Pointers from Warcraft

While checking out Slashdot the other day, I came across an interesting blog post called 9 Lessons GMs can Learn from World of Warcraft by Martin Ralya. It’s all sound advice, and very valuable to anyone like me who enjoys their tabletop roleplaying alongside its massively multiplayer counterpart.

One thing to really take away from the advice is that, like World of Warcraft, tabletop RPGs should offer something for everyone. Every game should have enough variety to keep your players interested and coming back for more, no matter their tastes. In World of Warcraft, you can seek power (through levelling), fame (through rank and reputation), wealth, or even the thrill of exploration. No matter what you find fun, you’ll find a suitable venue in the online world, and so it should be for the world of dice and narratives.

Another important aspect of the game is the fact that it cuts out a lot of extraneous details. As Martin points out in his post, players don’t want to be bored with hefty logistics or mundane details of everyday life. The details that matter the most are those that bring the story to life. Ask yourself, “Do my players really care about this detail?” If the answer is no, and the detail isn’t important to story or gameplay, by all means leave it out.

All in all, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from games like World of Warcraft in the realm of tabletop. It’s exciting, challenging, and keeps you coming back for more; any DM should be proud to manage a game of such high quality.