Mastery

I have been thinking about mastery for a couple of weeks, and I just want to get this off of my chest.

I have heard that to become a master at something you need to spend 10,000 hours practicing it. 

I have also heard a story that an Asian master artist said to draw 1000 blades of grass to become an artist.

One day I was in the studio to help run bits for Fritz Dreisbach. He took me over to a bare patch of concrete and began to draw while he told me his plan. "I was taking a shit, when I thought about this bowl....blah blah blah". Here is a man that literally eats, sleeps, and shits glass art.

I once heard a professional video gamer say that as a professional they train and practice so they don't have to think about their decisions; that they will have more instinctive reactions in the game.

After watching some teachers in training teach some classes this spring, it finally became clear to me what mastery is.

Mastery is the knowledge and understanding of an activity or system to the point that it simply becomes a part of who you are. You will think about it when you are not directly engaged with it, and when  you are engaged with it, you can do it without thinking about it.

For my niche place in education, I dare say I have reached mastery. I do often think about classes when I am not in the classroom. And when I'm teaching, I can present the material without much effort.

How about in games? After all, that is why this space exists on the internet.

What would being a master of tabletop role-playing games look like? Well, I think first you'd be engaged in the setting, and creative at worldbuilding. Next, you'll know the rules without needing to constantly flip through the book. Finally, you'll be great at passing the spotlight and improvising when the spotlight is on you. Also.

Let's look at these one at a time.

The first, being engaged in the setting and worldbuilding, is a tough one. Which setting are you mastering? The Forgotten Realms in D&D, the underground city in Paranoia, and the titular space station Coriolis are all vastly different, and there are thousands more settings. No, the best you can master is the worldbuilding. The ability to grok the themes and limitations of the setting presented to you (as a player or GM) and add to it.

The second, knowing the rules, is another Sisyphean task, unless you limit yourself to a single game system for all of eternity. It might also be possible if you limit yourself to super simple OSR style games. With that said, I think this might explain a large portion of the appeal of D&D. Stick to a system.

The third, sharing the spotlight and improvising, is probably the most attainable. To this end, theater experience is probably the best foundation. Unless you're a diva that wants to hog the spotlight.

So, what does it take to Master RPGs?

I'm going to say improvising, supporting your fellow players, learning the rules for your system (and probably sticking with a system for a while), and collaborating in the world.