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Aug 14, 2025 12:55 pm
If we count being a DM. My first game was actually running a demo of Lost Mines of Phandelver for a handful of my irl friends. To me, this was supposed to just be a way to roleplay with friends that didn't require our schedules and availability to sync up for table sessions. I didn't really intend to start joining games with others until I realized how slow games are.

I think I then joined a very intimidating set of games. Everyone had these author level writing skills and I was just going with fake it till you make it.
Aug 14, 2025 1:51 pm
To answer an earlier question, the thread died because we discussed having individual question threads. We bring GPers on the Discord.
Aug 14, 2025 2:09 pm
I wish community stuff wasn't so focused on Discord. :( I understand it, but I still wish it wasn't. Did this discussion ever result in anything though? :D
Aug 14, 2025 2:11 pm
Believe it or not, this thread and the other Question threads were an attempt to move more community discussion here! There were a couple questions, and then the community as a whole didn't keep asking them. We have a couple good ones right now, though!
Last edited August 14, 2025 2:28 pm
Aug 14, 2025 2:38 pm
Was community supposed to? I don't think the first post indicates it anywhere. If I knew it was expected/allowed that someone else continue it, I would've asked the next one! :O

Edit: I guess I can see it with hindsight knowledge, but back then it really didn't read as "anyone can ask a question" to me. D:
Last edited August 14, 2025 2:41 pm
Aug 14, 2025 2:43 pm
Be the question you want to see in the world!
Aug 14, 2025 3:21 pm
I have a question question for y'all. What's your go to icebreaker question? (Not a pickup line or a would you rather . . .) Something that actually gets an interesting conversation started?
Aug 14, 2025 3:23 pm
crazybirdman says:
I have a question question for y'all. What's your go to icebreaker question? (Not a pickup line or a would you rather . . .) Something that actually gets an interesting conversation started?
Oh, good question! I like to ask "If your friends had to describe you with three words, which words do you think they'd choose?"

Or, around birthdays or other milestones... "Who were you this last year, and who do you hope to be in the following year?"
Aug 14, 2025 3:25 pm
Edit: ignore all that, was writing when the previous question got posted. :)
[ +- ] Old post
Last edited August 14, 2025 4:01 pm
Aug 14, 2025 3:27 pm
crazybirdman says:
I have a question question for y'all. What's your go to icebreaker question? (Not a pickup line or a would you rather . . .) Something that actually gets an interesting conversation started?
I just throw in a bunch of questions about all of my hobbies, see if they get interested in any of them, and go from there. And if they aren't interested, I get cognitive dissonance and a flight response. XD (Interesting plant facts are surprisingly helpful. It's also good to ask about something the person has, like pins or prints on clothing.)
Last edited August 14, 2025 3:29 pm
Aug 14, 2025 3:52 pm
Jabes.plays.RPG says:
No, wait, it was this game! Run a couple of months earlier than those other two I mentioned. It's where I first played with @Qralloq. I was so impressed by his roleplay. Definitely influenced how I roleplayed from that point on.
That was such a brilliant game, one I wish had continued longer. I, too, was amazed by the RP and imaginative stories that came out of the players.
Aug 14, 2025 3:55 pm
FlyingSucculent says:
In all the games you've played, what magical items do you remember most often? Anything wacky or powerful or just so unusual it got stuck in your memory?
I remember this bag of endless food. The main character was a barbarian (AD&D, early 1990s) and everytime he raged he would get super hungry and would have to eat enough food to fill like six people. The food bag became this amazing solution to that problem, and a prized possession.
Aug 14, 2025 4:36 pm
I'll answer both questions.

I try to find a common connection. Normally it'll be a shirt with a band I like or something like that. Maybe asking if they've ever played Dungeons and Dragons before. I don't have a clear approach. It's always catered to the person.
I don't normally care about magic items, but I won't lie. Getting Zariel's sword in D&D was cool. More so because She gave it to me. I'm not very loot motivated. Stuff can be cool/useful, but it rarely drives me. Getting the sword itself was nice, but it was more a symbolic gesture. At their first meeting. My character was admonished by his idol. The sword represented the full circle of that relationship. He was seen as the person he always wished to be.

Guess you could say I value relationships far more than objects of power.
Aug 14, 2025 5:17 pm
My opening line is: "Hey, little [gender], do you want to play a game?"

No, not really! Cheese and rice, do I come off as that kind of person?

