Start of role-playing games in Lithuania

Introduction

The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s in Lithuania were the period when the country went through huge political and social changes. This was the time when Lithuania got rid of Soviet oppression and began to build its own independent state. At the same time, the emergence of new, Western cultural phenomena also began in the country. One such phenomenon was role-playing games. RPG (Role-Playing Games). These games, which have already been popular in the West for two decades, began to spread in Lithuania only in the nineties. In this article, I will share my memories of how role-playing games came to Lithuania and what were the first steps on the path of their development.

Danish visit and the first games

In the autumn of 1988, the Lithuanian Komsomol Committee announced that a group of young people from Denmark was going to come to Lithuania next year. Danes wanted to introduce Lithuanian youth to role-playing games. At that time, I was the president of the Vilnius fantasy club “Dorado”. We hadn’t heard anything about role-playing games because we lived behind the Iron Curtain. In Denmark at that time there were many clubs of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). We got the rules of the game sent by mail, but we didn’t understand much from them because it was just information for the players, so there was no way to get a full picture. In addition, you understand the essence of the role-playing game only after playing.

I announced the Danish visit in the InfoSphere I published, a dorado club’s phoenix, amateur publication. We invited not only the members of the club to contribute. In September 1989, several Danish youth groups came to Vilnius, one of them – to our club. This visit was part of a major campaign called “Next Stop Sovjet”, which was organized by the Danish government to address youth employment issues.

At that time, I had started working at the Young Technicians Station and was the head of the Astronomy Laboratory, so I had classroom-sized facilities. The first games and took place at my workplace. There were several groups of players. The Danes explained the rules, we filled out the character sheets for a long time. I took the role of a cleric – a half-warrior, half a magician. We divided into groups and the adventures began. The first episode of our group was this: we came to the city and saw a huge dragon descend into the market square from the sky and kidnap the princess. Just like that – in the middle of a white day! The king gives a huge reward for the salvation of his daughter, and of course we were those volunteers. After a long wandering around the world invented by the Master (we played for two weeks every day for a few hours), we finally found a dragon cave and clashed with the monster. It was surprising that it takes so much effort to kill a dragon. Some of the characters died, while others were on the brink of death, although we were already not at the first and not the second level…

The game was truly impressive: unseen multi-digit dice, adventures that you create yourself, the fantasy world (we hadn’t read The Lord of the Rings before). The strange thing was that the success of the action is determined by the dice numbers that fell out, the objects available and the characteristics of the character. And interestingly, you, as a character, do not know all the information that the Master has, and he keeps looking at the tables and something that he hides from us behind a small shire.

Fantasy game squad

When the Danes left, I told the children of my astronomy circle about my adventures. He listened with his jaws open. Finally, he almost exclaimed in chorus, “And we want to!!” I thought: what other dungeons and what dragons in the astronomy circle? But I didn’t want to disappoint the boys, so I came up with the idea of moving dungeons and dragons into space! The characters are participants of an expedition to an unexplored planet, and monsters are extraterrestrial creatures, robots. On the planet are the ruins and relics of a civilization that once existed. I had to create not only the world, but also the rules. We played that “cosmos” for one school year.

In the following (1990s) year, with the approval of the director and deputy director, the astronomy circle was renamed into a fantasy game circle, and I was already safely able to use the D&D rules left by the Danes. I didn’t have to create my own rules for the cosmic version anymore, so I was able to focus on creating the world and adventure. There was a lot of improvisation and free treatment of the rules, but I stayed within the framework of the classical D&D system. Later, I used improved and expanded rules – AD&D (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons). The rules of AD&D were very detailed, had small tables and descriptions of many charms, monsters, magical objects, magic drinks and others. The two books on the basic rules were far more solid compared to the D&D books.

