Become the Most Powerful Being

Controlling the narrative is to hold all the power. Dungeon Masters (DMs) hold the reigns of narrative, but they hold them loosely. They have to share power with their players. Players contribute to the story by describing what their characters try to do. But DMs can still direct the story. They can set ridiculous difficulty checks and make rolling a success nearly impossible. You see, while DMs have tons of power, it also comes with a responsibility. The whole goal of playing a tabletop roleplaying game is to have fun, and if you are constantly told “no, you can’t do that” it just isn’t any fun. This is where the “Yes, and…” saying comes into play. You can learn more about that by watching this video: Dungeon Mastering for the First Time Watch This

In tabletop roleplaying games the DMs, GMs, and referees are the most powerful players at the table. Or are they? What if something dictated the power of everyone at the table, wouldn’t they be even more powerful? I think so. This is why I think the game system is even more powerful than the GM at the table. The system defines the roles of the players granting each an amount of power. Thus the game system is the most powerful thing at the table. Except it isn’t. Not really. The players choose the game system. Thus the players are really the most powerful people at the table. And if you want to choose a different game system you can.

If you are tired of waiting for your turn, tired of limited character options, tired of fiddly magic that doesn’t really let you cast the way you want, then why don’t you try something new?

D&D is great. I certainly have had a ton of fun playing it, but there are also tons of other games out there. Most people who say they play D&D aren’t really playing D&D anyway. They are playing a hack. I am not calling them fakes, its just what we call games that are derived from another game. Tons of people modify D&Ds rules. And that’s perfectly okay. But what if you did not have to? Like, what if the game you were looking for was ready to go? A game that made sense and fit together nicely without having to look up seven rules every time someone wanted to stab someone in the back while jumping off a horse. I mean, do they get their sneak attack bonus if the horse was hiding them? Is that an animal handling check or an acrobatics check?

Okay, no system is perfect. No system can handle every situation. But I still think there are some great systems out there. Systems easier to run that give excellent combat. That let you be creative and tell a cool story. With epic loot, and ways to spend gold that actually matter (instead of just holding on to 100,000g that can’t buy you the magic items you really want. But hey, I guess you don’t have to worry about rent now…)

If you want to be the most powerful that you can be start choosing what you want to do. Don’t just accept the default option. There are so many other great things out there. Don’t leave them off your table. Talk with your friends. Ask them if they might be interested in trying something new. Maybe something with epic sword-clashing combat? Or a creative magic system that lets you cast anything you want? Something that will make you feel awesome! Something that will put choice back in your hands. Along the Leyline just might be what you are looking for. Why not give it a try?

Is it easy to learn? Yes. I played it with seven year olds and they understood everything that was going on. If a seven year old can play it, does that mean it is boring for adults? No. Along the Leyline was made to give choice to players. And choice makes everything interesting. A seven year old understands when they are choosing chocolate or vanilla or strawberry, and it is no less of an interesting choice as we age. Possibly more interesting as our tastes change. (I like strawberry the best by the way, but it used to be chocolate and before that vanilla) It’s okay for our tastes to change. If you have been in vanilla (D&D) for a while, why not branch out.

What if I don’t like it? Well, no one says you have to finish your ice cream. Or I’ve never heard of that any way… If you don’t like it choose something else or go back to what you were doing before, but now you have an informed choice. You know what strawberry tastes like. I bet you’ll like it though, or at least parts of it. Ever had vanilla strawberry swirl? Its like the best of both worlds. You can take what you like about each system and blend them to get the flavor you like best. There are tons of things in Along the Leyline that you can mix into your current D&D games. Group initiative, structured downtime, the time tracking system, travel equals a random encounter roll, and more.