller, your job is not just tell the story, but to keep those players coming back to you for more! Storytelling is an art, and it goes way back in time all over the world, from the Far East to the West.


When you tell a story, do you give up your full plot at the very beginning? No. You start by setting up the narrative. Players should begin their character introduction by describing only their physical appearance before their name is mentioned in the game. This is best because it prevents rambling and makes that player the star for the moment on stage. It also keeps other players questioning who their character really is, and that is exactly what you want. The first chain you have as a Dungeon Master is called "Parameters."


You invoke these literary devices to lock down players from spilling too much information about characters at the very beginning. The moment a player starts spewing more than a sentence about themselves, you can use an encounter to derail that issue. An encounter can be a fight scene, but at the beginning, non-playable characters can be used to distract. Maybe the player sees a stranger intently listening to them who looks suspicious, or maybe the barkeep interrupts to question them? Depending on the story, whether it is a one-shot or a campaign, just do not let your players lose interest by allowing them to expose their character more than they need to.


Now, Dungeon Masters argue they don't need character backstory, depending on who you ask. But if you look at the format of most tabletop role-playing games, they offer and suggest a character backstory. Why is that? What makes that important or unimportant? Well, it's actually psychology that plays a pivotal role in gameplay immersion. You want players to be attached to their characters and to feel the same emotions. Emotional responses trigger memories that last forever.



As a Dungeon Master, it is part of your job to create situations that allow players to express their characters' emotions. Otherwise, you are just playing a basic board game, and that can cause disinterest. You lose players when they can no longer relate to their characters. This can ironically occur due to the same theme I have mentioned in this article, full disclosure. Now, Dungeon Masters deserve to know each character's backstory, but they shouldn't be able to really predict how a player is gonna react. That is the beauty of role-playing game mechanics, in my opinion.



Full character disclosure is an injustice to not just the players, but the Dungeon Master as well. It honestly can make or break a game because if everything is known to all, what is the point of expression? Being able to express a character without all the details is almost like the same kind of addiction as hearing an interesting rumor or some gossip. It has you eagerly awaiting, or sometimes wanting to, investigate a matter. When you do find out the full truth, what happens next? The interest is fulfilled, and you no longer see the point in continuing.



So, is setting parameters necessary? It depends on the Dungeon Master and what you want to achieve. If you want players to have fun and tell others about your sessions, then you may want to start using parameters. To create these parameters, I highly suggest creating your own survey or questionnaire to get a feel for what is and isn't needed. Things that connect emotionally with one player but not another are just as important as the unified thoughts. Do not for one second think you will fail as a Dungeon Master due to an error. Errors are about learning, not your demise.


I have good friends who are Dungeon Masters or Players, and I have seen, as a Dungeon Master/Player myself, that great adventures start small. Just look at the very origins of Tabletop Roleplaying Games as a whole! It started with one thing, then exploded into a whole industry. Rules are parameters and guidelines, but again, if you want your games to be successful, I suggest keeping player backstories from other players until something triggers a momentary response that ties to that character.



Here is a final thought and an example of what I am trying to articulate: In a strong relationship with a spouse, when you are dating, do you want to disclose everything about yourself all at once? Certainly not. You want them to learn about you and how to interact with you, so that when marriage occurs, you are not butting heads or bored with each other. Do not tell all the interesting things and unique quirks about who you are, because situations will eventually arise that make that marriage forever memorable. The same applies to Tabletop Roleplaying Games.

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