Politics at the game table: Do we need them?

Before you read any further, please note that I am not advocating becoming a "Bible thumper," nor am I suggesting that this should be done without mutual consent. I am, however, putting it out there that this should never be considered taboo.

Culture before the shaming

There was a time in the western world when you could come to a hobby, forum, or job and have honest, heated and often very opinionated debate on things. There was a time when we shame things that are genuinely outrageous or legitimately unacceptable to any rational person. We used to debate over the legitimacy of the grievance a kooky hippie had. We could argue back and forth on the merits of allowing a foreign company coming in to a local market and competing. And while I am not going to debate those points, nor will I shy away from them on social media. I do want to point out that there is merit to that sort of practice for healthy cultures.

What changed? Depending on who you ask, you will hear or read wildly varying answers. Regardless of what the response is, there are a few trends that I personally have observed. Most of which are points already made by men and women much smarter than I am. are things that I firmly believe has been lost at the game table, and it has largely to do with the greater culture, which is why these first few pieces will be much more broad into culture and more directly to the game table. I vehemently believe that this community is going to be at the forefront of the culture war and there are already attacks on the hobbies underway.

Rules Lawyer front: Nerd Cultural Theater

The question is this: Do we need to talk politics at the game table or off the table? My answer to both parts is yes and no to both. Let's make this clear that I do not believe that everyone should, or everyone will, or does bring it to the table already, however it is an increasing trend among manipulators, detractors and subverting individuals. This in mind, I will not name specific people here, as I don't believe that certain specific individuals act out of bad faith, though I do believe that there are some who absolutely want to destroy nerdom from within and do a damned good job of it, and there are others who are the useful idiots put on the forefront of attacks to test the waters in case they can be used as martyrs in the future. The latter, I certainly don't mind naming and may very well do so, just not necessarily here. There is already a second “satanic panic” underway that iI am dubbing “NerdSubversion” as a bit of an unnecessary jab at someone I believe to be a useful idiot.

Let's make some things clear now. I am giving my opinion based on observations I've made and based on statements from others. I don't claim any moral high ground, nor should anyone in my opinion. I am however advocating that we should not be afraid to openly discuss our opinion on political matters on or off the table. Why on? There is nothing wrong with the game having blatant political views and opinions. The game itself is a product, that said, it is important to understand that this should be taken into consideration off the table with your players. Do they want to play a game that is about thirsty sword wielding Amazonian gynocentric society? Or do they want to play a game that tackles the absurdity of how an ethno centric society would work in a fantastical and whimsy zany world? Buckle up snowflakes because this article is going to absolutely blow your mind. Clench your already uptight butt holes you card carrying moral busybody “bible thumpers club” members of the debate, because this is also going to mock your Sunday church sermon. And I do talk to you who believes that just because we agree on broader issues of economics and philosophical believes on all sides of the political spectrum, we don't have opinions of our own, just because we're a bunch of basement dweller, blue hair Mohawk, leather wearing goth t-shirt pencil neck bearded trope in your head, we can't disagree with you in our own views on cultural matters. We're called Rules lawyers, min-maxing, obsessive compulsive, nerds” for a reason. We do not all conform to any one believe. Nerds have our own thoughts, and they are on an even broader alignment chart, or random table than anyone understands.

Political figures, agitators and influencers are running the games you love, the companies you give money to on a regular basis, you are funding your hobbies being destroyed because you refuse to listen to each other and choose to be preached to by two or more bad actors who do not think you should have fun. Yes I do mean from all political sides. This is unacceptable and the reason for the lack of creativity. Tourists who want to play at your table are the Trojan horse you want to avoid.

