What is character development in RPGs, and why is it so important? It gives players a deeper connection to their characters and a more immersive experience. Here's why character development can turn a good campaign into a great RPG. With character development tips to get the most out of your next game.

What is the connection between RPG characters and personal development? While we’re immersed in the game, our characters are impacting our own personalities in ways we may not be aware of. What are the different types of characters we play in D&D, and how do they drive our personal growth? What are the best RPG character creation tips to have fun and while driving our personal growth & understanding?

Welcome to the August 2022 RPG Blog Carnival! This month we are proud to be hosting this unique collaboration across many RPG blogs and gamers. This month’s topic is Character Development. Join our adventure with others as we discuss the role of character development in roleplaying games.

There are many benefits to playing tabletop games. But does it make a difference if it’s analog vs digital gaming? There are unique benefits and disadvantages to each. How can we make our gaming experiences the best possible, whether it’s together around the table or tabletop gaming online? Here are 12 tips to make the most of your next tabletop experience.

There are many benefits to playing games. When we put down the controller or pack up our dice, the values we learned in playing games stay with us. From video games to tabletop roleplaying games, playing games teaches us about life. Here are the ten most important life lessons that I learned from gaming.

Have you ever enjoyed huge RPGs like Skyrim, Fallout 4, or The Witcher 3 with numerous side quests? Side quests can be a great addition but they can also distract from the main story. What about in real life? The side quests in life often distract from our real-life main quest too. How can you find a balance between working on your dreams and completing those real-life side quests?

Most tabletop role players would tell you of the camaraderie and self-confidence they gain through playing games like D&D.  But researchers have taken notice as well.  Beyond the entertainment value, TTRPGs are a healthy habit to form, granting many benefits for improved mental health and encouraging our personal development.

Quests in games provide goals, help us progress our story, and develop our character. What if we could do earn experience points and complete quests in real life? There are plenty of real quests that we can take to improve our stats and have some fun along the way.

Here is a list of 25 real-life quests for nerds, geeks, gamers, and would-be adventurers to get you started on your adventure.

Whether video games or tabletop games, we enjoy the immersion, interesting questlines, and magical creatures of role-playing games. But next to it, our reality may feel anything but an adventure. Boring responsibilities, difficult challenges, and some days life is anything but fun. 

But what if we thought about real life as an RPG?   While it may seem like a novel idea, changing our mindset and thinking about life as a game can produce real benefits to our lives. 

Whether you enjoy to explore and set sail along the Sword Coast,

Or prefer the view of the Golden Sea from your ship’s high sternpost,

For those that seek the Sisters’ snowy peaks in the Spine,

To others that Giants of the Black Ash try to confine,

Whether you play in the frigid lands of Icewind Dale,

Or it is the barren lands of the Bandit Wastes that you travail,

This is my blessing and holiday desire,

For you, the adventurer, for next year to acquire:

I can’t see dice.

I can’t see grid maps.

I can’t read spell cards or manuals.

I can’t operate a character sheet.

When I was first invited into a game I certainly didn’t expect to face my worst fear. I absolutely never expected to overcome it.

The holiday can be a wonderful time of the year. But this time of year can also be a great source of anxiety.

And as a gamer, I find that I would much prefer to spend those cozy winter days online in a dungeon than participating in the festive season. And I am far from alone in seeking this Scrooge-like escape. Here are some ways to use gaming and other tips to help with holiday anxiety.

The holidays are just around the corner, and it’s time to find the perfect gifts for everyone on your list, including those you spend time around the tabletop with. But what to get that dungeon master that has everything? Or that fellow player that always seems to roll a natural 20 on their charisma checks? From D&D to other TTRPGs, here are some unique gift ideas for the tabletop gamer in your life.

Whether it’s a scary movie or haunted fiction, we enjoy being scared. TTRPG horror campaigns let us imagine ourselves as participants in tales of terror.

But they are also good for us mentally and socially. Here are the best reasons why you should try an RPG horror campaign for an experience that you’ll never forget.

I’ve fallen in love with bigger RPG projects, and I think you should to. They’re very rewarding and much easier to achieve than you might think.

Can Dungeons and Dragons help us to trust others? Faced with a mysterious NPC, many of us immediately become suspicious and wary. What are the reasons we don’t trust others and can we learn how to trust someone? And what if they as suspicious of us, are we seen as trustworthy in their eyes? The question of can RPGs help us trust others is yes, if we are willing to learn how to trust others, including ourselves.

In RPGs, a mimic can disguise itself as an everyday object, hidden in its disguise, waiting for its prey.

In real life, we have versions of mimics as well. We call them imposters and fraudsters, disguising themselves as something they are not to gain from their deception.

Whether it's playing a role-playing game or living our lives, we seek a motive and a purpose for our actions. We are driven by the why. What is the importance of why and how can you find yours?

Every good fantasy story and RPGs include a band of adventurers facing danger together. In real life, we can have the same. Real-life party members help us battle our monsters and encourage us to work toward our goals. Who are your traveling companions and what RPG party roles do they fill? And if we are in a real-life RPG, how can we find other adventurers to share the journey with us? Remember, it’s dangerous to go it alone.

How to stop procrastinating and get things done? We’ve all been there. A big project and the deadlines are looming, but we’re dragging our feet. We know we need to get to work but the struggle to get motivated and started feels like trying to walk through quicksand. Here are 10 ways to overcome procrastination to help you get unstuck and back on track.