Check Your Understanding Check Understanding
Check Your Understanding
Before moving to Lesson 1.2, make sure you can answer these questions:
Question 1: Tabletop vs. Video Game RPG
In your own words, what is the difference between a tabletop RPG and a video game RPG? What makes the tabletop version a form of collaborative storytelling?
Hint
Think about who controls the story and the characters. In a video game, the developer controls what's possible. In a tabletop game, who decides what happens?
Question 2: Creative Writing Skills in D&D
Name two specific creative writing skills that D&D players practice during gameplay. Explain why each skill matters for writers.
Hint
Think about what D&D players do during a session: they describe characters, create dialogue, imagine scenes, and adapt when things change. Which of these are also writing skills?
Question 3: Cultural Traditions in World-Building
Why does the lesson mention TTRPGs from different cultural traditions (like Ryuutama or Coyote & Crow)? What does this suggest about world-building?
Hint
If different cultures create different games, what does that tell you about how culture shapes storytelling? What might you learn about world-building by looking at games beyond D&D?
Question 4: Details That Create Living Worlds
Think about a book, movie, or game with a world that felt incredibly real to you. What specific details made that world come alive?
Hint
What small things made you believe in this world? Was it sensory details, character behaviors, how things worked, or the history that shaped the setting? Name specific examples.
How to Use This Check
If you can answer all of these with confidence, you're ready for Lesson 1.2: The Power of Setting. If any feel unclear, re-read the relevant sections in Lesson 1.1, paying special attention to the connection between D&D and writing craft.
What's Next
Lesson 1.2: The Power of Setting