Today’s RPGaDay 2021 prompt is “Fraction”. I have to say: this is a tough one. Most of the prompts this year, I could at least think of a direction to go with. This, however, left me wondering for a bit.
If I take “Fraction” as representing a small part of a larger whole, then I would argue that each person around a gaming table (virtual or not) is a fraction of an RPG campaign. More and more have I started seeing the host of a game as one of the roles around the table, rather than seeing it in a more traditional sense of there being players and there being a host of the game. The separation of players versus another has become odd to me: surely the host of the game is playing as well?
I think this goes both ways for tabletop RPGs. Game hosts need to put in energy to the game to guide the narrative, but need to realize they are only one part of the larger whole and must match their efforts to the rest of the players. The other people around the gaming table also need to realize that the onus is not just on the host of the game, but they also contribute to the experience. When all those fractions come together to one whole, though, tabletop RPGs are a wonderful experience.