[Stormcrow]

Suppose I go to the store, witness a robbery, and trip the robber as he leaves the store. He bashes his head against the door and is knocked out. The police arrive and arrest him. The end.

While those event were happening, was I engaging in storytelling? There were characters, there was action, there was a resolution. But I wasn't creating a story. I was able to take what happened and turn it into a story, but it's not storytelling until I impose a narrative structure on it. Until then, it was just life.

Now suppose my RPG character goes to the store, witnesses a robbery, trips the robber as he leaves the store so that he bashes his head against the door and is knocked out. Then the police arrive and arrest him. End of session.

Why is this storytelling? While I'm sitting at the RPG table I'm just directing my character's life. It doesn't become storytelling until I tell you about it later and I impose a narrative structure on it.

I agree, however, with Mark Skarr's initial premise: that it's not the uncertainty of the dice that produces the drama of a game, but rather the uncertainty of the action. Rolling the dice may produce a momentary thrill when seeing whether a gamble pays off, but the real drama comes from finding out whether your strategy or tactics have served you well. Whether or not your die-roll ends up with you slaying the dragon or being eaten by it is a momentary thrill; real drama comes from the culmination of your plans to infiltrate the dragon's lair, try to steal its treasure, have an improvisational contest of riddles with it, and finally decide to engage it in battle. YOU chose that course of action. It's YOUR success if you win, and YOUR failure if you lose. It's not about storytelling; it's about making decisions and seeing the consequences.