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2Referee Manual
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4In a Tabletop RPG game there are two types of participants: Players and the Referee. This tome is a series of excercises designed to teach an individual the neccesary components of being a referee. Rather than composing litanies of descriptions of your role and prescriptions of your office, the excercises will allow you to understand how the components of a tabletop RPG work and how they may be constructed to run a game at your table.
5The essential aspect to be internalized is that your job is to facilitate play. If all else fails, return to this essential aspect and seek to make it your goal.
6The first principle of facilitating play to be understood is Co-operation. Tabletop RPG's are a social activity and require multiple people to be played. The burden of social facilitation of these games usually falls upon the Referee as the amount of effort neccesary from their end is the greatest. Your relationship is symbiotic, the Referee constructs the game world and adjudicates the rules but without players there is no interactions to be adjudicated. Without a Referee players are unable to play the game in a meaningful way. When both parties are present, a tabletop RPG may be played as the world created by the Referee can be interacted with and explored by the Players and the Referee may adjudicate that process. The prepatory work required for a Tabletop RPG falls to be done largely to the Referee so by setting the pace of play sessions you can manage your workload of prepwork effeciently. In setting the pace of the play sessions, you become responsible for the logistics of the game as well and can then inform your players of your schedule. If both players and the referee are in attendence then the co-operative aspect of the tabletop RPG may begin through communication.
7The second principle of facilitating play to be understood is Communication. Tabletop RPG's are largely a game where the referee dictates a starting state and the players alter it. If players are given faulty or partial information they cannot make meaningful choices. Without the ability to make meaningful choices, the game is reduced to little more than collorabative storytelling. The uniqueness of tabletop RPG's is the emergent narrative from gameplay, replacing this with an established narrative from the referee serves to both go against the unique merit of tabletop RPG's and the first essential aspect of being a referee. The inability to communicate with your players limits your ability to facilitate gameplay and is the first obstacle to be overcome as a referee. 
8Excercise 1: Communicating information. 
9Suppose there are three doors before your blind friend. Two of these doors lead to certain firey death, while the other leads to a delicious cake. Each door has a window which allows one to peer inside and see what lies beyond. Suppose further that a demon will force your blind friend to pick a door and go through it, he states that as your blind friend cannot see you may act as his eyes. However he adds that you cannot aid your friend by simply looking at the window yourself and telling him how to make his way to the right door. You are to only communicate to your blind friend what he would see if he wasn't blind.
10Write in the space provided how you would first describe the doors in front of him. Remember, you cannot cheat and tell him which doors lead to death, he must discern that for his own!
11*Blank Space*
12-Grading- 
13Failing: You don't mention each of the doors
14Barely Competent: You mention each of the doors
15Satisfactory: You mention each of the doors and that there are windows on each door
16-Grading Explinations-
17By not mentioning each of the doors you fail to communicate the possible choices that your blind friend can make and as such they are unable to make a meaningful choice.
18By not mentioning the windows in the doors, you fail to communicate that further information can be gained from the situation which enables your friend to make a meaningful choice. Otherwise they would be simply choosing a door at random and have a 1/3 chance of surviving.
19By mentioning both all the doors and the windows you facilitate your blind friend to make the same descisions as you would and face the demon equally.
20In this excercise we replicated the most common interaction by a referee and player. The referee is responsible for communicating information to a partially oblivious audience in such a manner as to faciliate their desicion making. You must act as an impartial adjudicator in order to preserve the sancity of the game. Too much information and there is no chance of failure, too little information and there is an inability of the player to make a meaningful choice.
21Congratulations! you have taken your first step in becoming a referee! In the space below please summarize what you have learned so far.
22*Blank Space*
23Now that we have established the first two principles of facilitating play, we can derive the third principle of their combination: Feedback.
