Ever since I can remember, and especially when I was feeling low, I would retreat to my room (or other quiet space) and roll up characters for roleplaying games. There is something calming and reassuring about the creative act of discovering a new character, especially using rules that allow for random invocation.

I think it’s an element of my love for the kind of emergent storytelling which traditional roleplaying games provide. The “playing to find out” begins with the discovery of character invoked by rolling (say) 3d6 six times and assigning those classic attributes. I would do this for many hours as a teenager, especially using Rolemaster and Palladium Fantasy.

It took me many years to realise that this is a useful tool for the Gamemaster because each character you create can become an NPC ready to drop into your campaign. The idea of forming a rival adventuring party, for example, arises naturally from this love of character creation. Even the villainous types can be forged randomly too.

But if you are feeling low and you enjoy the rattle of dice, I would suggest you can do worse than to simply roll up a character or two. Perhaps you will be inspired to take them into play but that is not necessary. The emergent creativity of character generation is a pleasure all of its own.

After a rough day at work, I’m ready to grab some dice and roll some stats. It’s a particular pleasure that I easily forget to enjoy!

Game on!