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(this is an abridged version of the article, full version at the link)

In their game, Gygax & Arneson codified the role that they played in their own games with their friends. This role is just as much a Player of the game as any other, although the game which the Dungeon Master plays is very different from the game played by the rest of the Players at the table. While the other Players typically control a single Character, the Dungeon Master controls many, calculating their responses to the other Players’ actions, and then describing not only those Characters’ responses, but the whole world’s responses. This is not unlike the Umpire’s role in Kriegsspiel, though adapted to a non-war game.

It is also like the impartial Judge role of the Hellanodikas, in that, once the rules of Dungeon Mastering are known, they are expected to be carried out without bias. This style of gameplay, where one Player plays a game that is different from the one being played by the others, is called “Asymmetrical”, in the sense that there isn’t perfect symmetry between the experiences of the Players. In board gaming, a popular example might be Monopoly, where one Player takes the role of Banker, and so plays a game that is about keeping track of loans and sums in addition to normal play. A well-known Asymmetrical multiplayer video game is Dead by Daylight, where one Player takes the role of a Slasher Movie villain, and the others take the roles of the movie’s heroes.

So, knowing all this, what role does a Player take on as Referee in an OSR game?

This is a question often asked in the Old-School community and the larger Roleplaying Game community as a whole. Many thousands of articles and videos and podcasts of advice - much of it largely on the subject of writing rather than having a fun game of imagination - have been produced without any being truly seen as “Definitive”. This is due to the basic nature of the OSR’s Referee role; in a sort of paradox, the Referee’s role is so simple many think there must be more to it in order for it to be as difficult as it is to carry out.

To restate: A Referee’s role is not complicated, just difficult.

The OSR is the evolution of these Old-School rules for gaming, inspired by games like Gygax & Arneson’s D&D, Free Kriegsspiel (a variant on Wargaming that removed most of the formal rules), and Tom Moldvay and "Zeb" Cook's Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert Sets (a confusingly named but almost wholly dissimilar game from Gygax & Arneson’s “D&D”, “B/X” was largely based on a game known as “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” - itself another new game from Gary Gygax - and “The Complete Warlock” by Balboa Game Company, which was an adaptation of D&D by Gygax & Arneson. Moldvay’s “Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set” should not be confused with Dr. J. Eric Holmes’ “Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set”, which is itself another game altogether, again based largely on The Complete Warlock*).

As such, it is fairly clear from context what the Referee’s intended role in an OSR-style game is, but let us frame it simply:

The Referee is a Player of the Game, there to have fun like everybody else

The Referee acts as Computer, calculating probabilities and the outcomes of actions

The Referee acts as a fair Judge, ruling according to the rules of the Game

The Referee acts as interface with the Game’s world, describing it in detail and allowing for the other Players to interact with it

This last point seems to be the most contentious amongst Gamers, despite how uncontroversial it looks when stated plainly. Many people, Player and Referee alike, believe that Roleplaying Games are the realm of Play-Acting, and that “funny” voices, accents, and mannerisms acted out by everybody are the norm. There is nothing inherent in RPGs that calls for this style of theatricality. There is nothing that says you can’t do it, but it is not required, and does not overall make for a better experience, just a different one from a more descriptive play style.

There also exist Players who think that the enjoyment of the Game for the Referee is found in tormenting the other Players, in frustrating their efforts, or insulting them for whatever reason. Even done in a “playful” manner, this is not friendly behavior. This is bullying. People should simply refuse to play games with those who find enjoyment in bullying others during play. Dealing with a “Problem Player” is as simple as either not playing those sorts of games with them, or just not being their friend at all.

Some games have the Referee create the world. Some have it created for them already. Others have the Players collaboratively create the world in which they play. In all cases, one of the Referee’s tasks is to set up the game. Traditionally, this means organizing the whole Event - corralling Players, procuring snacks, etc - but it doesn’t have to. A Referee’s task may start at an already set-up game board, from which point their job is to run the game. A Referee’s work might start weeks or months beforehand, when they write up complex histories for each and every Character the Players might possibly interact with, and draw out maps and Character portraits. A Referee might describe the world to the other Players in intricate detail, using flowery language, or might use question-and-answer format to give the other Players information. A Referee might even “get into Character” and talk in voices or act out certain actions physically. This is not a bad thing, it is in fact a sign of an enthusiastic Referee who is likely having a very good time. But none of these styles of play are necessary to do. None is any better than any other.

A given game may have a lot of math precalculated for the Referee, with tables and matrices full of information about what this style of sword does against that style of shield, when both combatants are left-handed and have trained for exactly 972 days or what have you. Or a game might have none of that, leaving the Referee to determine such probabilities themself or else find such tables and matrices elsewhere. Again, neither play style is better. Some Players are able to perform complicated math on the fly. Others are not. Both types of person are valid as Players and Referees.

Some games seek to eliminate the role of the Referee altogether. Generally these games take one of two approaches: either they seek to do the Referee’s job in the rules, by making clear every possible ruling and requiring strict adherence to the rules such that if any disagreements are had, the rules will hopefully have an answer to them; or else they seek to eliminate the singular role of Referee by offloading the work to all the other Players. Both styles are analogous to the way sports games were run prior to the 1890s, though obviously in different ways.

So maybe your group takes the Victorian Footballer approach to Refereeing, and sees the role as one of arbitration, only needed when disagreements arise. Maybe your group views the role more like a Kriegsspiel Umpire, where the Player runs the whole world and makes all the calls. Maybe your group prefers to leave the Refereeing to everybody instead of one single Player. In any case, the Game is meant to be fun for everybody involved, not a job one Player has to perform for the others.

After all, this is Roleplaying, not the Olympics.

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