Chapter 503 - 318: Playing a Tabletop RPG in a Fantasy World is Incredibly Immersive

Chapter 503: Chapter 318: Playing a Tabletop RPG in a Fantasy World is Incredibly Immersive

"A role-playing game you play on a tabletop?"

Finally snapping out of his shock, Dean overheard Craig and Ben’s conversation.

He’d never heard of playing a role-playing game on a tabletop before.

Most of the tabletop games on the market were primarily competitive.

Whether it was Yu-Gi-Oh! or Ferin Chronicles, the objective was always to defeat your opponent.

’Alright, maybe for some people, the goal isn’t necessarily to win. They get their kicks from torturing their opponents...’

’In short, in Dean’s mind, tabletop games were all about one thing: awesome combat!’

After all, the ancestors of tabletop games—all sorts of board games—were competitive, and highly so. At least, they were more competitive than the card games popular today.

No luck, all skill.

’As for playing an Adventurer on a tabletop, it didn’t seem very plausible.’

When the topic turned to his own work, Ben started speaking much faster. "Yes, a role-playing game played on a tabletop. Each player creates their own unique character, then role-plays as that character on an adventure into a Dungeon."

"Go on an adventure into a Dungeon?"

"Er... an imaginary Dungeon," Ben explained. "But we’ll use some small props to increase the immersion. Isn’t that exciting? We all grew up listening to all kinds of adventure stories, but not many of us ever get the chance to have a real adventure. So this game is designed to fill that gap."

"I guess that makes sense."

Ben nodded.

Craig, however, chimed in, "Sounds like the kind of thing for people with no social life, who don’t like going out, and are buried in schoolwork. Their only fun is getting together with a few friends to escape life’s hardships through fantasy."

That left Ben speechless for a moment. "Do you always talk like that?"

"I was describing myself, because that’s exactly who I am," Craig said, his tone shifting abruptly. "So... can we try your new game?"

"That doesn’t seem right," Dean said. "The game isn’t even officially finished."

He felt it was a bit rude, even though he was dying to try it himself.

’It was Ben’s new creation, after all.’

However, Ben agreed readily. "Of course! Games are meant to be played. Besides, a new game has to go through countless rounds of playtesting, feedback, and revisions before it’s officially released."

"Really? Thank you so much! So, when can we try it?"

"Just wait a little bit. I’m about to get off work, and I have everything for the new game stored in my Treasure Chest Monster."

While waiting for Ben to finish work, Dean and Craig started looking through the Hogwarts brochure.

"So these are the majors in Gryffindor?"

Besides the major descriptions, the brochure also listed the required courses for each program.

"What the heck is Mathematical Analysis?"

"Never heard of it."

"What about Inscriptional Logic?"

"Must have something to do with Inscriptions."

"How about Introduction to the Fundamental Elements?"

"I’ve taken an Elements class before, but it didn’t have this name. I’m guessing it’s more or less the same thing."

...

’This was nothing like the Hogwarts they’d imagined. Where were the Potions, Divination, and Flying lessons they were promised? Where were all the fun classes?’

’Oh, wait, there was a flying club, and you could ride Magic Brooms.’

The two of them stared at the course descriptions for the majors, feeling like they were being assaulted by a barrage of unfamiliar terms.

They were encountering the first major hurdle of transitioning from high school to college: they knew practically nothing about how university education worked.

After flipping through the pages for what felt like an eternity, they finally found something familiar.

"Ha! University Physics! I know this one. I’m pretty good at physics."

Craig said excitedly, pointing to one of the few subjects he recognized.

"But why is Physics in Ravenclaw College? Shouldn’t the smartest people in Slytherin be the ones studying it?"

Compared to Craig, who at least had an idea of what he wanted to study, Dean had even more questions.

’What major should he even choose?’

’What were all those majors in Gryffindor even about?’

’The brochure had descriptions, sure, but they didn’t seem to offer much in the way of concrete information.’

Dean had run into the second major hurdle of transitioning from high school to college: he knew nothing about university majors either.

’Right, if that’s the case, why not just search online?’

’You can find anything on the internet.’

But a quick search only left him more confused.

Many of the majors at Hogwarts weren’t offered at any other school.

As for the majors that other schools *did* have, no matter which one he looked up, the online consensus was always, "Don’t take it. Run away..."

"Alright, I’m off work! Come on, let’s try out the game."

Just then, Ben walked over. His day’s work was done.

That’s the great thing about being young—you don’t stay bogged down by worries for too long.

The moment they heard they could play the game, they tossed all thoughts of college majors to the back of their minds.

There was no need to agonize over it, really. It wasn’t like you could just pick any major you wanted. Luck always played a significant role at every important crossroads in life.

"We’re going to test it right here?"

"Of course. Where else would we go?"

As he spoke, Ben began pulling props out of his Treasure Chest Monster one after another, quickly covering the floor with them.

Dean had never seen a tabletop game that required so many props.

In addition to the props, Ben also pulled out a book—one that was significantly thicker than the Hogwarts informational brochure.

"What’s this?" Dean asked, his curiosity piqued.

"The rulebook."

"The rulebook?!" Dean’s voice cracked in shock.

"Yep. If you want to have a fun adventure, you’re going to need a robust set of rules to support it."

"This entire book is just rules?"

"Nope."

"Oh, thank goodness." Dean breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to play a game that was more work than school.

"This is just the *Player’s* Rulebook."