How does one talk politics while running a game? Play the game you want to play, not the game a company wants you to play. Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast, and Paizo’s Pathfinder being the two biggest TTRPG's, both have a core rulebook, Pathfinder 2e simply does not require a single red cent to play, in fact, Archives of Nethis is 100% free. Print out the rules and run the game. If you have a need for statblock’s, again, AoN is available for free. Write your own adventures. As for Wizards and D&D, well, WotC just put the entire SRD for 5e into a creative commons and into the public domain. Just print out the whole document and here's the best part. There are entire libraries out there that are 100% free(or “pay what you want”) on places like DriveThroughRPG, BigGeekEmporium and on content creator's own websites. Don't be ashamed of your game choices, embrace them. Obviously you want your players on board with your game.

For handling politics off the table but with your players, the way I handle it is to encourage the talk, learn what your players think. They need to understand first and foremost that you will listen. I hate that inclusivety is so misused, but be genuinely inclusive. Here's the part that needs to happen more frequently. Talk about the topics your players are concerned with in an honest way. You have already heard the players out, they will likely be more inclined to listen to you. If the conversation doesn't go anywhere, change the topic, come back to it when they're ready. Don't be insulting.

Social media and the news media have done a good job of making people believe that stating opinions will have you shunned from your friend group. Think about it for a moment and you realize that this simply does not have to be true. Your culture of being inquisitive has been subverted. The fact that you do not realize that some of these companies are not your friend is not only laughable, it is disgusting. Let's try a few examples.

Safety tools. How many of you know where they come from? Do you know that these tools are to stop the game? BDSM uses these tools are used to show levels of discomfort. Why would anyone think that this is acceptable? It is a tool specifically designed to be disruptive. If your player is uncomfortable with something in play, they have a voice, they can use it. No tools needed, they're a waste of time, which are also used to shame a game master. If you have a session zero, or the table you are at is a friend group, if you are not comfortable talking to your friends, you probably should not be playing with them.

Evil creatures are evil, in my world for example, there are races, because I am not going to call them species, and ancestries are reserved for backgrounds, that are evil. Why is this necessary? Knowing what is good and what is evil helps players understand situation. Does the race matter for my example? Not necessarily. If you want your Orc to be good, then make them good. The problem isn't so much what the Orc is. The notion that everything is on an alignment spectrum without having a set position within it.

Now I'm not here to debate either of these things, but I am here to point out that these things are important to understand that these tools are being used to disrupt your fun. These games have worked well without them until now. A new way to use a random table is far more valuable and far more practical. The nature of Orcs is unnecessary when you already have your world setup. Let's take the time to understand what we really need. Do you need a moral busybody telling you that you're playing human wrong because YOU decided that all humans are evil?

Tackling the attacks from the outside is something else to consider. Some of you are too young to remember the “satanic panic” from the 80s and 90s. I remember it in passing, but I am old enough that it did affect my table for a very short time. Some of you may have also seen the current culture war is beginning to bring these things back into the larger conversation. I don't mind naming Matt Walsh for example here.

Do we really believe that we, the nerds, are each others “enemies?” I think regardless of your feelings on the larger conversation, you understand that most other people in the hobbies are not “racist” or “Snowflakes.” The bad actors need to be ignored or mocked. Enjoy the game with your friends and loved ones. Who cares what they do at a game tab at the other side of the world? What does it matter what a corporation thinks?

Tourists go away when ignored. Corporations only believe that they should be “inclusive” because that is what the media has told them. Do they believe what they preach? Let's ask Kyle Brink and the Pinkertons. How inclusive is it really that “half races is racist?” It's not. This is something that those bad actors are telling these companies to maintain their business. Don't give your money to these things. They're poisoning the hobby and I know that there are nerds on all sides of the hobby world that are beginning to wake up. Have the conversations with your friends,

There are so many things here that can and will have more dedicated posts, but for now, I hope I got the point across. Don't be sheep, embrace your rules lawyer side and think outside the box that these people are trying to put us in.

With that said: Let the dice decide, and may you have constructive discussions on these things. Reach out to one person outside of your political side in good faith and maybe not talk about the orange blimp, but do talk about the merits of why we should or shouldn't embrace outsiders so openly

PS: Yes I posted without editing, but I will edit throughout the following days.