24The third principle of facilitating play to be understood is Feedback. As the referee presents novel information to the players, they take actions and alter the current state of play. the uniqueness of tabletop RPG's is the emergent narrative from gameplay which is continued through the facilitation of play by the Referee. By acting as the internal engine of the state of play, the referee combines the meaningful choices of the players with the state of play to produce a novel state of play and this cycle of feedback contiues. The cycle can best be thought of as two parts: the reaction to the state of play by the players from the communication of the referee and the reaction to the players meaningful choices. This follows the first principle of facilitating play, Co-operation, as both types of participants are neccesary and the second principle of facilitating play, Communication, as meaningful choices are allowed by communication by the referee. An example of feedback would be your blind friend asking what he saw in the window of the three doors and you explaininng either fiery death or delicious cake based on which of the doors was assessed. 
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26The second essential aspect is that you must create material that is to be interacted with in order to facilitate play. It is difficult and near impossible to use content that is completely created on the fly during gameplay. Creating material prior not only allows you to have a intuite understanding of what interactions can occur but also allow you to better communicate to the players what they may interact with. Fortunately, there is a great deal of meta-content previously created for Tabletop RPG's which allows for material which can easily result in emergent narrative through gameplay. The fundemental construct of such meta-content is a dungeon which is an explorable composite of dynamic elements which can be interacted with by the abstraction of resource management. While that sentence may seem confusing a breakdown of those word may be insightful, especially so using the demon and three doors presented in the 1st excercise.
27explorable composite: This is the content that is engaged with in a tabletop RPG, both the content in plain sight and the occult content which is revealed by feedback.
28In our previous excercise this is the first room, the three doors, and the contents behind them
29dynamic elements: This refers to elements found within the explorable composite which may change through interaction with them. In our previous excercise this is the choice forced by the demon.
30which can be interacted with: This refers to things which may change through the meaningful choices made by the players. In our previous excercise this is your hunger being abated or your skin being set on fire.
31the abstraction of resource management: This refers to the game elements within the Tabletop RPG. In our previous excercise this is the single choice you are allowed to make by the result possibly killing you and preventing further door openings.
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33In a Tabletop RPG, the last word refers to the fact that there are elements of chance. These are usually abstractions to things which are complex in real life, but for the sake of a game are reduced to a dice roll. These dice rolls are goverened by mechanics within the game system and are essentially wagering resources you characters possess in order to gain new ones. These resources can be a variety of things, in our previous excercise this was the single choice you make. In a game, these resources are the mechanical aspects of your character used by the game system. The most common resource in a Tabletop RPG is HP or hitpoints, these represent your characters state of not death. The players in an RPG fundementally gamble their resources to achieve a goal, and in many that gamble is their hit-points in combat. These resources can be a wide range of things like fuel for a spaceship or batteries in a flashlight. These resources are diminished as the characters make more choices and lose gambles, but may return through means like resupply or rest. While it is possible to track the fuel in a spaceship near realistically, this often presents limitations on gameplay and is instead abstracted to be simpler. This abstraction allows the facilitation of play. As resources are lost the character's ability to interact with the dynamic elements is diminished, by both a lessened amount of resources to gamble and by the fail state of the game when their resources are all lost. 
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35Dungeons have been a staple in Tabletop RPG's the first of which were designed with them as the central locus. In these games these were literal dungeons, dark and dangerous places beneath the earth filled with treasure. Players took the role (hence role-playing) of treasure hunters seeking to plunder the depths who would enter these dungeons. The most well known of these early RPG's published even bears their name "Dungeons and Dragons". These RPG's were designed around the idea of dungeon exploration and the feedback loop within them is designed to mechanically reinforce the exploration of the dungeon. Analysis of Dungeons and Dragons, in our study the 1977 Basic edition (Referred to as Basic), would then allow an understanding of the feedback loops and mechanics of dungeons.
