In episode one, I introduced the way in which I have learned to manage the specific ways in which my mind operates. As an anxious person with a fast-moving and deeply curious mind, I have found it necessary to lean into the specific differences that make me who I am over trying to shoe-horn my hobby into someone else’s methods. I’m moving away from viewing my mental differences as pathology and towards creating an Architecture for Play that fits the way my mind prefers to work.
This time, we take the first of three deeper dives into the stances outlined in Episode 1. The Sentinel is a mental stance adopted before play begins. It is the act of circumscribing the circle for play—a \"creative constraint\"—that defines the Where, When, and How of the Otherworld. He is the one with one eye on consistency and the other on the rules. The Sentinel is the arbiter of the game’s reality.
To help us move away from theory and into practice, I am going to actively connect these episodes to the development of the next long-form roleplaying game campaign that I would like to create. By grounding everything I am talking about in a practical example, it’s my hope that you’ll be able to see both the methodology in play and draw out ideas for working on your own approaches.
If you’ve struggled with consistently running a believable fantastic Otherworld for upwards of a half-dozen sessions without driving yourself crazy, there might be something here for you.
Game on!
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Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:
https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/
Logo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:
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