Tabletop RPGs are a broad range of activities stretching from the more traditionally game-like ones that are or are very close to tabletop wargaming, where stor

Tabletop RPGs are a broad range of activities stretching from the more traditionally game-like ones that are or are very close to tabletop wargaming, where stories may be involved but it's recognizably game-like with winners and losers (though "winner" and "loser" may still be a bit subjective or muddled, in much the same way it can be in, say, a battle in an actual war) to, at the other end, games that are lightly-structured collaborative storytelling activities. So, what "winning" looks like depends on the group and the game. Having one's character die may feel a lot like losing at one table, but just another part of the story at another, meaningful, maybe, but not a "loss" any more than passing GO and collecting $200 is losing—roll up another character, the story goes on, and we've closed a meaningful chapter in it. At most tables, I think, the rules basically exist just to give structure and fair-feeling challenge to an extended session of play-pretend.