Adventure U – Introductory Blog Welcome to Adventure U
Students of the Gaming Arts and Distinguished Guests, I’d like to introduce you to Adventure U. But how
do you begin a story and an endeavor you dearly hope will never end?
In the Spring of 1981, I was a kid in a rural community and I was introduced to a type of game like none I
had ever seen before – it was called Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and it was a roleplaying game. Just
looking at the artwork ignited my imagination and my sense of wonder. I began to envision stories of
bold exploits far beyond the horizons of my small-town life. Through this game, my group of friends and
I discovered a simple joy, escaping the hum-drum of everyday life by taking on the persona of a hero.
So, through the years of junior high and into high school, our small group played the classic modules and
even dared to begin writing our own. As I transitioned into the adult world and the responsibilities that
come with it, roleplaying games remained my primary hobby and a consistent source of pleasureful
diversion. I harnessed my map-making skilled I learned into a career as a commercial architect. But after
a dozen years of playing I realized how roleplaying games helped me in my everyday life. Once you have
battled a moldering lich in the deep caverns beneath a long-forgotten castle, striding with confidence
into a city council meeting armed with nothing but a scroll of blueprints and a pen for a wand is a
breeze. Truly playing those games had changed my life, and they changed it for the better, by teaching
many life-skills I still use today.
- How to think on my feet.
- How to interact with people.
- How to hone my wit.
- How to be careful of what I say.
- How to equip myself for an adventure.
- How to be confident, even if sometimes it’s only bravado.
- How to plan ahead – thinking strategically.
- How to know when to press the advantage and when to cut and run, living to fight another day.
- How to weigh the possible good and bad outcomes of my decisions before I commit to them.
- How to make the hard choice between what is expedient and what is truly principled.
- How to deal with the consequences when a plan doesn’t turn out as you had hoped.
- How to get along with people, even when you don’t agree on what to do about the challenges
that lie ahead.
All these things and much, much more I learned from roleplaying games. And, best of all, I enjoyed a
hefty dose of mirth and mayhem with people who turned into lifelong friends, even when our lives took
us to different places. I had established human connections built on foundations of friendship,
camaraderie and teamwork. Those connections are both profoundly human and vitally important to
living a full life.
We live in a world that will always challenge us. There are situations that will daunt us. The events of our
lives will not always be a walk in the park. The question is, when challenges arise, will we be brave
enough to stand and take them on. Roleplaying games can help us develop the skills and the confidence
to live a better life, a braver life. They can lead to personal growth and the confidence that comes with
experience. You might say they allow us to ‘level up’. And I am certain I am not alone in that belief.
G.K Chesterton wrote something quite profound which I’ll paraphrased here, “Fairy tales do not tell
children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that
dragons can be killed.”
Dragons are fierce, fearsome and even lethal and some of the challenges we will face in life will be
similar. So,it’s up to us to devise a plan of attack, put on our armor for defense, draw our sword and
charge into battle with confidence.
In roleplaying games, we take on the mantle of heroes. In reality, now more than ever, our society needs
heroes. How can we best learn courage, loyalty, steadfastness, and heroism? At Adventure U, we
believe it is by eliciting the virtues of the hero even if, at first, it is only with paper, pencil and dice
around a table with friends who can help us refine our tactics. Through roleplaying, we have the
opportunity to train ourselves for real life and the challenges that will require truly heroic virtues. We
need experience and confidence to equip ourselves for the everyday battles we will face in our lives.
We recognize the roleplaying hobby has changed drastically over the years. There have been ups and
downs. Currently, we stand on the edge of either a stagnation and decline of the hobby or a potential
Renaissance. We see a proliferation in the industry of hundreds of new games from independent
authors and updated releases of beloved franchises. “Starter kits” provide an easy introduction to
unfamiliar games are becoming more common and ease players and game masters into new frontiers.
We see the rise of new systems and new mechanics, fresh denizens, settings, plots and innovative
stories blossoming on crowdfunding sites and flooding into Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS).
However, there is a growing concern this Renaissance may be stillborn as there is a lack of quality Game
Masters (GMs) prepared to run games – and to mentor others in the craft. Our hobby has often
struggled with the simple fact there are far fewer GMs than players who want to play, but this is now
reaching a critical point. With the rise in popularity of roleplaying games due to exposure in popular
culture, there has been a surge in interest. Already, some who are unable to find a GM for an in-person
game are turning to online sessions. Some are insisting that GMing might become the purview of
artificial intelligence, replacing traditional game mastering completely. We at Adventure U support
online gaming (though it is not our focus), but we believe role-playing games are for people, by people.
The game table is the place where uniqueness, creativity and dreams are and shared, rather than
soulless algorithms presenting challenges based on mathematics and market trends. At its core,
roleplaying hearkens back to times before technology when we sat around a fire telling stories, meant to
teach, preserve and entertain.
Roleplaying is a very human activity and we’d like to see it continued to be played and run by humans.
At Adventure U, we want to help spur on the Renaissance in roleplaying games by keeping people in the
role of GM, regardless of genre or system. Skilled GMs run fun and interesting games that help players
focus and lean in to the stories, collaborating to make great adventures. This collaboration helps the GM
hone their skills and consistently up their game. We recognize people learn best by doing. Developing
the skills and the confidence needed to run an adventure that challenges and inspires its players
requires knowledge and self-confidence. We want to help GMs run their best game sessions
consistently; sessions that gets their players cheering and high-fiving around the table. That success on
the GM’s part leads the players to invest more and show up consistently to ensure they don’t miss a
minute of fun. And let’s just admit it, that’s why we take part in these games, because it is fun – fun
that we have with others.
Our primary goal at Adventure U is to train up the next generation of game masters and offer a way for
players to learn to step up their own game as well, to be the best players we can be. To achieve that,
we have recruited experienced game masters and seasoned players who share our mission of passing on
the knowledge and the skills we have honed over the years to future game masters who will lead the
hobby forward and to the greater enjoyment of all.
Above all, we want to help build our community and we want the roleplaying community to thrive. And
we want to share those opportunities with you, our roleplaying scholars.
So I welcome you Adventure U TM. . It is my true alma mater and I sincerely hope this journey never ends.
You belong here, with us, where the tales of epic adventures and learning never ends. Join us today on
our journey to the best days of gaming that are ahead in majestic and uncharted lands of mystery and
imagination.
M.L. Howard
Dean of Worldbulding and Co-founder of Adventure U.
Link to ML Howard Bio
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