In the game squad, four groups played with me at once. This was quite a challenge – I had to come up with four different scenarios and different monsters, because the information was very quickly leaked to friends. It’s understandable, I couldn’t “hand over” to the other group either the same castle, or that golem, or that cave. I used to think about adventures while riding a trolley bus or waking up at night. A few years later, we received D&D modules from world fantasy lovers and game companies with detailed maps of localities, building plans, possible adventure scenarios and descriptions of monsters. Although I have never played under them, they have become an excellent supporting material.

Warriors and magicians

From the story of D&D inseparable role-playing game “Warriors and Magicians”. It wasn’t just the D&D rules that the Danes left behind. Other systems, such as the Mediterranean according to Tolkin’s works, were picked up by Kastytis Beitas (Kastytis Beitas (1 January 1962 – 10 January 2015) – Lithuanian biologist and biochemist. Since 1990 Assistant and lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Vilnius University GMF. After the reorganization of this department in 2012, he was a lecturer at the Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics.). Kastytis soon created the world of Alchera and its own rules. In 1992, the basic rules of this game were released – “Warriors and Magicians”. I was the editor, publisher and distributor of these rules. The illustrations were drawn by Herta Matulionytė (now Burbe).

The casting system is unique. It is not only different from other systems, but also relies on a more realistic approach to the world of fantasy. The magic in his game has a complex mechanics, it cannot be used indefinitely. Monsters are creatures from other worlds that have entered our Middle Ages through the portals of space.

In the casting system, two decimal dice are used, numbers from 0 to 99. In Lithuania of that time it was impossible to purchase such dice. So we had to make them ourselves. It was quite complicated – it required the right shapes and paints to keep the numbers legible and stick. At the plastic factory “Neringa”, through “blat”, we made a large batch of two-color dice. The greens were of high quality, and the red ones were often of poor quality and, after prolonged use, became similar to a frayed eraser.

Role-playing game development and community

The rules of “Warriors and Magicians” were widely copied, and their acquisition was easily available. Role-playing tournaments and sessions are organized at the Dorado club, helped the games spread and attract new players. The first tournament was held in 1992, and subsequent games and sessions are still held in Lituanicons or individual groups.

The reaction of the public to role-playing games was mixed. Both the authorities and some parents were skeptical, but the popularity of the games grew. For example, my deputy director at that time was initially skeptical about the emergence of a game squad, but after a while the attitude changed, seeing the involvement and creativity of young people.

In 1993, the first Lithuanian festival of fiction and fantasy games “Lituanicon” became an important event in the role-playing community. It was the place where enthusiasts, developers and players met. During the festival, game tournaments, seminars, discussions and entertainment were held. Lituanicon became an annual event that helped to expand and strengthen the role-playing community in Lithuania.

The role-playing community in Lithuania is still active and enthusiastic. Games have become not only a way to spend your free time, but also a means of stimulating creativity, critical thinking and communication skills. A new generation of players contributes to the development and development of games, organizes tournaments and events that attract more and more participants.

Conclusion

The beginning of role-playing games in Lithuania was an interesting and inspiring period, full of challenges and discoveries. From the first games with Danish youth to the development of the rules of “Warriors and Magicians” and the establishment of the Lituanicon Festival, all this helped to form a strong and enthusiastic community of role-playing games. Today, role-playing games in Lithuania are an integral part of popular culture, giving young people the opportunity to develop their creativity, thinking and communication skills.

Author: Gediminas Beresnevičius

Gediminas Beresnevičius (born in 1957 in Telšiai) is one of the founders of the fantasy amateur movement in Lithuania, who founded the first fantasy club in Lithuania in Vilnius on 2 October 1979 with Artūras Kakaras, Romualdas Buivydas and other like-minded people. The club was later named Dorado. As the leader of the amateur fantasy movement in Lithuania, he initiated events for lovers of fiction (seminars, conventions, creative camps, game tournaments), competitions of fantastic creation. He has compiled and published several collections of fantastic works by Lithuanian authors (one in Latvian), and has written 3 books dedicated to the development of creativity and the development of imagination. At the Faculty of Communication at Vilnius University, she reads his initiated course on the development of creativity.