Our Opportunity

I have been thinking a lot recently about our community and how we interact with other groups of people. I started thinking about this because of a few interactions I had with non-gamers and hearing how they saw role players. There are stereotypes about our community and if I'm honest I have seen living avatars of all the things they say about us. 

I went into a local community space near where I live as I saw on their weekly schedule board they had Dungeons and Dragons written on it. I went in and asked the friendly looking middle aged man about it. He was quick to say that he doesn't play himself but the lads that run it are nice and that he definitely pushes any of the women that ask about it in their direction with a knowing eye role and smile. Unfortunately I had my partner with me as I was hoping we could both play together in a campaign, this put her off a little as she is very new to the game. When you are on the fence about trying something any excuse can push you to inaction. My partner still hasn't participated in a public game for various reasons but they love our home game and that's enough for them at the minute.

We as a group have a reputation for being socially awkward, insular, gatekeeper types. I feel we need to get past this outdated notion. The socially awkward part is going to be hard for me but I'm working on it. I go out and share my love of RPGs with my friends and co-workers, this led me to become a sort of safe gateway into the hobby. I've had many friends sheepishly approach me to ask questions or get pointers for their first sessions. Be kind, be welcoming and match their level of enthusiasm; you'll only scare them away if you don't! 

Events like Free RPG Day are a great way to draw in new players and for us to share our games with a wider audience. If you feel comfortable offer to run a game or help people build characters or even just volunteer your time to point people in the right direction at the door. I ran an introduction to combat scenario at the last Free RPG Day and I had some great interactions and helped three groups of newbie learn how to fight wave after wave of undead! If you are running a game remember that you should uplift the players and make them feel cool when they succeed and help them laugh off their failures. One player said in the middle of combat that she loved my descriptions and that she was lost in the game for a while. This made me very proud as I'd hit my target of convincing a complete novice to fall in love with roleplaying. 

What our organiser did really well was inclusivity. The idea to have a station for name tags and pronoun tags was very well received so no one felt uncomfortable and we could identify each other properly. Taking that often divisive topic and making it a complete non-issue really helped put everyone at ease and started the day right. Each table had a card with an X on it and if the DM or players touched on a triggering topic then the X card could be shown and the content could be organically moved away from. As far as I know this wasn't evoked but it was a nice safety net to have. As these were public games for newcomers, a little caution was and should be exercised. 

We have the opportunity to rise above the stereotypes that have been thrust upon us and to meet derrision with open minds and open hearts. We should be the bigger people and offer to help those around us find a great passion and hobby. I want to share the feeling I get roleplaying with as many people as I can and I'd love for you to do the same. 

May you roll well.