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37Excercise 2: 
38We have established that 1977 Basic Dungeons and Dragons was about tomb raiders weilding torchlight who would enter dark places full of traps, risking life and limb, in an attempt to plunder their contents. From the previous sentence, please identify the following in the space below: Role assumed by Players, Resource gambled, Success state, and Fail state 
39*Blank Space*
40-Grading-
41Failing: Two or more elements misidentified
42Barely Competent: Only one element misidentified
43Satisfactory: Correct identification of all elements
44-Answers-
45Role assumed by Players: Tomb Raiders
46Resource gambled: Life and Limb
47Success state: Possessing Treasure
48Fail state: Death and Mutilation
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50Excercise 3: 
51Recall Excercise 1 where under the servitude of the demon, you blind friend is forced to pick a door. Please identify the following in the space below: Resource gambled, Success state, and Fail state 
52*Blank Space*
53-Grading-
54Failing: Two or more elements misidentified
55Barely Competent: Only one element misidentified
56Satisfactory: Correct identification of all elements
57-Answers-
58Resource gambled: Life
59Success state: Delicious Cake
60Fail state: Burning Death
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62Dungeons (explorable composite of dynamic elements which can be interacted with by the abstraction of resource management) were the primary method used in 1977 Basic Dungeons and Dragons to facilitate play. The primacy of dungeons in 1977 Basic was of great benefit to the referee as it provided a framework in which the cycle of cooperative communication to feedback could easily work. This can be seen in the example of play from Basic (slightly edited for clarity) given below.
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64Referee: "The room is six-sided, 30' on a side and 20' high. The door you came in is the only one you see. There is nothing unusual about the floor or ceiling. Besides the bodies of the goblins, there is a wooden box along the northeast wall and a pile of old rags in the north corner."
65Players: "Silverleaf is checking for secret doors, Fred is looking for traps, Black Dougal is examining the box, and Sister Rebecca
66is guarding the door. I'm prodding the rags with my sword —
67any movement?"
68Referee: "Silverleaf notices that one of the stone blocks in the southwest wall is slightly discolored. Fred does not see any traps. The box is the size of a small trunk; it is latched, but not locked. Nothing moves in the pile of rags."
69Players: "We're looking for traps on the box, too."
70Referee: "Neither of you finds a trap."
71Player: "I'm pushing, pulling, and trying to twist the block."
72Referee: "When you push it, a secret door opens in the west section of the southwest wall. You see a 5' wide corridor that goes south for 30' and ends at a door."
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74The Referees first description should be rather similar to the description that you wrote out in excercise one. Gameplay starts with a communicated premise and evolves through feedback to the players. How gameplay in the passage above was faciliated should be apparent and from this a sense of how Basic was run can be surmised. There were more elements involed in basic, which deal with resource management and can be seen from the analysis of the Mechanics of Basic. In order to survey the mechanics of basic we must first consider the abstractions that they rose from. 
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76A character in basic is composed of the following abstracted measures: Attributes, Abilities, Wealth, Equipment, Combat Capabilities, and Experience Points. Attributes are approximations of the characters capacity. In Basic characters have 6 attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. These range from 3 to 18 and are a metric of how potent a character is in that capacity. A character with 18 strength being very physically strong while a character of 3 being a weakling. Abilities refer to the unique ways that a character can interact with their game. In Basic this refers to the ability to cast spells, banish undead, or use certain weapons or armor. Wealth is how much wealth a character has and is fundementally the same as wealth in real life. Equipment refers to items possessed by characters which may be used to overcome obstacles. Combat capabilities in basic refer to the Armor Class (Measure of defense from combat), attack (measure to hit) and Saving Throws (Measures of defense from traps, poison, or other sudden death). Lastly experience points are an abstraction of "success states" their accumulation grants new abilities or combat capabilities and allows further incursions into ruins. 
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78These abstracted measures inform a player of what their characters are capable of and how the mechanics of gameplay will interact with them. The majority of gameplay will come from communication and feedback until there is a chance of failure. Thinking back to the demon above the three doors who will make your friends lets assume that if he opens a door with fire death is not a certainty.  As a tabletop RPG is repeations of chance of failure, having each choice lead to potential instant death wouldn't be an enjoyable experience. In order to avoid a binary succeed/die these abstracted measures are add resources which may be gradually lost until death comes not as the result of a singular choice but as a result of numerous choices and the continued pressing on despite the loss of resources. We are then left to as if most RPG mechanics being resolved with die roll because they are simply extended gambles? While it is a great reduction, it has a an element of truth too it. The abstracted measures in a game inform players about the gambles they would make during gameplay. This allows players to manage numerous resources they possess as they enter the dungeon. 
