Today’s #newbieTuesday advice for new tabletop role playing game players centers around jumping in & being okay with “making mistakes.”
For some new TTRPG players, it can be daunting not knowing how playing stories really goes. Who does what, when, where, why, and how? You don’t want to get embarrassed or seem like a fool or “ruin” the other players’ fun by not knowing what to do. That invisible barrier can be seemingly hard to break…
But don’t let it fool you: just like jumping into the water to quickly get used to its temperature, there is no better remedy for this fear than simply immersing yourself in the experience. You need to find peace with “making mistakes” or “being creative.” You’re not starring in a Broadway play, you’re having fun with a group of people who are playing a story together.
The rules will come. And so will the nuances of the system, the quirks, wants, and goals of your fellow players, and the style of your Game Master. Dive right in…be enthusiastic and be willing to learn. If your fellow players/GM can’t/don’t support you from there then trust me when I say that’s not the table for you.
But you’re going to find, more times than not, that the table will be thrilled to have you there and will give you the tools and opportunity to get up to speed quickly.
And it’s that attitude which will get you off to the races in no time…
