7 Ways to Improve your TTRPG games in 2021
I'm not gonna start this post with how crap of a year 2020 has been because we all know it and we've all said it. Instead, I'm going to focus on what saved me during 2020, which was role-playing games (and Warhammer, but that's for another post). This year I've been lucky enough to play in several amazing campaigns. Without these games, 2020 would have been far darker than it was. Anyways, since I've been spending so much time playing TTRPGs in 2020, I've had plenty of time to come up with a few notes that I think every TTRPG player should hear. Without delaying any further, here's my list of 7 ways to improve your TTRPGs in 2021.
1) Play Online!
This may seem like a no-brainer since we've all been in lockdown for a year or so at this time, but with the vaccine coming out, things will begin to transition back to some semblance of "normalcy" before the pandemic. However, I'm here to say that maybe you should just keep playing your TTRPGs online. And here's why:
Accessibility. Sometimes people just can't get away from home, live too far away, or have other scheduling conflicts. If they can just sit at their computer (or even on their phone!), and play a TTRPG with their friends, this ensures that they can continue to have fun with their friends.
Virtual Table Tops (hereon called VTTs), have come a LONG way. From Roll20 to Fantasy Grounds, Foundry VTT, Astral, Role - there's a lot of 'em! I've used a bunch of these now, and in a future post, I'll probably go through my pros and cons of the ones I've tried, but what's important here is that playing a game online with a VTT is so much easier, so much cheaper, and more convenient than playing in person. Creating tokens, having beautiful animated maps, and seamlessly transitioning between scenes is fast, easy, and keeps the time on playing the game.
Ambient sounds! With Discord music bots and VTT ambient sounds/music, you can truly immerse your players in the scene you've built for them without spending a ton of time describing what's happening. You know it's raining with crows cawing from the trees because you can hear the rain and the crows. This kind of immersion goes so far for players and it begins to blur the line between TTRPG and video game.
I could go on about continuing to play your TTRPGs online, but I'll save that for another post. The point is, playing online allows your TTRPG to look and sound the way you want it to without breaking your bank or running out of storage room. So, with that out of the way, I want to move onto the next point, which actually is more of a tip.
2) Play shorter sessions. (If you want to.)
For some reason, we are all under the impression that if you're going to sit down to play a TTRPG, you have to set aside anywhere from 4 to 6 hours. I'm here to tell you that this is not the case. If you can have something interesting and meaningful happen in two or three hours, that's all you need. This is especially helpful if (like me), you've experienced TTRPG burn out. When lockdown first happened, I was playing several games a week and running one or two of my own. The mental exhaustion of playing marathons like that is real, and if you're one of those people who juggles multiple games a week, I'm here to tell you that it's okay to have short sessions, play every other week, or otherwise modify that time block to make sure that you're still having fun playing instead of burdening yourself by upholding the implied social contract of the 4+ hour game session. Speaking of which...
3) Not Every Game is a Forever Game
The reason I've been able to play in so many amazing games this year is because each one was plotted out to be a certain number of sessions. This is another one of those implied things, I feel, when you ask someone to play a TTRPG with you, it's almost assumed that this game will last for ever. Nowadays, I appreciate it when someone approaches me with an idea for a game, or an invitation to join in, and lets me know approximately how long it should last. This helps in scheduling, keeping my calendar nice and tight, and also knowing what I'm signing up for. Thus far, I've found that games that last about 10 sessions is my sweet spot.
Okay, short break time. The next four tips is going to be a slight change of pace. These are going to be just general tips that TTRPG players should hear, as well as a gathering of my own personal thoughts on the TTRPG scene and where it is at the end of 2020. With that, I'm going to start with what I think is probably the most important thing...
4) Session Zero & Safety Tools Are Good
When I first heard of the "session zero" I was confused, befuddled, or even confounded. As of this year, I've been running TTRPGs for 17 or 18 years, and I had never heard of a "session zero" and couldn't for the life of me, figure out why it was necessary. There are still lots of people who think this way, and I'm also here to say that THAT is okay also. Some people don't need them. If you and your group are long time friends who have played countless games, TTRPG or otherwise, together, and no one has ever had their feelings hurt, been made uncomfortable, or had a bad experience, then yes, you do not need a session zero for this group. However, for those of us who jump around groups a lot, introduce new friends to the game, or otherwise are not playing with all our long-time BFFs, then a Session Zero is a great way to start a game. By letting people know "this kind of imagery is where I draw the line," or "I feel really uncomfortable if this kind of subject is brought up," you are ensuring that everyone is going to have a better time at the table, be more relaxed, and want to come back for the next session.
