TTRPGs & D&D

[JakeEkiss]

I want to run concurrent games of Tales from the Loop and Things from the Flood where the players are playing both their pre-teen selves AND their older selves, as the Very Weird Shit they encounter in Loop come back to haunt them in Flood. (BTW, if you enjoy having your heart broken, the Tales from the Loop TV adaptation is my favorite thing ever. I still get visibly emotional if I hear the soundtrack.)

That's a really fun idea. One thing I've always wanted to run is a game that spanned many years of in universe time. Decades if possible. Where we only check in with the heroes when the biggest things happen. Like, I want it to be reasonable to have a PC die in one session and then a session or two later a child of theirs shows up to take up the mantle. I haven't cracked what sort of story I'd want to do that way, but someday I'll make it happen.

 

[docsilence]

That's a really fun idea. One thing I've always wanted to run is a game that spanned many years of in universe time. Decades if possible. Where we only check in with the heroes when the biggest things happen. Like, I want it to be reasonable to have a PC die in one session and then a session or two later a child of theirs shows up to take up the mantle. I haven't cracked what sort of story I'd want to do that way, but someday I'll make it happen.

Yeah, it'd require an interesting level of collaboration and investment. For this one my dream would be one player does NOT play their original kid character and part of the mystery is "why isn't Billy around in eight years?"

 

[JakeEkiss]

Yeah, it'd require an interesting level of collaboration and investment. For this one my dream would be one player does NOT play their original kid character and part of the mystery is "why isn't Billy around in eight years?"

Oh yeah that's good.

There's a Delta Green adventure that Quinns Quest covered that does the whole "we were investigators on this one case, but we never solved it and then we come back 20 yrs later" setup and that also sounded really cool.

 

[docsilence]

Oh yeah that's good.

There's a Delta Green adventure that Quinns Quest covered that does the whole "we were investigators on this one case, but we never solved it and then we come back 20 yrs later" setup and that also sounded really cool.

Delta Green is so rad. Though I depressingly had to mute Detwiller on socials for a bit because I agreed with him too much politically and every time he posted I got set off on a new level of anger. Bizarre to mute someone you're a fan of because you agree with them to the point it makes you violently angry.

 

[JakeEkiss]

Delta Green is so rad. Though I depressingly had to mute Detwiller on socials for a bit because I agreed with him too much politically and every time he posted I got set off on a new level of anger. Bizarre to mute someone you're a fan of because you agree with them to the point it makes you violently angry.

Not weird at all. I had to do the same to Greg Pak. Was just like "man, I need a break from this every now and again and you're posting NON STOP". I should check to see if I can unmute him again but my guess, with current stuff, the answer will be an emphatic no.

And like you say, it's not even disagreement, it's just that I manage enough daily outrage and need a least a few spaces where it's not non-stop. I keep flirting with high blood pressure and I don't need to stroke out before 50.

 

[docsilence]

Not weird at all. I had to do the same to Greg Pak. Was just like "man, I need a break from this every now and again and you're posting NON STOP". I should check to see if I can unmute him again but my guess, with current stuff, the answer will be an emphatic no.

And like you say, it's not even disagreement, it's just that I manage enough daily outrage and need a least a few spaces where it's not non-stop. I keep flirting with high blood pressure and I don't need to stroke out before 50.

Oh yeah, he wasn't WRONG about any of it, but he was also like "you idiots who haven't given up your American citizenship need to do something about this" and I'm like YES WE DO but I also don't have the option to bail on the country so I need to not be the same level as angry as you are, man! I'm sure he's still at it non-stop, but he has the benefit of not being geographically in a place where brownshirts might come scoop him up.

 

[JakeEkiss]

he has the benefit of not being geographically in a place where brownshirts might come scoop him up.

Yeah I modulate quite a bit of my tone given I live in Texas. You just never know and I sure don't want to find out.

