Line #115 Main/RolePlayingGameVerse


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/TheAdventureZone https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taz_216.png]]]]
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7	A world straight out of a Role Playing Game, without actually being an RPG itself -- sometimes without even being a game. Some are adaptations of either [[RolePlayingGame computer [=RPGs=]]] or {{tabletop RPG}}s. Others were created independently, inspired by these games and their cultural ancestors.
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9	Will use some, if not most, of the MediaNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms, but how many obviously depends on the writers.
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11	Often set in TheTimeOfMyths or MedievalEuropeanFantasy with any technology being LostTechnology or perhaps SchizoTech. Compare RPGMechanicsVerse, when the characters themselves are aware of game mechanics. Also compare SuddenVideogameMoment.
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13	!!Examples:
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15	[[foldercontrol]]
16
17	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
18	* ''Franchise/DotHack'' A franchise where characters literally get sucked into online roleplaying games.
19	* ''{{BASToF Lemon}}'' is another anime where real people get literally transported into a game.
20	* ''Literature/KonoSuba'' A boy dies and a goddess reincarnates him into a fantasy world like the games he loves so much.
21	* ''Manga/FairyTail''. Guilds? Check. Mission board? Check. Stat improving armor sets? Check. ExpansionPackWorld? Oh yeah.
22	* ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie'' takes place in Forcelia, the world created for ''[[Literature/RecordOfLodossWar Lodoss]]''. The main cast is comprised of stock rpg archetypes: Louie is supposed to be the mage, but tends to serve as their [[GoodOldFisticuffs "fighter"]] instead. [[TheBigGuy Jeanie]] is the group's swordswoman, [[{{shorttank}} Merrill]] is [[TheSneakyGuy the thief]], and Melissa is the StaffChick. They spend much of the series in search of old ruins in hopes of finding treasure to line their pockets. But, in classic rpg fashion, a bigger plot gradually unfolds for our heroes.
23	* The first AlternateUniverse in ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'' was a spoof of the Role Playing Game Verse.
24	* In ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', the world of Cephiro is a lot like the typical fantasy world in roleplaying games. Fuu repeatedly even [[LampshadeHanging comments]] about how much Cephiro is like an RPG. [[spoiler:It makes the twist at the end of the story's first half--that [[SaveThePrincess the princess who needs to be saved]] actually summoned the Magic Knights to Cephiro in order to [[SuicideByCop kill her]]--hit even harder.]]
25	* ''Manga/BeetTheVandelBuster'' takes this a little further than most, with direct references to level grinding and all [[AnAdventurerisYou Busters]] having their level emblazoned on their chests in roman numerals. [[BossFight Vandals]] also have a similar system, but this is a slightly more organic 'star' system, where they're rated on the number of crystals implanted into them.
26	* ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'' keeps the date-change and character-stats screens from the [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} actual game]], giving it this feel.
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Comic Books]]
30	* ''ComicBook/RatQueens'' is a DeconstructiveParody of stories set in D&D-type universes, concentrating on just how annoying adventurers would be to "ordinary" citizens.
31	* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': The books start with a nobody called Wismerhill going on a journey and adding more friends to his party while facing various perils that are thrown in their way. It helps to explain a lot of what happens when you know that the series was inspired by one of Froideval's old ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaigns, and that he worked on ''AD&D'' for Creator/{{TSR}} in TheEighties.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
35	* ''ComicStrip/{{Nodwick}}'', set in a 2nd edition AD&D generic fantasy setting (though not without its twists). The strip started out being a mixture of this and RPGMechanicsVerse ([[RuleOfFunny depending entirely on what would be funnier for the strip of the day]]) before evolving fully into this for its print-based StoryArc.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Fan Works]]
39	* ''Fanfic/{{Paradoxus}}'':
40	** The plot is set up in a way that roughly resembles your typical ''World of Warcraft'' expansion pack storyline, just with an interdimensional flair. One of the Burning Legion's leaders starts wreaking havoc and can only be stopped by the conjoint effort of several peoples who ally. The key players are powerful characters who slowly unravel the mystery and own powerful artifacts, belong to a distinguished lineage, or both. There are several targets to kill, mooks that only elite characters can defeat, and a vast world to explore (with the corresponding fast methods of transportation).
