RPG Reconnect Via RPG Connect

While I am still on hiatus from active gaming in order to reflect and recharge, I am always thinking about RPGs nonetheless.

I have tried to focus my thoughts on what hasn't been working for me and what I can do about it, as well as how to marry what I want out of a game with what my players want. Often those are the same things but there are definitely differences. 

I hope to talk about those dynamics in upcoming posts but right now I want to tell you about this cool idea I came across recently while taking another deep dive into Japanese Tabletop RPGs.

This concept is best translated into English as 'RPG Connect'.

Three sample RPG Connect sheets found on Twitter. 

RPG Connect or TRPG好きと繋がりたい and TRPG自己紹介シート in Japanese is basically a one page reference sheet for you to introduce yourself to other TRPG fans and let them know what kind of gamer you are and what you're into.

I first found out about this from a post on Twitter by a user calling themselves momatoes. She has a lot of interesting stuff on her account and I do recommend taking a look but this post is about these RPG Connect reference sheets. This is hers:

Momatoes RPG Connect Sheet

She also made this template, which I like a lot and used as the basis of an RPG Connect sheet of my own. However, I do want to point out that there really isn't a universally used template. It seems personal expression is a big factor, possibly related to various cultural particulars.

Japanese Pop Culture is dominated by Anime and Manga and so a common way to appeal to your fellow gamers in Japan is by adding artwork to your sheet. Japanese TRPGs themselves aren't usually as full of illustrations as one might expect but what they do have is often quite good. In addition, RPG Replays - stories of actual play usually told in Manga form - are an extremely prevalent and popular part of the gaming hobby throughout East Asia and letting others know you can draw their characters and adventures certain makes your profile more appealing. 

Anyway, I have found these RPG Connect profiles quite inspiring and hope you'll take a look at them and consider making one for yourself. It's useful to have, fun to make, and might even give you a bit of insight into what you're looking for in a game.

I'll leave you with my own:

Slowly getting my groove back,

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Barking Alien