Why TTRPGs? How did that happen?

My understanding of the history of games that became D&D and similar storytelling games begins around campfires. I grew up in church camps and family gatherings where I listened to different storytellers take the stage and bring us along on adventures. These stories were usually entertaining, but they often contained a learning element—a moral, an experience, or a revelation.

In the Christian tradition, parables are stories that use everyday things—farming, eating, parties—to teach truths. In Baltic tradition, as in many ancient oral traditions, gatherings would feature myths to explain various phenomena: the weather, a particular rock, or concepts like death. Storytelling was, and remains, the backbone of our understanding. With the advent of printed books, these stories could be saved and retold whenever one picked up a book. The rise of the internet allowed stories to be edited, added to, remixed, and retold countless times.

Story brings people together in enjoyment, learning, debate, unity, and hopefully peace. However, it can also lead to conflict.

Dungeons & Dragons began as an extension of war games using miniatures and tactics, fueled by a desire to live and experience the adventures found in fantasy novels. Various rule sets were written and tested, some standing the test of time and evolving into multiple editions.

My own history with the game has been viewed through multiple lenses. My father, a church pastor, and many of his colleagues played D&D in their spare time. Just before the release of the third edition, my brother and his friends were invited to play a game run by one of the leaders of the time.

It was decided that some of the younger kids, including myself, could play Tunnels & Trolls, which was deemed easier to understand. So, once a month, two tables gathered at the church to play T&T, while two others met elsewhere to play D&D. I loved those games. I don't remember the quests at all; I just remember being a fairy whose specialty was dive-bombing the enemy. I once had a love interest and a pet dog. I didn’t care about the dice; I was there for the story.

My brother would come home and share tales of elaborate traps they set up that seemed far too complex for the game we were playing, yet the whole experience was incredibly wholesome.

During the late '90s, the American-inspired “Satanic Panic” finally hit Australia, and suddenly T&T was canceled indefinitely because one woman at church suggested that maybe these games were actually anti-Jesus. These games, enjoyed and led by most of the church leadership, had mechanics allowing players to do anything, including “not engaging with Satan.” Regardless, to placate the masses, my father and his colleagues had to cancel one of the coolest things in my life.

Not to be stopped, another elder of the church rewrote the rules so that magic became “tech.” He called it Maztania (a play on Tasmania), and we play-tested it for a while. However, by that stage, all the elder players had moved on, and the younger players were on the cusp of moving on as well.

A stranger in America dashed my hopes, and I forgot about it. I got involved in music photography and heavy music, moved to a different town and then a different country, and although I continued to read high fantasy novels and play Bethesda RPGs, it never occurred to me to look into D&D again.

Fast forward two countries later: I’m sitting around a men’s meeting at a new friend’s house when he tells me the age-old tale. “I’ve always wanted to play D&D but never had friends to try it. So, I think I’ll just DM a group of friends and see if they like it. Do you want to try it?”

His name is Mikas. He is a very intelligent, wholesome man who then DM’d three sessions, including a marathon New Year’s Eve session soundtracked by Lithuanians shooting fireworks outside. After three sessions, he let it slip that he never wanted to DM. I shrugged and said, “Maybe I could try,” and then I went to Australia for three months.

I may write more about that trip to Australia, but basically, I ran some of the dodgiest D&D quests ever with as many groups as would let me in order to gain experience before returning to DM for Mikas, my future bandmate Paulius, his future wife, and one of her best friends through a very fun five-month campaign.

I have now DM’d multiple campaigns, one-shots at events, played in a few, and written some quests for myself.

I love story. I love adventure. I love experiencing new things. I am convinced that story games are the perfect platform for people to learn, enjoy, and make friends in an abstract setting. People can grab coffee and chat. They can go on a hike. They can be colleagues. But there is something unique about gathering a group to imagine a character, throw them into a setting with a puzzle or problem, and asking them how they will solve it.