The "honesty" factor is the key for me. Every event in a novel is under the control of the creator but that isn't so for role-playing games. It adds true signif

The "honesty" factor is the key for me. Every event in a novel is under the control of the creator but that isn't so for role-playing games. It adds true significance to everything and makes gaming sessions truly engaging to watch. I've seen groups make it through months of hardship only to have a particularly bad dice roll or stupid choice kill them all and plunge the world into darkness. That kind of actual risk based on the cleverness of real people has a flavor that cannot be replicated in any traditional fiction medium.