TTRPG is short for Tabletop Roleplaying Game. It is a type of game designed to create your own stories in real time while experiencing them from a first person perspective through a main hero. The game takes place offline, through imagination and shared storytelling.

How is that possible? One of the players has a special role, which means the game requires at least two people to play. This player is called the Game Master, or GM. The Game Master runs the simulation of the world of the story, describing everything from the scenery to the dialogue of non-player characters and deciding the consequences of the player characters’ words and actions. The other players provide input simply by describing what their characters say and do.

It is similar to a video game, but instead of using a controller, you use words. Instead of looking at a screen, you use your imagination. Instead of a console running the world, there is a GM providing the framework.

The advantage is obvious: the possibilities are vastly greater, practically endless, because you are not limited by programmed paths.

Why do you need a book to play this game? You do not. However, a rulebook makes the Game Master’s job much easier by providing building blocks and consistent rules for the story you are about to create and experience.

Tannhauser Gate TTRPG is one such ruleset, designed to create the kind of stories you already know and love from your favorite epic sci-fi adventure movies, cartoons, and novels.