I have emerged from the world of work and MS Word to discover that this newsletter reached 400 subscribers last week which is a nice little milestone to celebrate - and you’ve got to celebrate when you can. Thanks to everyone who shared this around!
Thanks for posting this! You're right that using world-building games as "fill-ins" for canceled sessions is a great use of the time.
I also think you're absolutely right that trad games like D&D have a vested interest in a culture of *higher* expectations around DM responsibilities than indie games. However, I'm not sure it's exactly accurate to call those expectations unrealistic.
Given D&D's popularity, I find it hard to believe that a large number of its potential DM pool find its expectations unrealistic. In addition, D&D's own description of the DM's role has gotten progressively lower in expectations with each edition. AD&D's DM's Guide opens with "You are one of a very special group of people: AD&D Dungeon Masters. Your job is not an easy one." 5E's opens with: "It's good to be the Dungeon Master!" The first page of the 5E DM's Guide tells DMs to lean on their players for any aspect of DMing that they don't find fun.
In any event, that's a small quibble. Thanks for the newsletter!
Thanks for posting this! You're right that using world-building games as "fill-ins" for canceled sessions is a great use of the time.
I also think you're absolutely right that trad games like D&D have a vested interest in a culture of *higher* expectations around DM responsibilities than indie games. However, I'm not sure it's exactly accurate to call those expectations unrealistic.
Given D&D's popularity, I find it hard to believe that a large number of its potential DM pool find its expectations unrealistic. In addition, D&D's own description of the DM's role has gotten progressively lower in expectations with each edition. AD&D's DM's Guide opens with "You are one of a very special group of people: AD&D Dungeon Masters. Your job is not an easy one." 5E's opens with: "It's good to be the Dungeon Master!" The first page of the 5E DM's Guide tells DMs to lean on their players for any aspect of DMing that they don't find fun.
In any event, that's a small quibble. Thanks for the newsletter!