This holiday, give the gift of a drama-free gaming group

Written by Kim from RP Repository

Drama destroys gaming groups. It happens all the time.

There’s a popular wisdom that would have us think that this is because “nerds” or “geeks” aren’t the most socially apt, but in fact, petty conflict breeds misery all over the world. From school rooms to board rooms, from church groups to hockey teams, tough talks are still tough talks, and even the most well-adjusted individuals don’t enjoy rocking the boat. EVEN if they don’t like the boat!

Over on the RP Repository, the social network for Roleplay Gamers and their characters, we’d like to propose a different theory:

1) Gaming is only genuine fun when you’re playing with people who you like, and who like you back
2) Most damaged relationships can be repaired, with a bit of work
3) Most people, nerd, geek or normal, want to be friends and are willing to make changes if they know what they are

and finally

4) An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

So every holiday season, we take steps to preserve our RP groups from the heart-break of drama with what we call a Festival of Being Excellent to Each Other. Every year, we remember to tell one another what we love best about playing together, and discuss how to have hard discussions so the fun can keep on rolling.

We’d like to remind everyone the world over to consider a new take on “the holiday spirit”: Having a tough talk can be as loving an action as a compliment. It shows that you think there’s something there worth protecting and fighting for. That’s a pretty special gift.

If you’d like to follow along with this year’s discussion and advice on how to avoid and disarm drama in your gaming group or otherwise feel free to join us here: http://www.rprepository.com/community/holiday2012.php

Wishing you a holiday season filled with love and peace and lots of games,

Kim

This article was written by Kim from RP Repository, a social network for roleplayers with a great community.