The figurative journey of a thousand metaphorical miles has begun.
This is the first step.
I am a fanatic for roleplaying games. I only figured this out when I got the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition starter set in 2014. Being a DM was my introduction to the genre. Looking through the simple booklets, I was captivated by the idea of the "theater of the mind," a shared collective imagination project.
The starter set adventure- "The Lost Mines of Phandelver" - is still one of my favorites. I fully admit that nostalgia plays its part. But I have run the adventure for three groups, from first-time adult players, to a group of 10 year olds, to a group of veteran rpg players. Respectively, they: followed the adventure beat for beat, ignored five or six hooks trying to get them into the adventure and rampaged across the countryside, and finally, ignored the "grinding" levels and headed straight for the final dungeon.
The results were all pretty much the same. We had fun. We made memories.
Showing posts with label dnd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dnd. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
A Reasonable Expectation of Death
If you are a Dungeon Master, you are responsible to give your players a gift: Let them die.
Let the players feel failure. Don't rescue them by manufacturing last-minute turns in their luck. The dice determine their luck. I have taken to rolling out in the open, not behind a screen, so they can see that, yes, their character was hit for 22 points of damage and whining about the unlikelihood of such a number won't matter.
What makes adventuring exciting? The ever-present danger, the joy of discovery, the possibility of failure, and the improbability of success.
The dice determine the winner. There are winners and losers in D&D. It may change from moment to moment, but there are those who succeed and those who fail. Sometimes the ones who succeed die. Sometimes the ones who fail still live to play another day. The measure of success is not who lives, but who plays well, who has fun, who makes memorable mistakes. The point of playing a role is to try things you wouldn't do in the real world. That's what makes it fantasy!
Let the players feel failure. Don't rescue them by manufacturing last-minute turns in their luck. The dice determine their luck. I have taken to rolling out in the open, not behind a screen, so they can see that, yes, their character was hit for 22 points of damage and whining about the unlikelihood of such a number won't matter.
What makes adventuring exciting? The ever-present danger, the joy of discovery, the possibility of failure, and the improbability of success.
The dice determine the winner. There are winners and losers in D&D. It may change from moment to moment, but there are those who succeed and those who fail. Sometimes the ones who succeed die. Sometimes the ones who fail still live to play another day. The measure of success is not who lives, but who plays well, who has fun, who makes memorable mistakes. The point of playing a role is to try things you wouldn't do in the real world. That's what makes it fantasy!
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