Watching the 2009 movie, The Trotsky. They're talking about making a change through protesting, and the aged law professor is saying,
"Everytime I would try to pull a demonstration together, it was just a disaster. Unless we had some fascist on the campus that would yell at us, it would turn into this gigantic sock-hop. The point is, everybody came just to be 'part of the scene.' Just to be in the club. No one there realized that it's never real, until it stops being fun."
If you were part of the Black Lives Matter marches this last summer, then you may have seen that; and wondered why nothing came out of it.
Because this is a D&D blog, let me paint an obvious picture. Any time you run as a DM, there will be a significant number of players who will show up because what you've created is a "club." People, especially socially awkward people, will do anything to belong to a club, even investing themselves in something they don't care about. Part of your role as a DM is to figure out who is there to be in the club, and who is there to play D&D.
Huh. That's a pretty interesting observation. I suppose it applies to most everything humans do (that "pack" or "club" mentality): religion, politics, sports, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe love our tribes...most of us anyway. I hate clubs and tend to opt out whenever possible. I belong to MY tribes out of necessity (i.e. because membership is required) rather than desire. Fun-seeking "clubbers" tend to exhaust the hell out of me.