Best Lesson in RPGs.

What does your attention buy you?

One of the best lessons from playing tabletop roleplaying games stems from my favorite question to ask my players during gameplay.

"What do you pay attention to?"

I have participated in many RPGs and talked with many Game Masters and Players. I know now that each table is as unique as the people filling the seats. This is the beauty of games.

However, I retain some pride in believing that my table is the best. At the least, I would hope I have the best table.

This is not a flex. It’s a statement of content and healthy pride.

And from that contentment means that I customize my table to facilitate the lessons I want to teach. Spoilers: I’m a teacher at heart.

When my players tell me what their characters pay attention to, I learn a few things. First, I learn what they care about. There are plenty of directions in a fictional world and only so much time to enjoy. So if they pay attention to a funny minstrel, you had better believe I ramp up that part of the scene.

This means I continue to invest in that part of the story. The minstrel is explored, revised, updated, and developed until a satisfying resolution is met.

The minstrel is your long lost brother and has a treasure map to your family’s inheritance. Are you up for another adventure?

When we learn that attention is a resource from our individual self, we start to pay attention towards things that matter to our values.

Doing this as a fictional character helps you learn how to also do this in "real" life. Start noticing what you pay your attention towards and check to see if this activity invests or detracts from your values.

There is a lot to take in this world. And only so much time. Only so much attention.

What is your attention buying you?