If you're looking for some seriously in-depth safety tools, check out this Link.
Also a note here, having a "mature" game with "mature" themes is fine - so long as the players know what they are signing up for. Ambushing people into situations they find uncomfortable is neither cool nor funny. Don't be a dick.
So session zero is a great way to start a game, but let's talk about a tip that lasts the whole game through!
5) Communicate With Your GM and With Your Players!
This is a personal tip that I'm throwing out for anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. I think there's this preconceived notion that the GM is "God" (a mentality that I cannot stand), and that they are also the most incredible writer/actor/event organizer, and they never need help and all the players need to do is show up, sit down, and derail all the GM's hard work. Though some of that may be true, I would encourage the entire group to be communicating with each other any time they have something to talk about, in-game or not. This does wonders. Does your character have a goal they want to achieve? Make sure your GM knows that, and talk about it to make sure it fits in somehow with the game's narrative. Talk with other players about the kinds of character moments they want, and work with them to help make that happen. We should all be working "behind the scenes" to make the gaming experience that we all want, and it's okay to talk about it and find ways to make it happen, rather than letting chance take the wheel and then forgetting about all your plans because chaos ensues. So communicate! Talk with your friends and make cool stuff happen!
Speaking of the narrative of the game and making cool stuff happen...
6) Play a System that Rewards Your Narrative!
If you've looked through my blog, you see that I post a lot about Forbidden Lands. There's a reason that it is my TTRPG of choice - it rewards the genre and narrative of the games that I like to play in and run. It's not my only choice, but for now, it is my preferred choice. Despite what you may have heard, there is no one game that does everything well, and there are actually thousands of TTRPGs out there on the market. For whatever game you want to play, there is probably a system that will reward that. Forbidden Lands is great for me because it's a gritty fantasy world where dismemberment and death are always on the table, magic is interesting, scary, and rare, and exploration is a huge aspect of it. This fits with my Sword & Sorcery desires, and that's why I play it. If you want to solve supernatural mysteries in the 1920's, pick up Call of Cthulhu. If you like epic, high fantasy in strange realms, pick up Age of Sigmar: Soulbound. Want to play Arthurian Knight? Play Pendragon! There's so many TTRPGs out there, find the one that will help you tell the story you want to tell!
Okay, so now we've come down to the last tip. Everything on this list I have applied to my gaming and it has made me a better player, a better GM, and has exponentially increased my fun with TTRPGs. However, this last tip has been crucial to my gaming, and ever since applying it to the games that I've run, I've since had friends apply it to their own with a lot of success. So, tip number seven is...
7) Roses & Thorns
Once the night has settled down and we're all done calculating our XP for the evening, I go around the table and ask for Roses and Thorns. Roses are things that the players liked, thought went well, or want to see more of, and Thorns are things that the players maybe had trouble with, wish were smoother, or otherwise didn't enjoy as much. This has been such a huge part of my games and is serious note-taking time for the GM. I take more notes during Roses & Thorns than I do any other time during the game, and it has only made my players enjoy the game more. If you're a player, don't be afraid to second someone's Rose or Thorn, or give an opinion, but remember that when someone is talking about their game experience that the spotlight is on them. If you're a GM, give your own Roses and Thorns after everyone else has gone, but obviously you can agree with earlier opinions. This is your chance to learn about what your players want to see, or aren't into. Don't take this criticism as a punch in the face, take it as an opportunity to grow and become better at your craft.
Bonus Tip! When you kick off your Roses & Thorns, pick a specific player to start and ask them to think hard on their answer. Eventually everyone will chime in, dogpile on things they liked or didn't like, and it will be productive, but getting started can be slow and clunky if you don't pick a particular person to start it off.
That's it for my seven tips to improve your TTRPGs in 2021! I hope you found this insightful, entertaining or both. If you did, drop a Like on my blog post or share it to your social media! If you have your own Big Tip for TTRPGs next year, leave it in a comment below! Thanks for reading and happy new year!
