What I think about things regarding Role Playing

While I would argue that this is more about world building than role playing, I've always wanted to put the thoughts I've had into some level of cogency.

I think role playing can be very fun when the conditions are right. When everyone's in the groove, with the game and world feeling alive, a simple matter of rolling the dice can become far more than just that. However, if you've used the internet or even just played Dungeons and Dragons with strangers you know that such things can very quickly go from "Theatre of the Mind" to a cavalcade of cringey, awkward, body-odor tinged schlock more at home on someone's Wattpad than anywhere within a million feet of the real world. This brings me to I guess a good point to end the paragraph so this whole page isn't just a big block of text:

VET YOUR PLAYERS AND GAME MASTERS!!!

Call it gatekeeping, because that's what it is and you shouldn't be ashamed of it. Obviously give people who might be new the benefit of the doubt, but you should try to create a group free of "freaks" of all stripes. Don't get me wrong, I'm a freak and I'm friends with a lot of freaks. But I'm not a "freak", you know the type. Its His/Her (or G*d forbid "Their") way or the highway. Always dragging their admixture of genocidal/masturbatory fantasies, daddy issues, and/or angst into the games they play and characters they make. It's not just that their Bard is a sexpest, it's not just that the reason their Decker is fighting some totalitarian Corpo-State is over some modern Identity Politics issue that would make 0 sense in a setting where people have to sell their organs to eat, it's not just that they murder every NPC they see because "XP is all I care about". It's that they don't do it in a way that is novel, organic, or entertaining.

Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy or encourage just handing players things because they do gag after gag. That encourages the normalization of such behavior which ends up becoming stale and in the same vein as the aforementioned "freak" behavior. But as with anything, the way you spin it can determine 90% of the reaction to it. If done well, an overeager ladies man can provide comic relief. A touch of real world politics in a character or setting can make things believable, and in the right hands (NOT YOURS, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) be the vessel for a subtle but thought-provoking commentary. Even some sadistic murder character can be done in a way that's acceptable as long as there's a method to the madness, and his behavior doesn't constantly disadvantage the party. Speaking of characters:

ENCOURAGE IF NOT OUTRIGHT FORCE "FLAVOR"

Force is a strong word, but just like in life the application of force is sometimes necessary for better outcomes. I'm sure you've played 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, and have noticed that little part on the character sheet that says "Bonds", "Flaws", "Ideas", "Backgrounds", etc. Those aren't simply there for show, and perhaps something redeemable about 5e. At the end of the day, TTRPG's are about fun; but a compelling story is often very entertaining. Everyone being a drifting mercenary for hire certainly is good for one shots and "You all meet in a tavern" type things, but having a little depth to a character opens up opportunities for unique interaction between both the player and Game Master, players with players, and the player with his own character. These snippets of flavor can help you establish a character's motivations, get inside their head, and make decisions not as you but as them.

A Dwarf's racial animus to Elves may change throughout your adventure, or it may lead to a rising tension that comes to a head with all but the two party members dead following a boss' defeat. Your Neo-Mormon Astronaut may have to make some tough decisions when it comes to rescuing Joe Smith's Alien Cryopod, or save the colony in the path of the Aliens you were sent to kill. See what I'm saying? It's INTERESTING, and if you're a Game Master WORK IT INTO THE CAMPAIGN. Give your players opportunities to utilize their character's backstories, and if they don't, force them to. Tempt your addicts with vices, your tortured souls with reminders of their past, your good Samaritans with a situation where the only options are ever greater varieties of evils. Of course, those who go above and beyond in this department and willingly shoot themselves in the foot to "stick to the bit" should be rewarded with inspiration, loot, information, or some trinket of appreciation.

BREVITY AND MYSTERY IS ALMOST NEVER BAD

You're ready to GM your first game, your palms sweating with excitement as you furiously type out page after page of lore for your intricate world. You hit print and bring the 334 page homebrew background that has the lore for every blade of grass and pebble in the fantasy planet, leave it on your friend's table, and find it untouched next session with cobwebs and pizza stains on it. This is unfortunately a story all to common. Just as nice as it is to have a "living" world in your games, it also sucks to be caught in an exposition dump at every location. Hardly anyone is going to sift through volumes of lore about a world that may never see light again due to a scheduling conflict, and more importantly, it's often fun to fill in the gaps yourself than have someone else do it for you.

One of the most detested characters (by some) in Lord of the Rings is Tom Bombadil. He's married to the spirit of a river, and could easily defeat Sauron with a snap of his fingers...but he doesn't. "WHY!?!" Cries the minmaxxer, his sausage fingers curling into a waving fist of anger. The answer is simple: When you leave the Shire, things are strange. This has often been my inspiration when coming up with things. In our world there are things that sometimes are beyond explanation, and while sometimes yes this can be an excuse for lazy writing, tactful use of this can let players imaginations run wild at the possibilities. Similarly, when coming up with factions, characters, or stories, you should be able to have no trouble (and probably should limit yourself to) explaining everything within about 5 sentences. For example (from something stupid I threw together in the spring of 2022):

"The Rosetta mission found a Door on the comet it landed on. Nobody knows exactly what it is or does,
all they know is that it's coming this way. The socio/geopolitical cracks that existed are now widened
by mass hysteria and the emergence of various radical groups of all shapes and sizes. As the UN moves
to crack down on Pro and Anti-Door Terror groups and the headlines get packed with stories of 'Door Events',
it's undeniable something is happening; It's just nobody is really sure what it is."

Not to toot my own horn, but this is most of the backstory. Every group, character, and piece of the plot can be summed up in this manner, and that is pretty much all there is to them. It gets you wondering what exactly everything is. Similarly, leaving some ambiguity in the world can let you build things as you go. This also ties back into your characters having flavor to them. Ask your players about things they don't know, but their characters do. "How exactly do you know this NPC?", "Do you remember hearing anything about this kind of monster?" (this is the first time the players have encountered it), or go with it when they say "Oh I know so and so he lives over on blah blah drive" when the party finds themselves without a lead.

Well, I think this is everything. For now. I hope perhaps you at least see what I'm trying to say, even if you think it's bunk.