This site is now out of date!

Our new site is here: http://www.orcedinburgh.co.uk/

I'll keep this site up for historical reference and because it still gets links and stuff, but all the action is over on the new site. So go there!

Supported and hosted by Ottakar's, George Street. Website hosted by

What We Do

The roleplaying club is a forum for people to:

  • find out about role-playing games
  • try out a role-playing game
  • meet other people who are interested in playing
  • get together regularly and play

It's our business to make sure everyone feels welcome, so come along!

When We Meet

We meet every Saturday
at Ottakar's Bookshop in George Street, Edinburgh
between 12.30 and 1.00pm.

We then move on to Caffe Nero on Rose Street (the EasyInternet place), sit down upstairs and play.

Games run to about 5.00pm. Newcomers are always welcome!

What Roleplaying Games Are

A group of people sit down together. They all take the roles of characters in a story, without knowing how the story will unfold. One other person joins them. She takes the role of narrator or gamemaster, and lays out the beginnings of a story. The others reply, describing their character's actions and dialogue. Together, by talking through the actions and reactions of the characters, a narrative takes shape. In many kinds of games, dice are used to represent the hand of fate in the character's lives, delivering good luck or bad.

Roleplaying games have been around in some form or another for centuries. The modern form of RPG emerged in the 70s with the publication of Dungeons & Dragons, a roleplaying game set in a Tolkien-style world of elves and orcs.

Since then, the hobby has expanded and matured. Now, hundreds of RPGs are available for purchase or download, and the content ranges from Jeeves-and-Wooster-style antics (The Drones) to feminist monster-bashing (Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The RPG) to hard-nosed thriller (Millenium's End) and many, many other places as well.

The Granddaddy of them all, Dungeons & Dragons, is still very much alive and kicking. It is easily the most popular roleplaying game of all, with millions of active players all around the world. Recently, action star Vin Diesel, interviewed on the Conan O'Brien show, confirmed that one of his tattoos in the movie xXx was the name of his favourite D&D character - a sign of the steadily increasing profile of RPGs.

Why Roleplaying Games Are Special

In this world of X-Boxes, DVDs, and satellite TV, you might wonder what makes RPGs worthy of your time. It's as simple as this - there is nothing as engaging as being part of a story. In an RPG you get to experience the twists and turns of a mystery or the breathless danger of an action adventure, all while hanging out with your friends.

Be the adventure. There's nothing else like it.

How To Find Out More

If you're curious about RPGs, the best thing to do is come along on Saturday between 12.30 and 1.00pm to Ottakar's George Street, in Edinburgh! We would love to chat to you about what RPGs are and why they're worth a try.

If you can't make it on a Saturday, or you aren't in Edinburgh, try any of the following:

  • find the RPG section at your local Ottakars and have a browse (if you can't find it, ask!)
  • have a wander on the net - use your favourite search engine to look for terms like 'rpg', 'introduction', 'newbie' and 'dungeons and dragons'. (Confusion alert - watch out when you search for 'rpg' for the wide range of computer RPGs, which are an entirely different thing.)
  • give me an email at this address: mr_orgue at hotmail dot com

History of the Roleplaying Club

The Roleplaying Club was founded in May 2003 by Morgan Davie, but it would never have happened without the support of the lovely Claudia at Ottakars George Street. Thanks Claudia! Many great people have turned up and joined in, and it looks like we'll be around for a while yet.

This page written by Morgan Davie on 29 September 2003. I can be contacted using the email address in the text above. I'm not hotlinking it because I don't want to get a boatload of spam if I can avoid it!