41	** In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo03 third chapter]], as Bloom is traveling through the Eastern Kingdoms, she notices several people approaching her asking for favors, i.e., the InUniverse equivalent of quests. She ignores them in favor of focusing on returning home and is puzzled by this behavior.
42	** In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo04 fourth chapter]], Bloom inexplicably stops feeling fatigued moments after entering Quel'Danas. ''World of Warcraft'' has a mechanic that allows characters to get an XP bonus after spending some time at a city, garrison, or inn because they feel rested there. In Bloom's case, she's been traveling non-stop for many weeks (normal state) but ends her journey at Undercity, from where she teleports via orb to Silvermoon (rested state).
43	* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'', being a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' fanfiction, uses game mechanics like character stats, experience points and dicerolls to determine when characters succeed or fail at what they attempt, but the characters themselves aren't aware of this facet of their existence.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
47	* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'' is an UnbuiltTrope. The book series itself predates role-playing games like ''D&D'' and in fact codified many HighFantasy tropes. However, after the Fellowship is formed and before it is disbanded, the plot and characters would fit right into an RPG verse: a party that includes a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, a knight, and a ranger set out on a dangerous journey to destroy an ArtifactOfDoom, facing many typical genre perils like monsters, bands of orcs, and evil sorcerers trying to thwart their progress. The second and third films avert this, being closer to epic war movies.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* The somewhat new fantasy SubGenre called LitRPG takes this to the logical conclusion, with characters in universe usually seeing some form of RPG-like mechanics such as levels, health points, et cetera. This is similar to many {{Isekai}} light novels' mechanics, which LitRPG is openly inspired by.
52	* In the early ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' novels, it's implied that all the goings-on in the story are an RPG-like game played by the gods. At crucial moments, the characters hear the sound of dice being thrown.
53	* ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'' is a direct adaptation of an actual ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-like campaign played by its creators back in college. ''TabletopGame/SwordWorldRPG'' was made out of the Lodoss setting; the first Lodoss light novel was based on the RPG.
54	* The fantasy series ''Literature/GuardiansOfTheFlame'' has the college professor GameMaster of a gaming group turn out to be a wizard from a fantasy world that operates under similar rules. He sends his players through once they've reached a certain point in the game to see if they can bring peace to his world (or at least kill the enemy wizard who banished him to our plane).
55	* Novelizations of Role-Playing Game Settings fall here.
56	** ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
57	*** ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}''
58	*** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''
59	*** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}''
60	** ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness''
61	*** ''Literature/InheritTheEarth''
62	*** ''Literature/TruthUntilParadox''
63	*** ''Literature/PennyDreadful''
64	*** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' clan novels and other novels
65	*** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' tribe novels and other novels
66	*** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' novels
67	*** ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'' novels
68	*** ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'' novels
69	*** ''TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen'' novels
70	*** ''TabletopGame/MummyTheResurrection'' novels
71	*** Various crossover novels
72	** ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''
73	* The setting of the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' series was born out of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and ''{{TabletopGame/GURPS}}''. Its two creators, Creator/StevenErikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont, found the former's structure too restricting and set out to create their own setting using ''{{TabletopGame/GURPS}}'' rules. Most of the series' first volume, ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon'', was gamed, as well as -- according to WordOfGod -- many key events up to and including the series' finale.
74	* ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'' was based in large part on a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign. It's pretty obvious to anyone familiar with the game. Pretty much every character falls squarely within the standard FighterMageThief format, along with more subtle things such as Clerics casting spells as prayers (and focusing on HealingMagic and {{Status Buff}}s), as opposed to Wizards learning spells out of books.
75	* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' A bunch of characters of different classes go on adventures, learn new skills, & do quests to make money, & sell any loot they find to merchants.
76	* Creator/DavidWeber's Literature/TheWarGods series was born out of his personal game.
77	* ''Literature/TheWanderingInn'': The universe in which Erin finds herself mirrors typical fantasy game settings, down to some of the creatures, like gnolls and rock crabs, originating in games such as ''Dungeons and Dragons'' and ''Runescape''.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
81	* The short-lived series ''Series/KindredTheEmbraced'' counts, being a loose adaption of White Wolf's popular roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Video Games]]
85	* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad'' - the game came before the anime.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Web Comics]]
89	* Many webcomics take place in a more or less literal Role Playing Game Verse.
