Been a bit, I know. Getting my head sorted out from this burnout, and trying to find a process where I don’t burn out every five months. It’s actually working, too. Insights will be shared in good time. Meanwhile, come to Nerd Fest today! And also other things.
Now that I’ve got my do’s and don’ts out the way, I want to start to dig a little deeper. One thing that’s definitely changed about my games over the past few years is that I stopped playing with the same group of people and starting recruiting. Vigorously. In the past three years I’ve introduced about eighteen people to D&D through long term campaigns (longer than a year), and working with new players is something I love doing, though it can occasionally tax my patience a bit. It’s definitely been for the better.
It’s a brave new world here. My house is soon to be occupied by eleventeen people as we edit some video like mad. It’s going to be exciting, and I can’t wait. Also there will be snacks. It’s basically a party. But you can’t be there. My apartment is small. Instead, learn things, find Kickstarters, and do your own awesome stuff in today’s TPKtalk!
Today’s post is a bit late in part because there was much fretting about what I consider an essential “Do” in a game. Things like “Cooperate” and “Don’t be a dick” were generally ruled out because they’re true for any game, I would hope. I wanted to narrow down my own foibles rather than digging out obvious truths. Without further ado, my do’s. Not to be confused with my don’ts.
Today I’m hurling my pasty body into frozen water to help children with special needs in the KW Polar Plunge. I am excited but no doubt already cold. To keep you warm we’ve got imaginative art, science ponies, faction design, and a new Table Top!
The 40th anniversary of D&D gave me a chance to really reflect on how my GMing style has changed since I started playing. I’ve gone from teenage autocrat to adult sandbox GM, but lately I’ve noticed that my style has become a bit paternalistic. I’m starting to set the boundaries and define what people have fun at and what they don’t, and I think that’s a problem in some cases. I want to write and reflect on that a bit, because I think it’s useful for me and hopefully for you. So today, my don’ts. The things that, after this long, I’m just finished dealing with in terms of PCs. Some of these are justified, and some of them are just pet peeves, but it’s all worth thinking about.
Hope you had a good Valentine’s day, and are enjoying your weekend. Here it’s a long weekend, so we’re loving it. Take a minute to check out some great articles about mini-painting, kickstarters, and a medieval butt song.
One of the things on my GMing bucket list is to have a PC fall in love when it’s not their idea. It’s one thing to have a PC dream up a love interest and have it as a goal, but something else entirely to have their character develop an attraction to an NPC all on their own. I’ve had PCs fall in love with each other. I’ve even had players fall in love (I’m in their wedding in May), but never a PC and an NPC when it wasn’t specifically the player’s idea. One day. I’ve had some time to reflect on romantic relationships in rpgs though, and I want to share some of that this morning.
Between minis, anniversaries, and totally sweet videos, there’s all manner of gaming up in this.