Theatre review; Adventurers Wanted, A 250-Hour Epic Tabletop Roleplaying Game

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Tabletop roleplaying: a world full of heroics and idealism, but one that can barely be mentioned without an accompanying snigger and predictable comment about 'boys with beards' who like to throw dice and can't talk to women.

Sweet Holyrood (Venue 94)

***

The five men on stage, who’ve already spent ten hours in their roles as wizard, fighter, cleric and barbarian, might not do much to shatter this stereotype.

However, by turning what is essentially another form of storytelling into a show (and live streaming this), the players open a window into what turns out to be a surprisingly appealing world – one that is full of camaraderie and friendship.

At first, you may feel as if you’ve gate-crashed someone else’s subculture, especially if you don’t know the game’s rules (which involve making character-driven decisions, the outcomes of which are dictated by dice). But the dynamics between the team members and their amusing alter-egos quickly become strangely absorbing.

The story is less coherent – a series of episodic confrontations on an island with creatures including an “awakening tree”. However, it will be fascinating to see how the piece develops over the course of the festival, and to also directly take part as a player (which you can do by purchasing a special ticket via the Sweet Venues website).

Until 28 August. Today 10am.