90	** ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup''
91	** ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''
92	** ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''
93	** ''[[Webcomic/{{Goblins}} Goblins: Life Through Their Eyes]]''
94	** ''Webcomic/{{Weregeek}}'' takes [[ExaggeratedTrope this to extremes]] and has a dozen of individual gaming storylines set in distrinct RPG Verses and running parallel to the RealLife plot.
95	** ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation''
96	** ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo''
97	** ''Webcomic/FriendshipIsDragons''
98	** ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure''
99	** ''{{Webcomic/Erfworld}}'' is based more on a turn-based strategy game than an RPG, but the strategy game it's based on has lots of RPG-ish mechanics, like individual units "leveling" based on experience. The inhabitants are so aware of game mechanics that it strikes them as odd that Parson (an import from our world) doesn't just innately ''know'' that units can't move across "hex boundaries" unless it's their side's "turn".
100	* ''Webcomic/MSFHigh'' definitely qualifies, though it's not immediately obvious. Switches to the sister trope when characters become Inspired, a specific class.
101	* ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' is both this and an [[AdventureGame Adventure Game Verse]], leaning more heavily towards RPG mechanics in the later half of the series.
102	** ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' also utilizes many RPG tropes, especially once the game of Sburb starts.
103	* ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' is brimming with [[AffectionateParody Affectionately parodied]] RPG story tropes. Although RPG game mechanics have not been significantly referenced in-story, the site's character bio page actually assigns RPG stats to each character.
104	* ''Webcomic/{{Amya}}'' is based on a tabletop RPG played by the authors, with adjustments to fit the webcomic format. The character sheet mentions character classes, and the comic proper mentions [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons kolyaruts and tanglefoot bags]] by name.
105	* ''[[{{Webcomic/Morphe}} morphE]]'' is an adaptation of a TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening game and goes out of its way to explain game mechanics in-universe. The end of chapter 2 deals with a character expending all of his mana and needing to be introduced to tass to replenish his supply.
106	* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' has several different character classes, scouts, close-range fighters, long range fighters, magicians, and a MissionControl character class in which each cast member falls. They do this to have a functional team in their quest to reach the top of the Tower, scaling it floor by floor, in other words level by level. Their equipment and basic skills[[note]] most characters have frickin' stat cards in the manual[[/note]] are from F to A with a special S Class and decimal sub units (10-1). And once the Regulars reach the top, they get ranked based on how they performed during their ascension. The best thing about it: [[FridgeBrilliance it takes some time until you notice that]] due to how the concepts are interwoven with the narrative so that they make sense in-universe and contribute to creating a believable world, rather than present themselves as arbitrary and making sense strictly to the outside observer.
107	* ''Webcomic/CrystalHeroes'' takes place in a stock RPG setting moved to the present technologically and culturally, and the characters do refer to dungeons, bosses, and white and black magic by name, but it stops short of being an RPGMechanicsVerse.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Western Animation]]
111	* The ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'' cartoon.
112	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', based on the computer RPG of the same name, takes place in a monster-filled, [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy medieval]][[SchizoTech -ish]] world inhabited by various fantastic races with different magical abilities.
113	* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' movie "Bender's Game" takes place partly in Cornwood, the setting to a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' game that some of the characters were playing earlier in the movie.
114	* The world of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is so heavily inspired by the classic RPG ''Franchise/DungeonsAndDragons'' that even its own [[Creator/PendletonWard creator]] has admitted it. The show has presented alignment, class, experience, and gold systems as well as dungeons (being the namesake of an episode), quests, and magical items. Some examples straight out of [=DnD=] are the Stoneskin Potion, the frog-gnome-knight, Princess Bubblegum's protective gems, the Dire (Fire) Wolves, the BagOfHolding within Finn's hat, the treasure-vomiting mimics, the slime cube, and the Demon Cat being a Displacement Beast. Several episodes revolve around Finn and Jake exploring the mystical Land of Ooo in search of adventures and those that don't, often start with them just coming out from one of those adventures or charging headfirst into one at the end. Given the characters are very aware of these mechanics, the show hinges on an RPGMechanicsVerse.
115	* ''WesternAnimation/JumanjiTheAnimatedSeries'' had elements of this, albeit based on a board game rather than a tabletop RPG.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'', which is based on the first [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]] campaign of ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' and as such is brimful of fantastic races, taverns, monsters, overly obstructive doors and the like.
117	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RolePlayingGameVerse