What is fantasy? It is not the flawless weaving of a story, it is not the perfect collaboration of like minded people come together to revel in a harmonious creation. Most often in the world of role-play, where fantasy is born, nothing is perfect. The dissention within stems from ambition, arrogance, and a wide difference in opinion.

Why then do we create these stories together? Within the chaos of role-play there is always a potential for something special, something beyond the normal spectrum of what we’d expect from a role-play world. In the forging of a story one man or woman can suffice, we see this in the fantasy novels that line the shelves at our nearest book stores – but in this part of the adventure is lost, and in the simplicity of one mind there lacks an element of surprise.

It is not that one author’s works are not as impressive as the collaboration of ten minds on story created during many hours of role-play; on the contrary. The stories that stem from the minds of many often become jumbled, confused, unrealistic even by the expectations of fantasy, and disjointed.

What is it then that makes role-play special? It is the imperfection, the chaos and the intrigue that brings us together in a world where there are no certainties, where there are few barriers, and those that are can easily be expanded. It is a rare thing when all the elements of role-play come together, and a story both complicated and simple is born – when evil and good and all the shades between come to fruition, and in the minds of the players the world comes to life, and the characters are truly born.

It is here, in the world that is forged through the collective efforts of very different minds, that we can anticipate and interact – that feeling of anxiety, of raw emotion that flows through your fingers and into the character, or perhaps, that flows from the character and into your fingers. It is here that an imperfect story of friendship, heroes, deception and intrigue is born. It is here that our minds have come together to create a story in which we all have a place, in which we are all entwined.

This is fantasy.