Read on Twitter
Hey, hot take here:
That #trpg character concept you have there?
Yeah... Throw it out.
If the moment and situation in the first game demands or just offers it? Throw it out the window and jump onto whatever unimportant sentence your GM just muttered that made you think twice.
That #trpg character concept you have there?
Yeah... Throw it out.
If the moment and situation in the first game demands or just offers it? Throw it out the window and jump onto whatever unimportant sentence your GM just muttered that made you think twice.
I know you had plans. I know you had a whole development planned. I know you had a 2 page backstory for your character.
Throw. It. Out.
When that voice starts up going "hey, you totally just could do this instead of that"? Do it. You won't regret it, I swear!
Throw. It. Out.
When that voice starts up going "hey, you totally just could do this instead of that"? Do it. You won't regret it, I swear!
I know it's hard to let go of something you put effort in but trust me, it'll be the best choice you've ever made. Because NOTHING you painstakingly force into existence can ever be as good and real as something that creates itself through you and everyone else at the table.
That shared moment will be better, stronger, more valuable and carrying more meaning in the long run to all of you than a google doc full of names, locations, anecdotes and timelines
If that thought offends you? Go write a book.
(or do both, I'm not your real mum)
If that thought offends you? Go write a book.
(or do both, I'm not your real mum)
There's a vulnerability in letting plans go and just reacting. Bouncing off the other players and the GM, especially in a new group in those first few eps.
It requires trust that many of us are scared to give. After all, it means you allow them to build your character with you.
It requires trust that many of us are scared to give. After all, it means you allow them to build your character with you.
And I get it. When it doesn't work out, it hurts. When you trust your GM/party and you just aren't compatible, it fkn sucks.
You gave them a piece of you and they were just blind to its value.
But!
You gave them a piece of you and they were just blind to its value.
But!
When it works, you create not just a character, not just a story, but a shared experience together.
When you know you can trust these people and the scene enough to allow your char to run away from you, to become its own force - that's where the magic happens.
When you know you can trust these people and the scene enough to allow your char to run away from you, to become its own force - that's where the magic happens.
I get it, we're all here for our escapism, our power fantasy.
And the power in letting go is so much greater and so much scarier than something you can easily control. Because you do not wield that power. It wields you and you're at its mercy.
But here's the thing.
And the power in letting go is so much greater and so much scarier than something you can easily control. Because you do not wield that power. It wields you and you're at its mercy.
But here's the thing.
It's worth it.
Be that dork. Fall on your face. Miss that swing. Lose that shoe. Get captured. Let the story do something to you, let it fuck you up. Trust the people at your table and hope that they trust you.
When the moment comes? Throw that concept out.
It'll be worth it.
Be that dork. Fall on your face. Miss that swing. Lose that shoe. Get captured. Let the story do something to you, let it fuck you up. Trust the people at your table and hope that they trust you.
When the moment comes? Throw that concept out.
It'll be worth it.