 

[TFitz]

I never understood D&D. I mean that in a literal sense, not a "Why are you playing that?" sense. But watching the video with Deborah Ann Woll explaining it to Jon Bernthal really intrigued me.

There is a place about 15 miles from me that does a lot of game playing (plan on selling my MTG Legends cards there), but I think I'm way to old to put my learning cap on for it. That and irritating the long-time players with all the nagging questions I would have trying to play.

 

[docsilence]

I never understood D&D. I mean that in a literal sense, not a "Why are you playing that?" sense. But watching the video with Deborah Ann Woll explaining it to Jon Bernthal really intrigued me.

There is a place about 15 miles from me that does a lot of game playing (plan on selling my MTG Legends cards there), but I think I'm way to old to put my learning cap on for it. That and irritating the long-time players with all the nagging questions I would have trying to play.

Deb does more to explain the game in that ten minute clip than anyone who has ever worked in TTRPGs has ever been able to accomplish in 50 years of the game. She is a national treasure.

It's all about finding the right welcoming group, because I think everyone has a war story of old grumps and gatekeepers getting in the way. I actually taught a group of six to play right before the pandemic - it was hilarious because they were all 50-something six married gay men or lesbians and every single one of had a partner who thought we were INSANE 'playing pretend.' The spouses would go to the bar and drink while I ran games for them at one of their houses. Six years later they all still play though.

 

[JakeEkiss]

There is a place about 15 miles from me that does a lot of game playing (plan on selling my MTG Legends cards there), but I think I'm way to old to put my learning cap on for it. That and irritating the long-time players with all the nagging questions I would have trying to play.

A couple of things are worth noting. D&D is the most popular system in the states, and despite what some folks say it *can be* cumbersome to learn on the first go around. That said, you can pick up the basics really fast so long as you're not playing a spellcaster, and almost any other game you'd choose to play has a better than average chance of being simpler and easier to learn. D&D as your first ttrpg is sort of like learning how to drive on a stick-shift. If you learn it, any other game will be easier, and while it's not impossible to learn, it likely will take a session or two for it all to gel.

Also, one of the fastest ways to determine a group who is worth playing with is how they treat a sincerely interested new player. Like, if you show up and want to make a character and someone lights up like you have just made their day, that is a green flag. Some folks, I dare say many, really enjoy teaching new players.

The spouses would go to the bar and drink while I ran games for them at one of their houses. Six years later they all still play though.

It's anecdotal, but everyone who I've ever played with or taught ttrpgs who I'm still in contact with either still plays to this day (or tries to if they can't find a group) or runs their own games. Literally 100%. It has a staggeringly high conversion rate if you can give folks a good taste.

Half of my current home group are people who I ran for in high school who came back and started gaming with me again over a decade and a half later.

 

[docsilence]

A couple of things are worth noting. D&D is the most popular system in the states, and despite what some folks say it *can be* cumbersome to learn on the first go around. That said, you can pick up the basics really fast so long as you're not playing a spellcaster, and almost any other game you'd choose to play has a better than average chance of being simpler and easier to learn. D&D as your first ttrpg is sort of like learning how to drive on a stick-shift. If you learn it, any other game will be easier, and while it's not impossible to learn, it likely will take a session or two for it all to gel.

Also, one of the fastest ways to determine a group who is worth playing with is how they treat a sincerely interested new player. Like, if you show up and want to make a character and someone lights up like you have just made their day, that is a green flag. Some folks, I dare say many, really enjoy teaching new players.


It's anecdotal, but everyone who I've ever played with or taught ttrpgs who I'm still in contact with either still plays to this day (or tries to if they can't find a group) or runs their own games. Literally 100%. It has a staggeringly high conversion rate if you can give folks a good taste.

Half of my current home group are people who I ran for in high school who came back and started gaming with me again over a decade and a half later.

