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world becomes a textual world defining the type of world becomes more problematic. Scott may bring thorough notes to the gaming session; in which case we might say that they represent the textual world of Sorpraedor. Players may ask questions or pursue lines of the story that Scott didn’t think of in advance, however, and, thus, there is no textual representation of these parts of the story or world until they are articulated in the actual gaming session. As we have seen, the same kind of off the cuff narration can also take place when a published module is used. Thus, instead of making a distinction that is ultimately problematic, I chose to use the terms TAW and TRW to refer to those worlds that are embodied textually. The text, in this view, is the discourse provided by the actual gaming group. It is created and narrated by the gamers themselves, particularly the DM. Because I take the text to be the discourse created during the gaming session, I, thus, collapse this distinction and refer only to the TAW.

When we step into a fictional world, we behave as if it is the AW; we ascribe to the truth of the particular APW we are presented with. Both the AW, and the APW exist outside of any narrative structure, much the way both this world and the world of Sorpraedor exist. The TRW and TAW come into being with the creation of the text. The author refers to the TRW but controls our view of that world by presenting only pieces of it in the TAW. Thus, a narrative structure involves only a selection of a possible world rather than the entire thing—a view into a world that an author allows us to see. In the case of the TRPG, we might say that the DM controls the world in this way, allowing players to only see parts of the world that he or she presents. However, Mackay (2001) notes that “the entire role-playing game narrative [is] unavailable to the gamemaster” (p. 87). Because the DM cannot predict players’ actions, he or she can not know what direction the story might take or what parts of the world might be explored. While the DM may control the world to an extent, this control is far more ephemeral than that of an author.4

TRPGs involve continual frame shifting between different possible and AWs. In our example, the world of Sorpraedor can be seen as an APW. Sorpraedor is a large world and at the time of the orc tale, our group had not yet heard of parts of the world such as the Iron Mountains or the city of Lugyere. However, Scott had created these worlds in his head. Despite all of Scott’s planning, it was not until the Sorpraedor campaign began that Sorpraedor became a TRW because prior to that time, no text existed to reference that APW. For the world to take on its life as a text, then, it must be embodied in discourse rather than merely thought. It must also have an audience.5 Nevertheless, there are things in the TRW that are not always apparent to that audience. Textual worlds are populated with complete human beings who can be assumed to have existed and experienced certain events even if these events are not told as a part of the story (Ryan, 1991, p. 23). In our sample story of Blaze Arrow, Grumbach and the Blood Fist tribe have already attacked the tower before the party arrives. They also have a history and a reason for being there that stems from events that occurred before the story began. When the DM refers to these events, the world of Grumbach and his orcs also becomes a part of the TAW. The way in which the DM describes Grumach and the orcs is the view of them that exists in the TAW, which may or may not be the same as the “truth” of the TRW (the DM could be trying to intentionally mislead characters). However, whether or not the players discovered the motives of the Blood Fist tribe, these motives do not cease to be true in the TRW. Similarly, although it has not been narrated, the Blood Fists’ victory is a matter of truth in the world of Sorpraedor.

Likewise, when players propose actions for their characters, their discussion exists in the AW but refers to the actions that may happen in an APW. Nick may