All I Need to Know About Life I Learned from playing Dungeons & Dragons.
• A little generosity goes a long way.
• A ten-foot pole has a multitude of uses, including firewood.
• Ability is quantifiable.
• Always prepare a back-up plan and an escape route.
• An idea isn't stupid if it works.
• Arguing with those in authority always gets results; but not always the results you wanted.
• Beware the sudden kindness of strangers.
• Bigger is not always better.
• Bring enough food and drinks to share with everyone.
• Carry more than one kind of light source into dark places.
• Cultivate non-standard skills.
• Dice never lie; people do.
• Diversity in skills and perspectives is essential to survival.
• Don't rely on assumptions; learn to ask questions instead. Wrong assumptions can kill you.
• Don't take death personally.
• Don't waste time with minions; take it directly to the minions' boss.
• Draw a map as you go.
• Every detail is important.
• Every lock has a key.
• Every member of a party should have a unique purpose.
• Everyone has something to contribute.
• Everyone wants a good story to tell.
• Everyone wants the treasure.
• Everyone wants to slay the monster.
• Get everything possible out of the tools you have at your disposal.
• Getting your enemies to fight each other is safer and more effective than fighting them all yourself.
• Habitual behavior can be exploited as a lethal trap.
• Imagination counts!
• It really is important to get along well with others.
• Keep track of your every resource, both material and personal.
• Know first aid, and teach it to others.
• Know what kind of monster you're up against.
• Knowing the odds can spell the difference between success and failure.
• Learn from others' mistakes as well as your own.
• Lots of little hurts can be just as lethal as one big hurt.
• Make friends everywhere.
• No matter how powerful you are, there is always someone more powerful.
• Once you have everything working right, stop trying to make it work better.
• People are more interesting when they're flawed.
• Practice may not "make perfect", but it beats having no skills at all.
• Quality of tools over quantity of tools, every time.
• Reliance on luck alone works for you less than half of the time.
• Remember your primary goal at all times.
• Sometimes, despite all of your best efforts, the dragon wins.
• Strict adherence to the rules is anathema to happiness.
• Study the documentation.
• The greater the scam, the greater the backlash when the scam is discovered.
• The laws of physics can and will be used against you.
• There is no such thing as the foolproof plan.
• There is no such thing as the loyal henchman.
• Those who have failed to plan, by default, have planned to fail.
• Treasure is not always what you expect it to be.
• Treat every battle as a "Boss Battle" - fight to win!
• Treat those in authority with respect and kindness; they hold your future in their hands.
• Weirdness counts!
• When all else fails, improvise.
• You either create your own story, or you let someone else create it for you.
• You may have to lose something you want to gain something you want even more.
• Your reputation is based on how well you handle "random encounters".
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T minus 69 and counting.
31 Jul 2016, 3:45 pm
