Pen-and-paper role-playing games also know as tabletop role-playing games are games in which players describe their characters' actions through speech.
In a typical game of this type we would have a group of players taking on a roles of various fictional characters and attempt a quest. In addition to the players, one person will take on a role of a Game Master (GM). the Game Master acts as a referee. He is also the one who often prepares the quests.
The name pen-and-paper role-playing game comes from the fact that all you need is often just a pen/pencil and a paper + your imagination.
To best describe this type of game is to compare it to a video game or a film / theatre performance. That is why role-playing games are also referred to as theatre of the mind. So in the first analogy (computer game) imagine the computer being replaced with one of the participants called Game Master (or dungeon master). Players describe their actions and GM (game master) takes care of all the game mechanics.
Role-playing games are similar to a film or theatre performance, where players are the main characters. In addition to the payers we also have so called NPCs Non-Player Charactersin same games NPC characters are called extras. These are just like the film extras, they populate the world of your role-playing game.
History of pen-and-paper role-playing games
Although games existed throughout history for a very long time. the first commercially available and popular role-playing game was Dungeons & Dragons published in 1974. When talking about history of role-playing games it's important to mention the Fighting Fantasy game books-created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. They have later published Advanced Fighting Fantasy which was a "proper" role-playing game.
Gameplay
Players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. The characters have various statistics (just like in a video game) so for example dexterity, health etc.
Most of the time they narrate their actions in the voice of their characters. Each of the game systems will have it's own rules. Players often use dice to determine the outcome of their actions. In addition to dice, players will often use miniatures (minis) to represent their characters.
Game Master describes the scene.
Players describe the intended actions of their characters
Game Master uses the dice and describes the outcomes
So for example, in a game we could see something like this:
GM: as you enter the cave you see a giant spider, it notices you and starts to run in your direction
Player: as the spider comes near me, I'm trying to hit him with my magical sword
GM (or player): rolls the dice to see if the player was successful.
GM: describes the outcome of player action.
So there you have it, the basic concept of pen-and-paper role playing games.
If you are completely new to this then the best way would probably be to look up videos of people playing role-playing games. There are plenty of these online.