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80In order for a referee to be able to facilitate play they must be able to accurately communicate the game world to the players, the objective of Excercise 1 was precisely that. However, more than a simple desciption is needed to facilitate play. In order to do so the communication from Referee to Player must use Clear, Concise, and Evocative language. If communication is not clear, then players will not be able to make meaningful choices as there would be a discrepetency form what the referee is trying to convey and what the players are understanding. If communication is not concise, then players will be overburdened by a signal to noise ratio that is too heavily in favor of the noise. Communication which is not evocative limits the depth of play and fails to utilize the uniqueness of the Tabletop RPG medium. 
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82Excercise 4:
83The following is a series of description of the same room. Assess each description's use of Clear, Concise, and Evocative language.
84Description 1: The room before you is large, there are two doors on the walls, and a statue. 
85Description 2: Torchlight shines ontu a weeping stone figure in the corner of two stony walls, each a barrier to the light held in your hand. There are two doors, one of dark stone and the other of rotting wood. 
86Description 3: The room before you is roughly 30' by 30'. Entering from a stone door in the south you see a single wooden door to the east and a statue in northwest corner of the room.
87Description 4: As you walk northwards, you push open a stone door to enter a room roughly 30' by 30'. Your torch illuminates a gruesome stone statue in the northwest corner, a hunched over figure weeping into his hands. The room is empty aside from the statue and a wooden door in the eastern wall.
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89*Blank Space*
90-Grading-
91Failing: Two or more usages misanalyzed
92Barely Competent: Only one usage misanalyzed
93Satisfactory: Correct analysis of each description
94-Answers-
95Description 1: Language used is Concise but not Clear nor Evocative
96Description 2: Language used is Evocative and Concise but not Clear
97Description 3: Language used is Clear and Concise but not Evocative
98Description 4: Language used is Clear, Concise, and Evocative
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100The usage of language that is simultaneous Clear, Concise, and Evocative, allows the faciliatation of play by creating visuals experiences from language alone. In literary works, this is refered to as imagery and allows for the reader to become immersed with the work. The "roleplaying" part of Tabletop RPG's refers to playing the role of a character, and immersion allows for facilitation of playing a role. 
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102Excercise 5: 
103The following is a list of 15 words which may be utilized by a referee to create potent imagery. For each word there are two tasks. Each word is to be defined and then used in a sentence to describe the contents of a room in a dungeon. 
1041. Chrysalis
1052. Gossamer
1063. Enveloped
1074. Coalescing
1085. Intertwined
1096. Gapping
1107. Looming
1118. Roiled
1129. Gibbous
11310. Corroded
11411. Atavastic
11512. Rippling
11613. Bloated
11714. Submerged
11815. Translucent
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120In Basic, Dungeons were complexes of multiple rooms explored by the players. A room's content was either empty, a monster, treasure, a trap, or something special. In more abstract terms rooms either contained a reward or an obstacle which would diminish their resources. As characters would explore the complex, they would encounter obstacles which would be either engaged with or avoided. Further, as characters would spend time within a dungeon, a special class of obstacles would emerge. In Basic, every twenty minutes or two turns, there is a 1 in 6 chance of encountering a wandering monster. These are essentially mobile obstacles which serve to diminish the resource of "being alive" from the characters in the dungeon. The purpouse of wandering monsters is three-fold, the first two are obvious, while the last is only understood in retrospect. 
121The first purpouse of wandering monsters is to emphasize time management as central to resource management, as the more time spent inside the dungeon the higher the chance of encountering these monsters. Encountering a locked door, the characters have two options: to search for a different path through the comples or to break it down/pick the lock/use magic to pry it apart. Wandering monsters creates an incentive for the characters to attempt to open the door there and now rather than to keep searching the complex for other routes.  
122The second purpouse of wandering monsters is to reinforce dynamic elements in gameplay. Rather than characters reacting to the passive state of the dungeon, the actions of players create "ripples" through the "game-world". Actions have consequences.