The conversion rate on games really is insane. I've mentioned upthread I think that in March of 2020 when we were all locked down I offered to teach anyone who asked to play and at the moment the only people I got set up with D&D who aren't playing are people who want a group and can't find one but still want to play every week. I always jokingly say I have a wait list to GM for but I literally have a wait list because I've got friends waiting for a spot to open up. (I think if I ever get to retire I'm just going to GM for my friends every evening, that'll be my retirement.)

 

[JakeEkiss]

I always jokingly say I have a wait list to GM for but I literally have a wait list because I've got friends waiting for a spot to open up. (I think if I ever get to retire I'm just going to GM for my friends every evening, that'll be my retirement.)

Literally me as well. With my work stuff I simply can't GM more than one game at a time (playing in multiple is easy), and I have two to three times as many people who would play if I said I was open than I can carry in a single group. I've got three or four people who basically ask every 3-4 months if I've got an opening.

 

[docsilence]

Literally me as well. With my work stuff I simply can't GM more than one game at a time (playing in multiple is easy), and I have two to three times as many people who would play if I said I was open than I can carry in a single group. I've got three or four people who basically ask every 3-4 months if I've got an opening.

I unintentionally set myself up to DM three times this week, and I regularly have people asking to jump in on a game. I feel like this is a mistake but also it's the only time I'm not freaking out about the state of the world, when I'm in a GM flow state. So maybe it's therapy?

 

[altcunningham]

I think the reason I like fantasy TTRPGs so much is because so many folks I play with do actually want to be heroic and stuff like D&D, Pathfinder, Daggerheart, etc. do set you up as being inherently cooler than your average cat from level 1. But you can play those games in a way that while you are a big damned hero, the world has so many bigger damned enemies taht you can tell those zero to hero stories well.

Something I've found over the years is cooler and bigger also varies from person to person with expectation and perspective. Like real life.

I know people who would flip out and make scenes everywhere if they became a warlock in real life. I know others who would drop it in the middle of sushi buffet, and then move the topic along to you with a shrug that they'll "figure it out".

In a game, I think there's room to be a mythical paladin, or to be a wizard that thinks the most basic cantrip is insane for them to wield, even if it's normalized on their town visits by others.

The conflict I have been a part of in all my decades of RP is when these ideologies conflict. One player wants everyone to be super casual don't look at explosions heroes. Someone else wants everyone to be concerned with minutia and wonder over a basic goblin appearing. If you can't mediate or address it, a lot of backstage drama can boil up really quick, especially with players that like to put themselves into their characters and it becomes personal. All the while it's never personal to you, and you didn't even know it was a crisis.

 

[TheSameIdiot]

I unintentionally set myself up to DM three times this week, and I regularly have people asking to jump in on a game. I feel like this is a mistake but also it's the only time I'm not freaking out about the state of the world, when I'm in a GM flow state. So maybe it's therapy?

I try to DM only one game per week. I find DMing creatively fulfilling and totally exhausting. When I finish DMing a session, I usually feel like I just got done taking the SAT. I'm fighting for my life for three hours. Nervous sweating, panic RPing, and fielding three questions at once for three straight hours. It's a workout.

The conflict I have been a part of in all my decades of RP is when these ideologies conflict. One player wants everyone to be super casual don't look at explosions heroes. Someone else wants everyone to be concerned with minutia and wonder over a basic goblin appearing. If you can't mediate or address it, a lot of backstage drama can boil up really quick, especially with players that like to put themselves into their characters and it becomes personal. All the while it's never personal to you, and you didn't even know it was a crisis.

I had a come-to-Jesus moment with this recently. Not just RPing, but the game in general. Whatever the DM has cooking probably isn't my ideal game. There's too much magic, there's too little magic, the stakes are too high, the stakes are too low, the setting is not what I want, etc. If I don't like the setting, that's what my DM sessions are for. Playing the game the DM wants to run will almost always result in the best player experience. Same with RPing. I try to meet the other players where they are.

My last DM, the rush everything guy, asked us what we wanted from his next campaign. I told him I wanted to play what he's passionate about. It's true. I think what excites him will make for the best game.