Writing is one of the most versatile skills you can have. The world runs on communication, and the more we see of AI, the clearer it is that human writing will always be the gold standard. 

Freelance writers already know that writing is everywhere; they’re used to creating clean copy for website landing pages, B2B communications, and even ghostwriting so powerful people can pay for the appearance of being a good writer. Creative writers, however, sometimes have a more limited view of what they can do with their skills. 

If you’ve never thought further than playwriting or screenwriting as a vehicle for creative writing, then it’s time to learn about the exciting world of tabletop role-playing games, or TTRPGs. 

Creating a World 

For the uninitiated, TTRPGs are games that are led by improvisation and role-playing, usually as fantasy characters. A group of friends play as a group of adventurers, led by a “game master” who sets the scene, narrates the action, plays an assortment of non-player characters (NPCs), and controls the mechanics of things like big fights, where success or failure is determined by dice rolls. The most famous version is arguably Dungeons & Dragons, but there are countless others wildly available. 

The companies that produce these games usually create guidelines for playing, from how to make characters to plotlines for adventures. The rest comes from the creativity of the players. But how does that leave room for any writing? 

Say that you want to use as much of the prewritten setup as possible. That still leaves the NPCs and all of the descriptive work in making that provided outline come to life. If all the adventurers are meant to meet each other at a medieval tavern, what is that tavern like? Is the dragon they fight “big and red” or is it “an immense lizard with crimson scales, winding effortlessly through the air like a floating snake with flashing green eyes filled with malice”? 

Working as a Team

As a game master, you have a whole group of people interacting with your creations in real time, and if you’ve done your job right, their choices inspire you as everyone works together to see where the story goes. There are some types of TTRPGs that involve shepherding characters through a broadly set plot (for example, they’re saving a princess from a dragon) and other types where you create a world detailed enough for players to create their own plot. Either way, that’s a lot of story work!

As a player, building a character out enough to role-play them and improvise with other characters is as hard as it gets. Even though you’re playing a game, and trying to win, you have to make choices your character would make, even if they’re wrong for the overall game strategy. You have to make sure you build a character with a clear want, a character who would interact with other players, a character who would be proactive and drive action in the world. If your character is flat, the game is flat. 

Breaking the Rules

As you spend more time in the TTRPG world, you’ll hear things like homebrew, which is a term for game design made by players and game masters rather than the companies that typically produce the games. And, of course, so many of the most popular TTRPG systems were created by players and game masters who loved the format so much, they designed their very own system. 

Game design might feel like rocket science, especially if things like probability of dice rolls makes your head spin. But the same qualities that make you a good story writer make you a good TTRPG game designer. As your characters move through your world, is their first fight with the legendary vampire king or with a common street thief? If your character is a grizzled traveler used to living on his own in the woods, when he tries to woo the object of his affection, does it make more sense that he would succeed right away or that he might have trouble talking to them for a while? Does it make for good storytelling if the characters immediately know everything about the villain’s dastardly plan, or does it make for a better experience if the bad guy has some tricks and secrets? 

TTRPGs are just another way of experiencing a story, so your storytelling skills are directly applicable. Plus, you can always get help with the dice—a bad roll can take the story in a direction no one ever expected!

Art Creates Community

TTRPGs are having quite the cultural moment, and not just because of popular TV shows like Stranger Things, where kids in the 1980s play the original Dungeons & Dragons. There are wildly popular actual play shows, where podcasters, YouTubers, and even TV stars play TTRPGs that are broadcasted to adoring audiences. So-called “nerd culture” is the now mainstream, and while that used to just refer to superhero movies, role-playing is a big industry with lots of opportunities. 

But more than that, TTRPGs are all about bringing people together to make something. Game sessions don’t really allow you to zone out and play on your phone, nor do they support self-centered play. Your experience depends on the whole group, which is why it’s such a wonderful space for cultivating connections. 

Whether you’re trying to become the next actual play superstar or find something fun for your writing group to do that will benefit your next draft, TTRPGs are a great way to get your creativity flowing. 

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog. When not writing or reading, she is a fiber and textile artist who sews, knits, crochets, weaves, and spins.