Mike Shea

I try hard to always reinforce the idea that what really matters in this hobby is the game that you and your friends play when you're sitting around your table. And that's really the core of this whole topic is to not get caught up in the zeitgeist of tabletop role-playing games.

I try hard to always reinforce the idea that what really matters in this hobby is the game that you and your friends play when you're sitting around your table. And that's really the core of this whole topic is to not get caught up in the zeitgeist of tabletop role-playing games.

I try hard to always reinforce the idea that what really matters in this hobby is the game that you and your friends play when you're sitting around your table. And that's really the core of this whole topic is to not get caught up in the zeitgeist of tabletop role-playing games.

And remember that the important thing is you getting together with your friends around a table, whether it's virtual or whether it's physical, whether they're new people you haven't met before or people that you've been playing with for 20 years. What matters is getting together with people and enjoying a fun role-playing game.

And remember that the important thing is you getting together with your friends around a table, whether it's virtual or whether it's physical, whether they're new people you haven't met before or people that you've been playing with for 20 years. What matters is getting together with people and enjoying a fun role-playing game.

And remember that the important thing is you getting together with your friends around a table, whether it's virtual or whether it's physical, whether they're new people you haven't met before or people that you've been playing with for 20 years. What matters is getting together with people and enjoying a fun role-playing game.

And it's so easy to get caught up in the business of TTRPGs, the larger hobby of TTRPGs, the media, the marketing, the products themselves, the design. It's so easy to get caught up in all of that and kind of forget a little bit or have a little less emphasis on how important the game itself is around the table. And I wanted to talk about that a little bit today and where some of the traps are.

And it's so easy to get caught up in the business of TTRPGs, the larger hobby of TTRPGs, the media, the marketing, the products themselves, the design. It's so easy to get caught up in all of that and kind of forget a little bit or have a little less emphasis on how important the game itself is around the table. And I wanted to talk about that a little bit today and where some of the traps are.

And it's so easy to get caught up in the business of TTRPGs, the larger hobby of TTRPGs, the media, the marketing, the products themselves, the design. It's so easy to get caught up in all of that and kind of forget a little bit or have a little less emphasis on how important the game itself is around the table. And I wanted to talk about that a little bit today and where some of the traps are.

and just kind of reinforce that importance of that focus. Because the only thing that really matters is that time that we're spending with our friends at the table. That's really what matters. And the systems that we play and the mechanics of those systems probably matter a lot less than we think.

and just kind of reinforce that importance of that focus. Because the only thing that really matters is that time that we're spending with our friends at the table. That's really what matters. And the systems that we play and the mechanics of those systems probably matter a lot less than we think.

and just kind of reinforce that importance of that focus. Because the only thing that really matters is that time that we're spending with our friends at the table. That's really what matters. And the systems that we play and the mechanics of those systems probably matter a lot less than we think.

There are some games where the mechanics matter a lot and the feeling of the game changes quite a bit from one game to another. And we definitely have different ways that people play. And really, every table is sort of playing the game in a different way.

There are some games where the mechanics matter a lot and the feeling of the game changes quite a bit from one game to another. And we definitely have different ways that people play. And really, every table is sort of playing the game in a different way.

There are some games where the mechanics matter a lot and the feeling of the game changes quite a bit from one game to another. And we definitely have different ways that people play. And really, every table is sort of playing the game in a different way.

But if you think about all the stuff I just talked about with the Monster Manual 2025, and if you've heard me talk about other game design things... we get into the weeds a lot. And the reality is it's fine. It's been fine. It's played for 50 years. And if you think back to those original versions of D&D that were hardly playable, you could read them and nobody understood them.

But if you think about all the stuff I just talked about with the Monster Manual 2025, and if you've heard me talk about other game design things... we get into the weeds a lot. And the reality is it's fine. It's been fine. It's played for 50 years. And if you think back to those original versions of D&D that were hardly playable, you could read them and nobody understood them.

But if you think about all the stuff I just talked about with the Monster Manual 2025, and if you've heard me talk about other game design things... we get into the weeds a lot. And the reality is it's fine. It's been fine. It's played for 50 years. And if you think back to those original versions of D&D that were hardly playable, you could read them and nobody understood them.

Nobody understood how weapon speed worked. Nobody understood how initiative worked. There were whole components of the game that were missing. And yet it was still a really popular game and people really liked playing with it.

Nobody understood how weapon speed worked. Nobody understood how initiative worked. There were whole components of the game that were missing. And yet it was still a really popular game and people really liked playing with it.