Just my take on a "What is Roleplaying?" section.

What is Roleplaying?

For me, roleplaying is sitting around a table with friends, drinking soda or beer, and eating nachos and pizza. We're playing a game with no board, kind of telling stories, but with rules. Dice are used to provide an element of chance.

The Gamemaster (GM)  sets the scene, and acts out the parts of all the monsters and non-player characters (NPCs). He describes the world and introduces conflicts for the other players to overcome. The other players each control one character, that they use to explore the world, fight monsters, and maybe win a kingdom.

The main objective for the players is to survive and increase in power. The GM is there to provide the challenges they face. The GM is not the players adversary. His main objective is to make sure that everyone, including himself, has fun.