On the weekend I joined my regular DnD group for a session. We all sat down at the gaming table and had a fun session in the latest instalment of one of my friends’ lovingly crafted homebrew campaigns. I always enjoy these sessions but lately it’s with an understanding that my time as a regular with the group is now very limited, and that time will come about sooner than I think. We all met three years ago when I used to be the Dungeon Master a table at the London Dungeons and Dragons Meetup. I used to be the main DM of the group but have not been the DM recently as I cannot attend every session, so I left the DM role to other members of our group. As it currently stands we schedule our games for every Saturday afternoon and if anybody cannot attend a session we just carry on and that person’s character has their absence explained in some way by the DM.
With my son due to be born in the next few weeks, I will suddenly have a lot less time for my hobbies. One of those hobbies is roleplaying and I will have to take a long break from my regular DnD group and when I do go back to them, it will be probably as an even less regular member of the group. This is not a problem and I expect being a dad to be my biggest adventure. But even as a parent it is important to still make time for hobbies, even if just in very small bursts.
I’ve thought a lot about how my new life as a parent will change how I partake in my hobbies. I expect to get my roleplaying and board gaming fix from online sessions. I already regularly GM Dungeons and Dragons and Call of Cthulhu sessions online through services like StartPlaying and using my self-hosted virtual tabletop platform with Discord.
More One Shots
One shots may be the way to go with limited time to spare. Hosting a one-off contained adventure in one session is much easier with limited time than running a whole campaign.
I have ran many one-shots online in Dungeons and Dragons and Call of Cthulhu with different groups and with people from all over the world joining my games.
The advantage of running a one-shot is less preparation time being needed, less investment of time as the whole adventure can be completed in one session, and there is less investment of time so works well for groups that cannot meet very regularly.
Online Sessions
Online games can be run with people from all over the world as location is not a barrier to getting together, and there is now an array of tools available to enhance online roleplaying making it very easy and cost effective to create an engaging, entertaining gaming experience with virtual maps, miniatures, atmospheric music, video and voice chat and no need for a venue to be booked. This flexibility along with the ability to play at any time and find players able to join you around your schedule makes online gaming great for limited schedules.
Roleplaying groups have always been subject to change, in terms of the regularity of meeting, number of participants and the people who make them up. As with any social group or activity roleplaying is not immune to the changes in people’s lives that change their availability or will to continue with their hobbies.
But for me becoming a parent does not mean the end of participating in my hobby or the end of my adventures. It just means how I get my roleplaying fix will change. I anticipate there will be more one-shots and online sessions in my tabletop roleplay gaming going forward, and these sessions will be less regular.
I hope this post will help anyone else wondering how they fit in time for tabletop roleplaying with other commitments, whether that be parenting or otherwise. Leave a comment if you have any thoughts!