As I revise writing I’ve done over the last few years from my changing perspective, one thing remains the same: I’m baffled by the mental exercise of “dream tables” in TTRPGs. Such conversations downplay how much chemistry — & TRUST — is required. - ThreadSky

friede.bsky.social • 72 days ago

As I revise writing I’ve done over the last few years from my changing perspective, one thing remains the same: I’m baffled by the mental exercise of “dream tables” in TTRPGs.

Such conversations downplay how much chemistry — & TRUST — is required.

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saltzman.bsky.social•72 days ago

This really confused me for a sec because I’m designing a campaign that has a “dream table” in the sense that I have an elaborate spreadsheet for rolling what appears in characters dreams each night and was like “damn is this both really common/unoriginal and also somehow shitty???”

onlyplaywizards.com•72 days ago

And "dream tables" sometimes refer to the actual physical table being played on. Like having cup holders is part of folks dreams.

thejefty.bsky.social•72 days ago

That's how I read it too at first, though I don't have a specific campaign in mind.

I don't think it's common, though I think I've seen some similar ideas in games with horror themes.

friede.bsky.social•72 days ago

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

nickjong.bsky.social•72 days ago

Most charitably, it’s about imagining a world in which your favorite players are friends. Most likely, it’s an extension of the fantasy of familiarity with your parasocials. (Speaking to my own practice of this exercise)

friede.bsky.social•72 days ago

I think that’s the fannish frame of the exercise.

But it’s also tied to wider assumptions connected to Pro GMing, what counts as best practices in Actual Play cast formation, etc.

friede.bsky.social•72 days ago

There’s ways to externalize/institutionalize safe roleplaying with acquaintances/strangers, but that’s … labor-intensive, complex, & takes a lot of time and buy-in & meaningful accountability.

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

Okay, getting back to these ideas of "trust", "accountability", "safe roleplaying"... I feel like there's a lot of unstated context that you expect the reader to already have. Or you assume a "dream table" involves more intense RP than normal. I'm not sure I see where this intensity is coming from.

friede.bsky.social•72 days ago

I mean, as a BlueSky early adopted & someone who works across multiple fields (from 18th century studies to digital humanities to book history to TTRPGs generally to Actual Play specifically), the nature of microblogging means that functionally NONE of my posts are for ALL of my current audience.

amandarosevphd.bsky.social•72 days ago

A good chunk of that “unstated context” might just lie in the fact that it’s impossible to know what other folks need to feel safe without them voicing it. There are a lot of story events that could be considered not at all “intense” rp by one table but could be an active trigger for a player…

amandarosevphd.bsky.social•72 days ago

But it requires trust that advocating for one’s needs won’t be met with retaliation or mockery to speak up at a new table… often because peoples’ knee-jerk reaction is “I’m comfortable with this therefore nothing is uncomfortable and anyone who disagrees is silly”

amandarosevphd.bsky.social•72 days ago

I’ve developed multi-layer consent mechanics for multiple games and I’m always stunned by the things people use them for, which we could never have foreseen.

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

I agree with you in principle but Dr. Friedman's opinion appears to be that RP requires trust systems to perform properly and players who imagine playing with their "idols" have no such trust with them and therefore the fantasy is a waste of time. It isn't really about the specifics of the trust.

amandarosevphd.bsky.social•72 days ago

I’d argue that due to the shape many parasocial relationships take, the “idols” in this situation may be the ones upon whom the burden to accept imposed boundaries would be placed.

…but also, it’s all in hypothetical “I wish” fantasyland.

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

But since she also appears to be saying, "If you didn't understand it then it wasn't meant for you.", there's not really any dlscussion to be had about it.

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

Granted it's been decades since I DM'ed anything but dreaming seems to me to be about player agency. I guess if the player WANTS to be told their dreams, okay, but if dreams were significant (beyond supernatural events like portents or prophecy) I'd rather have the player have tell me or the group.

friede.bsky.social•72 days ago

To be clear, I’m referring to the practice of discussing people one would like to play with, usually around people one does not know but are public players, or folks one has not played with and do not know well.

energythief.bsky.social•72 days ago

Ohhhhhhhhhh ok this post makes way more sense now

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

Oh, THAT kind of table. LMAO.

Carry on then. *SMH*

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

Now I feel like I need to go watch an episode of Critical Role so I have a feel for who people might be nerding out over playing beside, LOL.

friede.bsky.social•72 days ago

I mean, the CR cast aren’t the players who are parlaying AP fame into gigs in the D&D in a Castle/D3 at Sea/etc. ecosystem.

slickriptide.bsky.social•72 days ago

There's an ecosystem for that? Of course there is. It's the 21st century and Dream Park is just one multi-billionare TTRPG player away from being built.

It's sad how one drops out of the loop as one gets older. Maybe time to revive that idea of a second collegehood...

stripedsorc.bsky.social•72 days ago

DnD fans will fold up and die when you tell them the human experience can't be boiled down to a d20 roll

profmurder.bsky.social•72 days ago

The best I can muster is "It would be cool to try" a given table. Don't really know if things will click until you sit down, and an outsider view typically doesn't see how the sausage gets made.

annambry.bsky.social•72 days ago

I have no writing tricks. When the urge falls upon me, I am helpless to not start scribbling on the page. My troubles always come when I reread…

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