D&D

Day 21 of 30. Aside from lead engineer and jugger coach / organiser, one of the other hats I wear is DM. Right now, I've got a Curse of Strahd campaign going with my partner and four friends. Here they are, having a good old time in Vallaki:

And yes, I know that the trifecta of coding, foam sword combat, and D&D is really mashing the geek button here. (For what it's worth: I also like board games, video games, sci-fi + fantasy novels, electronic music, and math puzzles.)

There's also a component of modern leadership to being a DM. Good DMs don't tell the players what the story is, but rather co-create it with the players, draw it out of them. They keep the action going, guiding the players to making decisions that move the story forwards, but in a way that doesn't take agency away from them. They help set a respectful culture at the table, often with the help of an intentional Session 0 conversation. They ensure everyone feels engaged, and that they're getting what they wanted out of the session and campaign.

Hmm. This is sounding suspiciously like my day job. Maybe I should charge consulting rates 🤑

But more seriously: as a group, we're choosing to spend our time on this activity, in this place, with this group, instead of anything else we could be doing. Why would you not want it to feel engaging, fulfilling, heroic?

And what would it be like to feel that more often in our day-to-day lives? Even in difficult circumstances? Even for the mundane tasks? Even in the classroom, or when you travel, or in the workplace?