Storytelling has been with us as long as humanity has existed. From the first stories told around the campfire to podcasts and television shows and novels, stories are not just part of the human experience, but one of the most crucial parts.
It’s a significant reason why I enjoy roleplaying games so much. I get to sit around with my friends and tell stories, and that story is a magical once-in-a-lifetime combination of the actions each of us take and the random results of dice rolls.
The same people could gather around the same table a hundred times, and each time, the story would turn out a little bit different.
That’s MAGIC.
There are all kinds of roleplaying systems out there. Many use dice, but some use tarot cards, or playing cards, or a Jenga tower, or even more esoteric mechanics.
So there are lots of ways to play. But have we ensured that we can play in other environments?
I haven’t encountered an underwater roleplaying game yet, for instance, but I imagine it would be doable with scuba tanks, laminated character sheets, and some weighted dice so they don’t just float to the surface.
But what about roleplaying in SPACE?
No, I don’t mean playing Starfinder or Traveller or Mothership or Orbital Blues or See You Space Cowboy. I mean actually playing roleplaying games in space.
Well, thankfully, our best and brightest are already investigating the possibility!
Check out this Instagram post from astronaut Rabea Rogge, who was experimenting with how to roll a D20 in space.
Yes, as one of the commenters pointed out, there’s a chance for biasing the die by rolling it so it doesn’t change its axis, but for the most part, Rabea’s technique seems solid.
(Though we really need to get her dice that are easier to read!)
It just goes to show that wherever we go, we will take our stories with us.
PuzzCulture 