A ROLEPLAYING GAME

Roleplaying games (abbreviated RPGs) are a particular type of game — they originated as tabletop games, but are nowadays often played online as well.

In a roleplaying game, a group of people play together to create a story: they do so by talking with each other, and that conversation is accompanied by the use of rules and (typically) dice rolls, which help determine the outcome of uncertain situations and guarantee that the story created reflects the premises of the game — tension and fear for a horror game, adrenaline scenes for an action game, deep and heartfelt character interaction for a romantic game, and so on.

In Japan, this activity is also known as a "table talk role-playing game" (TTRPG), specifically, because it relies so heavily on the conversation at the table.

ROLES IN THE GAME

The people who play this game will fulfill different roles:

Game Master. Often abbreviated as GM, this person's role is that of portraying the game world in which the protagonists of the story act and live. As the protagonists establish goals and make choices, the Game Master will challenge those goals and describe the consequences of their actions. You can find more about the Game Master's role on page 26!
Player. Each of the remaining participants — two to five people — will create a heroic protagonist and then control that character's actions within the game world. Each protagonist is known as a Player Character, generally abbreviated as PC.
Characters that are controlled by the Game Master, on the other hand, are called Non-Player Characters, or NPCs.

You can find more about each Player's role on page 24!

While it is true that the role of the Game Master is to present obstacles and put the Player Characters in situations of risk and danger, their role is not that of an adversary, but rather someone who aims to make the protagonists shine throughout the story.

There is no "win condition" in this game: as long as you create a memorable story and enjoy each other's company, you're all winning.