I have a copy of Fantasy Encounter Games, by Herbert A. Otto, Nash Publishing 1972. What, might you ask, did fantasy roleplaying games consist of in 1972? The preface says it all:
"This volume is dedicated to the Human Potentialities Movement, the humanistic psychologists, and all of those who know that the actualizing of their potential is a lifelong exciting adventure.
"The work in the area of fantasy development began in 1963 during the beginning years of my work with Developing Personal Potential groups at the University of Utah..
"Members of the two Fantasy Weekends conducted at Esalen Institute in 1968 and 1969 were especially helpful in the course of two very challenging and mind expanding experiences."
Mind expanding, indeed. Before Messr.s Gygax & Arneson were doing their thing, hippie-era psychologists were doing theirs. It's not hard to imagine group therapy having a resemblance to
RPGs, but to see it so close in form & historical period is surreal.
There is some amount of coin-flipping & dice-rolling, although it's much more in open-ended LARP style. Some texts in the many scenarios are labeled "Partner Action," functioning just like GM-only text.
Ladies, Gentlemen, Entities; we have before us the beginnings of an actual honest-to-god Call o' Cthulhu quest for hidden knowledge. Beneath the
RPGs, whose history of growth from wargaming we thought we knew so well, lie foundations of madness.
Everyone reading this post must now roll for sanity damage. Sorry folks, you knew what you were getting into.