RPG Elite Quality #2: The Blessings of Discrimination.

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Defining TTRPG Discrimination

We’re moving right along with RPG Elite quality #2 of 10. This will not be a short series, so strap in, as some of these qualities have multiple parts.

Discrimination is not a word we like to use today. The first thing it conjures in the minds of Westerners is someone being ethnically prejudiced, or denigrating someone for the shade of their skin. But that’s not its foundational meaning, though those things are encompassed.

Discrimination, according to the 1952 Webster’s Dictionary (yep. I’m using that one), states that discrimination is the act of distinguishing; making or observing a difference. To make a distinction. This is the base meaning of the word.

However, if you look that up online in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, the former I have mentioned is the first one that pops up with the main definition being relegated to a second use. The problem with that is you have no first use without the second use.

That being said, TTRPG discrimination is something RPG Elites practice regularly. Actually, discrimination is, in general. It’s a seminal RPG Elite quality, something you will see throughout this series. We do this by necessity and common sense. It would be foolish not to. We can’t and won’t play every TTRPG out there. Though some many look interesting, when it comes to the investment of our time, we are discriminating and picky. We believe there is a certain level of dignity that goes with that.

Let’s break it down into five reasons RPG Elites embrace TTRPG discrimination.

Reason #1: We Won’t Make the Time.

Notice how I phrased that heading. It’s not that we don’t have the time. It’s that we won’t make it.

Playing TTRPGs is a hobby for most of us. Obviously, for someone like myself, we have to be all up in tabletop RPGs on a reg. Some of us get paid to do it (like GMs, publishers, and YouTubers like myself). Even though I am part of that group, I still practice TTRPG discrimination as far as the main games I play outside of the RPG Elite Network. We have families we need to look after or other responsibilities. We have ambitions we’re pursuing in our short time here on this earth.

This is very similar to the first sub-point of RPG Elite Quality #1. However, if we are being fair about this, it is not that we don’t have the time. Time is the great equalizer. Every person on the planet who has been blessed with one more day of existence on this earth has the same amount of time as everyone else — 24 hours. RPG Elites are not willing to make the time because of other things we know are more important.

Reason #2: We Don’t Want to Divide Our Attention.

Focusing on a couple or a few games makes us better at that game. This RPG Elite quality makes us specialists, not generalists. When we do this, our skill and experience in the few games we focus on will increase which in turn will increase our enjoyment. We’re the actors who stay on a successful television show for 10 seasons. Being a specialist takes time — years — so we place our attention on that.

This is not to say we will not do a one-shot here or there. I know I want to do a couple of some of the games I currently have — The new Twilight 2000 from Free League Publishing, Alien, Alternity (though I’d love to do a campaign in that, even if it’s a short one), and some classics like Space 1889, Mercenary, Spies, and Private Eyes, an Victory Games’ James Bond.

RPG Elites like to invest in the deepest experience a tabletop RPG has to offer, and the only way that happens is through a prolonged experience with that game. Many RPG Elites won’t play more than four to five games with any regularity in their lifetimes. I’m one of them. For me, it’s really three (see below).

Reason #3: We’re Particular About the TTRPGs We Play.

RPG Elites have preferences and biases just like everyone else. We’re picky. I, for one, have a few games I like to play regularly — Marvel Superheroes Advanced, Numenera (or the Cypher System which powers that game), and The One Ring – 1st Edition. I have scores of other games — mostly because I plan on putting together content for them on this website and my YouTube channel. But those games are the ones I invest most of my focus and time into for personal pleasure.

RPG Elites don’t go along with the crowd. We know what we like. Just because an RPG is popular doesn’t mean we have to play it (insert the game I refuse to mention by name on this website). We understand that even if other people don’t.

Reason #4: Some RPGs Are Just Not Good.

Let’s face it — some tabletop RPGs are just not good. The system could be convoluted and unintuitive. Crunchiness abounds (for those of you who do not know, crunchiness means mechanics heavy, especially when it comes to math). Some are disjointed or presented in an uninteresting setting that is unappealing. RPG Elites won’t force ourselves to like something we know we won’t like because the system makes it hard to do what the game is intended to do — create compelling, collaborative stories. That’s why we exercise this RPG Elite quality, because that’s why we’re in this. It’s about the story (a phrase I will beat to death in this series. You have been warned).

Reason #5: It Is Cost Prohibitive.

Tabletop RPGs are not cheap. With the way the world is going now, dropping $50 to $70 on a core book plus supplements and reference material adds up quick. That’s a chunk of change and not everyone has that kind of disposable income for multiple games like that which can easily run into the hundreds of dollars just for one game. Thousands if you do that multiple times. I haven’t even mentioned things like miniatures and maps.

The hobby can get pricey, and considering most in the tabletop RPG community likes multiple games, at least two or three, you can drop some serious bank on tabletop RPGs and accessories over time. RPG Elites are cognizant of that and we reign that in.

This RPG Elite quality keeps RPG Elites grounded. Some people just run after the latest new fad on Kickstarter, dropping money on it in hopes it’s the next big thing. I’ve done that once with the One Ring 2nd Edition. I learned from that mistake. I had a feeling about the game, but I backed it anyway. I won’t do that again. It sits as a set piece behind me my YouTube videos. That’s as close as I’ll get to playing it.

If you want to check out why I like those three games I mentioned in Reason #3, watch this video.