123The third purpouse of wandering monsters is to reinforce exploration by discoveries. These wandering monsters are indicative of the complex where they are found as well as the "game-world". Consider characters exploring a tomb and finding three different kinds of monsters: Bats, Rat-men, and Ghosts. The discovery of each implicitly informs the players with mroe information. Discovering Bats inside of a tomb may imply that there is another enterance into the tomb such as from a cave and may imply that the in the "game-world" bats exist. Discovering Rat-men inside of a tomb may imply that there are things watching them travel through tomb and may imply that the in the "game-world" humans are not the only sentient beings. Discovering Ghosts inside of a tomb may imply that those interred inside the tomb may still be full of rage that the in the "game-world" death may not be the end of an entity. The last two examples are significant because they are "fantastic" and imply numerous other considerations from the players. These considerations are likely to go through the mind of a player and further immerse them in a game world and facilitate play based on the "emergent narrative". Rather than being told about the "game-world" the players are shown it! Rather than being told there are ghosts in the old ruins; they first hear moans near the entrance, then they find the stench of rotting flesh, some time later they see a figure in the distance, and eventually a near transparent limb grabs at them. Each of these discoveries build to the exploration of the complex with the culmination of the discovery of the ruin's ghosts.
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125A term mentioned in the above paragraph was "Emergent Narrative". This term refers to the story that unfolds through the gameplay. In the firstly mentioned three doors your blind friend would choose, the emergent narrative is the story that emerges from your friends choice. Multiple choices and gambles on resources culminate in a narrative which emerges from gameplay, hence Emergent Narrative. Tabletop RPG's are a unique medium because of this emergent fiction, rather than acting out the narrative created by the referee. A narrative, new to both the players and the referee emerges as the players explore the "game-world" so too does the Referee with them. He adjudicating certain rulings and facilitates gameplay for further adventure. Through usage of Clear, Concise, and Evocative language the emergent narrative is visualized in memorable ways. Take the two following emergent narratives and compare them. "You enter a room and find a zombie" vs. "Torch light shining you delve deeper into the catacombs, suddenly a coffin rattles and a ghastly wail is heard. The lid is shoved to the side as a pair of rotting hands graps at the sides. A corpse rises out of it's resting place by sudden movements, it stares two empty sockets at you it's jaw hanging off from one side a constant seesaw of teeth." The usage of Clear, Concise, and Evocative language makes the narrative much more vivid and memorable. It shows the "game-world" through discoveries rather than simply states the content within. The emergent narrative is the series of discoveries by the players in an understandable chronology. In Basic this emergent narrative is not only the sequence of rooms raided in a dungeon and how the characters deal with the obstacles within. It is the sum of every discovery by the players within. It is not just the rolling boulder trap which is launched at them, it is also the crying face carved in the boulder that chases after them. 
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127Previously mentioned in the description of the dungeons within Basic were "empty rooms". These rooms are not truly empty but instead exist in a state which lacks a reward or an obstacle. They may become later filled with a wandering monster, but they still possess discoverable aesthetic elements. These aesthetic elements allow differentiation when inside of a dungeon and build towards the immersion of a player in the "game-world". They allow foreshadowing of what is further inside the complex or what is elsewhere existing in the "game-world". No content exists in isolation and each discovered thing builds towards another. Take the previously mentioned description of a room containing a zombie, it is infact a series of discoveries. First is the existence of catacombs, this implies that inside there will be someone buried, possibly with treasure. Next is the presence of torches, which implies that there is a need for light as the catacombs are dark. Next is the cofffin, which implies that there is a body in the coffin. Further, the coffin rattles which indicates that there is something moving inside of it. The Ghastly wail imples that perhaps the corpse is animated, and the pair of rotting hands confirms this. The emergence of the Corpse from the coffin, the last discovery, indicates that not all who rest within the catacombs are dead. These discoveries also build off each other. The presence of a undead inside of a coffin imply that the other coffins may also possess undead. The darkness of the catacombs alongside the awakening of the undead may imply that they are drawn to light or heat nearby. These may seem as simply speculations, but these are the though process of the players as they discover the contents of the room.