In my time, I've seen some gamers hide behind the shield of realism in ways that turned them into unfun gaming companions. Medieval realism has been one of the stumbling blocks the hobby falls on generation after generation. While there are many other challenges to moving TTRPGs center of gravity away from being a 'boys club poker game' and toward a more diverse and inclusive membership, 'how it was back then' is trite and hackneyed phrase. Especially because most game worlds aren't based in history, but also because it's fantasy and it needn't be so. I think Ken Follett and George RR Martin have created stories with true women as their protagonists, in spite of the grim truth of the worlds those characters live in. Their storyteller's voice is rooting for women against the bigoted, small-mindedness of the past. They've also been brave enough to remind us that romantic love for folks of the same gender wasn't invented in the 20th century, and nor is the idea of being an ally wholly new. I could make up some long reason about why fantasy worlds need medieval settings, but they don't, really. I'm a history geek, though, and I will go to bat for the idea that the most consistent patterns of cause and effect that can be wrought on our game worlds by giving them accurate historical resonance. So it puts a smile on my face to see a way forward for medieval realism in TTRPGs: give characters a secure foundation of acceptance. Accept them as the storyteller and don't speak from the moralizing voice of the world's mainline religious mores. I'm sure the the CGA already ruffles a few feathers, this one will ruffle a few more. This video is annotated almost overmuch, because I kept finding ways to clarify my points, to qualify my declarations, and to acknowledge concerns. The text will come at you faster than you can read; think of it more like those 16 pages of manual that come with a piece of electronics,. Music: 'mocking the gods' by Cloudjumper http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cloudjumper/Memories_of_Snow/05_Cloudjumper_-_Mocking_the_gods Piano stock footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx_UrLoZRXI by beachfront B Roll Gloablee by Beeple https://vimeo.com/46886760 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kDIF3-_GA8

FIRST UPLOAD IN 60FPS! LINER NOTE: This video does not solve in whole cloth the issue of armchairing, quartebacking, and backseat driving as a whole--merely one source of inspiration/cause for it. And it is an introduction to culture clashes as new players carry their background into the tabletop hobby. I'm also aware that this could be described in terms of genre--but my emphasis is on the difference between mediums because that's something that's pretty easy to discern, and it's something that's hard to refute. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzGLNoCF-TY

At this point, the amout of tinkerbell effect and wishes-were-horses that are going on in the hobby have led me to ask: is it "normal" anymore to understand that "it is the way it is?" for most of us, even if an ogre is quantum...once he's in one place, he cant' go to another. But I'm finding an infinitely malleable canvas 'until the PCs see it" is becoming more and more normal. "Why didn't you retcon the monster damage to save my character, man?" "The PCs like this NPC. I'll retcon them so that they're ACTUALLY the BBEG." ...the GMs and the 'Sly Flourish" school of encounter design also figures heavily in this 'slippery reality' kind of gameplay that seems 'normal' for many players and GMs in 2021. But I don't want to talk about that. Instead, I'll be introducing 'Matter of Fact Gameplay," a style where things are in one place, where 'encounters' happen because two groups are in two actual places in the world, and 'to create challenge' is very rarely a valid reason for things to happen. If you're interested, I'd love to have your company for the live broadcast. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih5bakju8dA

More of our exploration of FFG NDS ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk5RCV66uec