DB

While scrolling through the very distracting area of YouTube Shorts, I found a tidbit from an interview with Brennan Lee Mulligan about his costuming in Dimension 20’s latest production, Dungeons and Drag Queens. (It’s no secret that I’m a fan of his, and all of the lovely people at College Humor/Dropout. I mean, check every other post!)

In this interview, Brennan discusses his own physical presentation and what he should wear to make the queens feel comfortable at the table. Bob suggested that Brennan find and wear what his drag should be. The drag style of the queens were a high fem, big hair, sort of thing. That didn’t have to be the drag of Brennan. As Bob said, Drag can be anything. And so, they settled into a style that Brennan was happy with.

This was a crazy idea to me. I didn’t think that drag could be anything other than high fem. Which means that when it comes to other forms of media, there are ways to challenge and stay within a form while still representing the spirit of that form.

In a TTRPG, you shouldn’t be afraid to play the game even if it doesn’t look like any sort of game that you have seen. If you think that it will be fun for you, whether it be solo play, GM-less play, tactical gaming, roleplaying…play your game! Stick by your guns and your preference. You develop taste long before you develop skill, as I’ve first heard from Matt Colville. You know what you like, so play towards those preferences. And what’s more, play with people who share those preferences…or the cousins of those preferences.

It may be easier to find a style that fits your group and your own tastes by jumping around with different games and systems. The rules for each system implies different styles of play, so try playing each system as “strict to the rules”, and in the spirit of that game as possible. You might find things that you like, and you may find things you don’t like. Great! Discard the things that you don’t like, and keep the rest.

I think I’ll discuss future games in a place like this…the things that I’m keeping at my tables, and the things that I’m throwing away, along with the considerations for which table I think each game would lend itself better to.

Anyway, that’s that. Find your style, your game, your art. Happy storytelling! Gaming! All the things!