DIY vs DI don’t

The tabletop role-playing community at large is very fragmented these days, regardless of what the ‘norm’ says, wherever your ‘norm’ lives. There are people who love to argue over 5e’s RAW vs RAI on Reddit and Twitter. There are folks who live-stream their shenanigans to huge communities, and those that have 10 faithful followers. There is the online only crowd and the ‘if-its-not-at-a-real-table-I-want-none-of-it’ personages. And there are the tinkerers, constantly changing their personal games to fit their style better alongside the only by the bookers.

Therein lies the beauty of this hobby; there is room for ALL of us. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, there is a place for you. The best part? There is no right or wrong answer as long as you and your friends are having fun.

I love this hobby. Some might call it an obsession, and they would be right. It allows me to escape the real world for a segment of time, to let my imagination wander into fantastical scenarios that I would never get to experience in reality. I get to travel through the deep dark of space with my players as they experience the slow creeping dread of the absolute gargantuaness of our imagined galaxies. I am able to smile as my players create a story of heroic sacrifice against insurmountable levels of evil in a fantastical land of Wizards and bold Warriors. I laugh alongside my friends and family at the crazy hijinx that their characters get into.

At the end of the session, the only thing that matters is whether or not we all enjoyed that shared narrative. If that meant spending 20 minutes looking up a specific ruling because the outcome depended on it, so be it. Or maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal, and instead of stalling the game we just winged it, and kept moving. Both are acceptable.

Instead of arguing about the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to enjoy our table time, let’s come together and just enjoy it. Be happy for the group that is rules heavy and only plays with rules-as-written. Be supportive of those that write their own rules and wing it just as much as they follow their rules. There is room for all of us, and at the end of the day, no one should care if you ‘do-it-yourself’ or not. I’m all for it, either way.