Ten Wonderful Olivia Business Centre: Maciej from Arrow!

Beautiful princesses, unleavened innkeepers and a dragon that breathes fire. Anything can happen in this world, and yet the most unexpected for a long time arouses the greatest emotions. What is the phenomenon of RPGs and how can you become a Dungeon Master, explains Maciej Wojciechowski, Sales Support Specialist EMEA Education Service Team Arrow, which has turned its passion for storytelling into a way to spend time creatively while strengthening professional bonds.

Where did such an unusual passion come from?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by storytelling. I loved books, I didn’t even skip reading at school (laughs). At some point, I became engrossed in a world in which someone reads while taking an active part in the story. I immersed myself in paragraph novels, which in turn inspired me to take action on the subject of RPGs.

What kind of novel is this?

Books are made up of parts. At the end of each paragraph, we are given a choice, so the reader, as the protagonist, makes a decision which way he wants to go. Depending on the decision, the book sends him to the indicated page and in this way the rest of the plot develops. I’ve always been fascinated by this kind of interactivity, but a good deal of self-criticism of my literary abilities made me turn towards games. With RPGs, I felt like this was it. Not the story itself, but the message that happens face-to-face.

How do you understand the abbreviation RPG?

It’s role playing games. Nowadays, they are more associated with video games, but in the 70s, when they were created, they functioned as games that were played while sitting at a table with many people. The game is run by a Game Master, or Dungeon Master (system-dependent nomenclature), who tells a story in which players take an active part.

In a completely invented story?

The game allows you to be completely creative. Of course, there are ready-made modules with a prepared world and characters, but most often the masters decide to tell their story. Even if they decide on a ready-made solution, they still modify the whole thing to make it look better. This means that, in practice, I’m reinventing the whole world from scratch.

Worldwide?

The task of the Dungeon Master is to create social relations, religion, politics. In this way, he takes us to the world he has intricately prepared. The task, and at the same time the challenge, is to precisely define the entire story in which the participants of the game take part. I usually go back a few hundred years, creating the backdrop needed for the games. If I had to explain it, it’s a collaborative, collaborative storytelling.

Based solely on fiction? Is there room for facts?

In fact, we’re getting into the basics of science fiction and fantasy. In the best works of these genres, the story was the basis of reality and was a costume that hides the problems we experience every day. Tolkien in “The Lord of the Rings” described the situation that took place in Europe during World War I. In “Game of Thrones” the author was inspired by the history of medieval England. When I invent the world, I also reach for motifs that we know. I like military and social issues, the connection between politics and criminal groups – these are the realities in which I feel the best. The system in which I play is the oldest available – so wide that it gives you the opportunity to choose the setting and atmosphere that the Master wishes.

Complete freedom?

Of course. For example, one of my friends loves horror and that’s why all his stories are based on horror. I much prefer intrigues, conspiracies, secret societies and criminal groups.

How do I become a Game Master?

You become a game master if you want to be one (laughs). You have to have the need to tell a story, which I’ve always had in me. When I started to get interested in RPGs by watching English streams, I realized that this is what I want to do. Interdisciplinarity and multithreading engage all my creativity, being a Master I draw, paint, sculpt, write, invent poetry.

A man of many talents…

A little bit, although I wouldn’t describe myself that way in a few of them (laughs). Even though I have to support myself in some sectors, it’s still extremely creative and intellectually stimulating.

What do you feel strong in?

You have to ask my players. Recently, in order to find out what they wanted, I did a survey among them – I found out that the strengths are the characters I create. I, as a champion, am the world and the characters that the players meet. I’m a beautiful innkeeper, I’m an old lady selling vegetables, or a broad-shouldered guard at the gate. I become all the characters I play. As a result of the study, I found out that they really like the ones I play. A lot of motivation!

What counts in the game?

Intellect and understanding of the system and all the mathematics that accompanies the games are important. At the same time, it should be remembered that RPG is a game of imagination and emotions – players take on the role of various characters, and from the perspective of a master, I manage to skillfully manage their emotions. This makes us feel sympathy or dislike for the character.

How many players are participating?

It all depends on what strength the Master has. At one point, my group consisted of 7 people – it turned out to be too much. Optimally, if there are 4 participants.

Do you meet at home?

It depends. We happen to be meeting at the company. After working hours, we annex the conference room and play.

Arrow dungeon stands?

We feel a connection with the company, and that’s probably why the team of players called themselves the Team of the Flaming Arrow. In the near future, I’m starting a campaign with a second group in the same world, on the same map and at the same time, but coming from a completely different city. It’s going to be interesting, we’ll see if they meet!

What is so addictive?

A real impact on what is happening. Players feel it and appreciate it. They quickly realize that navigating the world prepared by the Master has many faces, brings elements of puzzles and, what is important, surprises.

How long does it take to move into this world?

On average, a session at Arrow lasts about 3 hours. According to specialists, this is quite little, which is why our sessions are quite intensive.

What dimension would be perfect?

I’m assuming 6 hours. However, I can see that despite the shorter time, our players are very good at empathizing with the characters and starting to think like them.

Like this?

The coordination specialist stops thinking like a team leader. Becoming a master of the order, who fights with his fists and is constantly looking for adventures, he enters his head in a way.

This must open up new perspectives

Absolutely. That’s why, for many reasons, the idea of playing at work turns out to be a good one. I’m talking about integration, which won’t be provided by going bowling or billiards with a beer. Paradoxically, the moment when people start pretending to be completely different characters is the turning point where they discover themselves and start to get closer to the people they play with.

A bit of a therapy?

Yes, playing RPGs and playing as various characters is successfully used by psychologists in their work with patients. These roles are therapeutic in nature. I’ve noticed that the characters I choose as a player are partly what I am and would like to be. It is a projection of the creator that allows us to pour out a part of our personality. Even if we want to pretend to be someone we are not, over time we become real, speaking with our own voice, externalizing emotions that are no longer an invention. Playing with co-workers brings you closer to each other and teaches you how to work as a team. In an RPG, you won’t be able to win against your teammates. Instead, we will succeed together. We acquire the ability to cooperate, empathize, get closer to others, and if they are strangers, we have a chance to get to know each other, removing the social layer of inhibitions. As a Master, I play characters, and I do it hard. When I play a woman, I try to speak in a woman’s voice and change my body language. As a dragon, I also change accordingly. All this makes a person feel liberated. That’s why I recommend RPG to everyone!

Interviewed by: Dagmara Rybicka, Communication Department, Olivia Business Centre