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The Many Right Answers of the TTRPG Hobby
by Mike on 18 November 2024
Two truths seem evident to me in the tabletop RPG hobby:
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There are many "right" answers to how we play tabletop RPGs – including which RPGs we play. There's rarely only one right answer to any aspect of this hobby. Instead, there are many right answers, each fitting different people, groups, playstyles, and other circumstances.
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It's hard to understand why other people would choose the right answer that isn't ours.
Common examples are the games we play. Some of us love the character customization, streamlined math, and rich mechanics of Pathfinder 2. Others love the open and freeform story focused games of Powered by the Apocalypse. Others love grim and brutal resource-focused games like Shadowdark RPG.
You no doubt have your preferred RPG and it's hard to understand why other people don't like the game you like best.
But they do. And that's fine.
It's one thing for people not to know about other games and what advantages they hold. It's something else to look at a game and what it does and say "that's not for me". All too often, though, "it's not for me" comes out as "that game sucks". You may hate it but many others may love it.
There are many right answers in many aspects of the TTRPG hobby. It's totally cool for you to like one way and other people to like another.
Focus on sharing experiences and less on proving you're right answer is the right answer.
Other Many Right Answers
There are many right answers for many different aspects of the TTRPG hobby. Here are some examples:
- Some GMs love rolling lots of dice; some GMs don't want to roll dice at all.
- Some love a fully integrated virtual tabletop; some want a VTT as simple as they can get (including none at all).
- Some love online play; some only want to play in person.
- Some love big fancy visual combat displays; some love theater of the mind.
- Some want to use lots of accessories for their games; some want none at all.
- Some love to build vast worlds; some want to focus on the here and now.
- Some love published adventures; some love homebrew.
- Some love published settings; some prefer their own world.
- Some want all-in-one digital tools; some prefer a stack of specialized tools.
- Some love high production value games; some love the ones you can print on one sheet of paper.
- Some GMs want games where they control much of the world; some GMs want the players to build the world with them.
Variants in False Dichotomies
There are wide ranges of answers across these ideas. It's rarely a "yes" or "no" or "this one" or "that one". It's rare for anyone to fit perfectly on one side or the other. Instead, each of us are complex beings falling into a wide range of different opinions on many topics.
Luckily, this hobby has tons of stuff to offer. We can pick and choose what best fits our desires and the preferences of our group. We don't have to argue why we like one thing or another – we each get to choose what works for us.
If it works best for us and our group, that's all that matters.
"That's Not For Me"
Here's a tip to improve TTRPG discourse. Instead of attempting "objective" judgements about any one path or choice someone else makes in the hobby, simply say "that's not for me". Switching from "that thing sucks" to "that's not for me" helps you remember your point of view isn't truth. If there are enough people playing a game, using a system, or following a style that you've heard of – it means someone loves it. If it's not for you, it's not for you. That doesn't make it the wrong choice for everyone.
Share experiences instead of judging the choices of others.
There are many right answers – many different paths – in the TTRPG hobby and all of them are right for someone. Often we can't understand why someone else follows a path different than ours. But we're better richer people for recognizing views different from our own – and we might learn something along the way.
More Sly Flourish Stuff
Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Top Ten Lazy Tricks for D&D and 5e and The Desert Heist – Dragon Empire Prep Session 2.
Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics
Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video:
- Blades in the Dark Deep Cuts
- What Do You Need to Prep Your Session?
- Encounter Building in the D&D 2024 DMG and the Lazy Encounter Benchmark
RPG Tips
Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as RPG tips. Here are this week's tips:
- Use static initiative of 10 + dex for monsters so some players go before them and some go after.
- Use little adhesive tabs to bookmark monsters in your monster books. There’s no need to copy them elsewhere.
- Draw small simple maps so players can see what they’ve explored so far.
- Staedtler wet erase markers work very well on the Pathfinder basic flip mat for drawing maps and tracking damage done to monsters.
- Use a mixture of random treasure and magic items selected for particular characters. Prep treasure parcels ahead of time.
- Plan a strong start. What happens at the very beginning of your next session to draw players into the game?
- Prep what you need to help you improvise during your next session.
Related Articles
- Being a Good Steward of the TTRPG Hobby
- Find Local Players for Tabletop RPGs
- Focus Extra Prep Time on the Characters
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- The City of Arches
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- Lazy DM's Companion
- Lazy DM's Workbook
- Forge of Foes
- Fantastic Lairs
- Ruins of the Grendleroot
- Fantastic Adventures
- Fantastic Locations
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