Juxtaposing Postmodernist and Classic Narratives in New Literacies: The Case of Role-Playing Games

Originating in classic fantasy literature and pulp fantasy magazines, the increasingly influential genre of Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TRPGs) contains multiple problematic elements in its treatment of race, gender and sexual orientation. This essay investigates whether TRPG participants in the early twenty-first century perpetuate established tropes, or whether they take advantage of the genre’s postmodern qualities in order to engage in practices of negotiation, subversion and eventual transgression. The subversive potential of TRPGs is examined through a framework which combines narrative studies with cultural studies and the analysis of two case studies. The trans-textual and transmedial examination conducted on the two most influential TRPGs, DungeonsDungeons and Dragons & Dragons and World of Darkness, has revealed that TRPGs narratives are constantly evolving to reflect cultural shifts. Studying TRPGs, can illuminate certain aspects of cultural evolution and shed light on the evolution of speculative fiction in the post-postmodern world.