Sometimes people forget things.

No, I don’t mean I forgot to post yesterday. I kinda took the day off but also had a thing to do. Anyway, back to the prompt thingy.

So people forget. They forget to do something. They forget they did something. And also they forget why they’re doing something. They focus so much on what they’re doing that they forget the reason they started doing it. In other words, they miss the forest for the trees.

This can happen in our hobby as well, and in multiple ways.

People sometimes forget this is a hobby and is meant to provide entertainment, relaxation, friendship, and socialization. They focus on small aspects of the hobby. In some extreme cases, I could say they obsess over those aspects, which leads to the opposites of what hobbies are for, for both them and the ones who are playing with them.

So I will do a quick FAQ for some cases.

X system is badly designed. I don’t like it and you should stop using it.

Great. Don’t use it. If I’m enjoying it then it’s fine. Don’t tell me how to have fun.

X edition sucks. I don’t even understand why you’re playing with it.

If I’m playing with it, I probably like a few things about it. Don’t tell me how to have fun.

The rules say you have to do X the Y way.

That’s my current ruling as a GM, based on the situation. Don’t stop the game to have a philosophical conversation on how some guidelines work. Take it up with me later and, if you have a point, I may make a correction next session.

The Monster Manual version of the Skeleton doesn’t have a rust breath.

Then it’s clearly not a Monster Manual Skeleton.

This NPC is different from how they’re presented in the official campaign book.

I changed them because I like them more this way.

You can’t tell me how to have fun. You’re doing what you’re saying is wrong.

You can’t have fun at the expense of others and then leave me with the job to fix the situation. Tabletop RPGs are collaborative, group games, involving everyone at the table. You can’t make a forest out of a single tree, and you can’t have fun on your own. Actually, you can have on your own but you won’t be doing that in my table.

And that’s all for yesterday’s prompt! I think I’ve covered a few points in the FAQ. There are more but these are the major ones, in my opinion, and I had fun writing about them. Stay tuned for today’s word of the day, “couple”, which will be up later.

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