Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Yeah...I'm going to need you to play D&D this afternoon...

Several weeks ago, I stopped my Boardgames at Lunch meetup at work. I got tired of playing casual party games, and I couldn't think of a deep enough game that could be played in an hour that I wanted to do.

However, one idea for a game did enter my mind: Dungeons & Dragons. Dare I try it? Dare I assemble a group of nerds in my office and begin a weekly lunch-hour game? This morning, I began probing my office for interest. The responses have been promising. It may just be time to try my hand at DMing the World's Biggest RPG to non-gaming co-workers at my office.

The idea of it fills me with the familiar paradoxical feelings of excitement and dread. There is nothing I'd rather do with my free time than play a good tabletop role-playing game with good people. So I'm excited for that. But RPGs can be a harsh mistress. It takes work and effort and enthusiasm to really make one work. What if I don't have enough? What if the co-workers aren't into it? What if it just doesn't work out? I get these jitters virtually every time I put on one of these get-togethers, whether it's for boardgames or roleplaying games.

The answer, I've invariably learned, is to show up. 99% of the time, that's the hardest part of running any of these things: showing up. Making it happen. Just saying "yes, this will happen at this time, and we're doing this, and I'm in charge." That shit is tough. It's scary. It's putting the burden of entertainment squarely on my own shoulders. But that's the risk. That's what I'm willing to do for this game, this thing I'd rather do than anything else in the world.

Depending on how the rest of this informal survey goes, I could start this game as early as this Thursday. As always, Dear Reader, I will keep you informed on how this goes. In the meantime, if any of you out there have any thoughts, feelings, or advice on how to present D&D to a room full of non-gamers, I am, as always, all ears.


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