Both in this world and in Carador, role-playing games are popular. In both our worlds, it gives us the chance to step outside our normal sense of self, to experience the world from different angles and perceptions.
In our world, role-playing games have been largely restricted to the teen crowd, but in Carador, people of all walks and ages role-play using this system. It allows the aged to be young again, the baker down the street to fight in wars or hunt stag in the deep forests, and the young girl next door to be a sword-wielding heroine.
Carador role-playing can be just as enlightening for people of our world – people of any age. It can serve as an escape that is much more interactive and constructive than, say, watching television, and allows us to entertain our wildest fantasies without harming anyone else.
The process of role-playing is quite simple. In effect, it is acting, or taking on the role of different people. "Players" create a "character" or alter ego -- this is the body and personality they will put themselves into when they adventure in Carador. The "Storyteller", usually referred to as the "ST", creates the world with their words and mental images, and gets to take on the personalities of the people encountered by the players. To be a Storyteller requires a fair amount of familiarity with the role-playing system, while the players will require such familiarity only to a lesser degree.
Dice are used to add a level of randomness to the world, but are largely utilized only during combat. They are rolled in order to make decisions about certain events that the ST doesn't usually control, such as whether your opponent parries your sword-strike.
In effect, the idea is to let your imagination (that part of our minds most of us left back in childhood) take you out of your world and into the world of Carador, where the presence of magic and intrigue can make your life nothing less than incredible.
A Sample of Role-Playing
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, let me take you on a small journey -- a moment cut from a role-playing session.
There will be three people involved -- Player 1 (P1), Player 2 (P2), and the ST. Their words in parentheses will tell you what they are doing in the real world -- in other words, what you'd see them doing if you were watching them through a window.
Let us begin, stepping into Tapas, a restaurant in Aranor, where the two players are eating dinner.
(P1 and P2 are sitting at a table, while the ST steps up and hands them two wineglasses filled with wine)
ST, as a server – "Here you are, my lord, my lady."
P1—"Thank you. I think I'd like to request the Jeddan long noodles, and Talen (P2) will have the venison roast."
ST—" Alrighty! (runs a hand through her hair) Have you eaten here before?"
P1—"Four times, I think. It's running against Annabelle's Masallan as my favorite."
ST-- (Winks at P1) "I've the same problem. I'll put in your request." (ST takes a seat at the table and goes quiet)
(P1 and Talen (P2) look at each other, and Talen frowns.)
Talen (formerly P2)—"Making my requests for me, too? I thought we had that talk yesterday about you not being quite so . . . involved in my life."
P1—"You want me involved, and you know it."
Talen-- (clenching his teeth) "Kaela . . ." (he goes silent)
Kaela (formerly P1) (laughs)—"You've got to learn to relax. After all, you're a guard now! Don't they make you keep that temper of yours in check?"
Talen-- (half-smiles) "Yea, I suppose I've already had a warning or two."
Kaela-- (laughs again) "Like that idiot sailor you bounced around the other day. Ha! What a story! Didn't he know he was outclassed?"
Talen—"He was drunk, Kaela."
Kaela—"And still an idiot."
ST-- Speaking of idiots, Kaela, you see the sailor at that very moment, stepping in through the door and casting about.
Kaela—"Oh pissbuckets! Talen, we've got trouble."
ST-- You can see him, Talen, and he sees you at the same time. He looks drunk again, and his face splits into a delighted grin. "Guardy-boy!" he shouts. "Thought I saw you come in here. Don't have your fancy uniform or your sword this time, do you?"
Keala—"Lorcan's scar! He can't do this in here! This is a respectable establishment!"
ST-- You're not the only one who seems to think that way, Kaela. A man stands up from a table across the room -- a nobleman by dress -- and you can see that he wears a fine rapier. "Get yourself from this place!" he commands the sailor, "At once! You've no place here!"
Talen-- I’ll stand up, too. (He stands from the table)
Kaela--"Sit down!"
ST (as sailor)—"Come on, guardy-boy! Let's see what you've got without your sword! And you better just crawl home, noble-boy, before I give you a roughing-up you won't soon forget!" (As the nobleman, the ST bares her teeth and her hand falls to her side where the nobleman's blade would be held) "How dare you . . ."
Talen-- How big is he?
ST-- Big, but it's definitely not all muscle.
Kaela-- "Talen, don't be stupid."
Talen—"I'm not, Kaela. I just think this needs to be settled once and for all."
Kaela-- (Rolls her eyes) "Fine. I'm going to sit in here and enjoy my meal -- don't come back in here if you're a mess."
Talen—"The depth of your love never fails to impress me."
Kaela-- (Takes a long draw from her wine and shrugs)
Talen-- (Nods to himself) "Alright, my friend. Outside, though."
ST-- He looks delighted. You'd better get out your die. He steps outside.
Talen-- (Takes the die from the table) I'll follow him out.
From there a small battle might commence, or the guards might interrupt the fray, or the nobleman might come out and keep the peace with a drawn rapier. The Storyteller guides the main course of events, but the decisions of the players play a major role in how things unfold.
What Makes Role-Playing in Carador
More Fun Than
Other Role-Playing Games?
Most role-playing games are just that -- games. Playing them requires the restrictions of a huge amount of rules, many of which are arbitrary. Furthermore, the players and the people they encounter are too often quite one-dimensional, mostly as a result of these arbitrary rules that restrict players to certain professions and moral formulas. Thus, a given character is bound to act within certain guidelines, and is restricted by their profession as to what sorts of weapons they can use, what sorts of magical items they can use, or what sort of armor they can use. You enter the role-playing world as an archetype, not a person.
Caradorian role-playing is true role-playing. Players and STs are encouraged to walk about, act out their parts, and really try to immerse themselves in the personality of their characters. People are not made up by the sheet of paper that lists their statistics and skills so much as by their personality and their actions.
Role-playing in Carador was created with the goal of designing a role-playing system that was wide and realistic in its scope -- it is made not only for action and adventure, but also for the playing out of personal interactions, such as romance and court intrigue. In its lack of binding rules, Caradorian Role-Playing allows for a level of sophistication not present in other systems. Instead of rules to maintain balance, it relies on the interaction of player and ST, and on the premise that the world of Carador will have a life of its own -- a life that the role-players can keep abreast of by checking in on the latest events as recorded in the Oracle and other parts of this site.
To begin your Caradorian Role-Playing is simple -- first you must have at least two people eager to start adventuring -- more people adds new dimensions, but just a player and an ST will do. Then just use the navigation bar to the right and select either Storytelling or Creating a Character.