I look for a prompt like a fantasy/sci-fi t-shirt or book in their possession first. If so, I usually just ask, "Have you ever tried D&D?"
Regarding magic items, oddly enough, my wife's character (also a barbarian) had a similar magical item to the one Qralloq described. It was called the bag of the cornucopia, a magical item that I created. You placed a food item into the bag, and the food was consumed, but thereafter, the bag could produce any food it had ever been "loaded" with on demand. Delta was always snacking, so I created this item so that she would have an in-game explanation for always having food handy. It was funny when, in one adventure, they traveled to (then) modern-day London ("City Beyond the Gate", Dragon magazine #100) and loaded the bag with the McDonald's menu. She still has the character and the bag.

I also created bath stones, a set of three magical stones; red, blue, and black. If placed in a non-living container up to the size of a bathtub, and the command word given, red would fill the tub with hot water, blue with cold water, and both with temperate water. If placed in the vessel, black would empty the water, leaving the vessel clean and dry (to prevent abuse, it only worked on water created by the other stones).
Aug 14, 2025 5:34 pm
WARNING : incoming dad joke

Q: how much does a polar bear weigh?
[ +- ] answer
sorry, I couldn't stop myself
Aug 14, 2025 6:38 pm
cowleyc says:
To answer an earlier question, the thread died because we discussed having individual question threads. We bring GPers on the Discord.
cowleyc says:
Believe it or not, this thread and the other Question threads were an attempt to move more community discussion here! There were a couple questions, and then the community as a whole didn't keep asking them. We have a couple good ones right now, though!
As someone who does not (and probably never will) use discord, i've tried making a couple discussion threads myself for that same reason - to have some stuff to chat about in between games to decompress. Just gotta find topics that interest people enough.. I'm a bit surprised that the "Romance in PbP" didn't hit as hard AI stuff. I was prepared for elongated tales of swooning and spooning..
crazybirdman says:
I have a question question for y'all. What's your go to icebreaker question? (Not a pickup line or a would you rather . . .) Something that actually gets an interesting conversation started?
Don't have one. I don't really approach people. When they initiate conversation, i'm the "stare silently and occasionally mumble" type. Though if they keep pocking and chatting to (at) me, in couple of months, when i being feeling comfortable around them, they will be treated to the occasional leaks from my stream of consciousness, which usually confuse, weird and (probably) terrify. Oh, the fun of human interaction!
Aug 14, 2025 7:05 pm
crazybirdman says:
I have a question question for y'all. What's your go to icebreaker question? (Not a pickup line or a would you rather . . .) Something that actually gets an interesting conversation started?
I, like most people, appreciate good food. I find that asking about nice restaurants someone's recently been to or what their favourite recipes are to always lead to a good conversation for at least a little while.

And, of course, I will jump at the chance of talking about TTRPGs with any fellow nerd that indulges me. On a side note, if you ever find yourself in a country/city where people speak little english (And you don't share any other language), locate the nearest game shop for anything you might need. They will for sure speak english fluently there 😂
FlyingSucculent says:
In all the games you've played, what magical items do you remember most often? Anything wacky or powerful or just so unusual it got stuck in your memory?
I'm having fun in my D&D campaign with a recently acquired sentient armor. Sentient items are always fun to deal with, but I had never gotten one of my own until now.
It's an ancient elven armor inhabited by the soul of an equally ancient elf, who now sees the "modern" fantasy world through my character's eyes. He has lots of opinions, as you might imagine. Same goes for opinions about my character's personal life and thoughts that wander through her head. The banter it originates is always fun.
Last edited August 14, 2025 7:06 pm
Aug 14, 2025 11:23 pm
Apparently, for me, my ice-breaker is breaking someone else’s car. I made a very good impression on a teenage girl and her dad yesterday after the girl sideswiped my SUV. Last month, an old man thought I was "a man of honor" for admitting I backed into his parked car.

But today, when I pushed a woman’s car (uphill) because it broke down and was blocking a highway on-ramp, I almost broke the spoiler while pushing the car, but adjusted my hand so I didn’t break her car. She didn’t even roll down her window a crack to thank me. (🎻)
[ +- ] Breaking the Ice in a Six-Second Round
Aug 15, 2025 3:48 am
crazybirdman says:
I have a question question for y'all. What's your go to icebreaker question? (Not a pickup line or a would you rather . . .) Something that actually gets an interesting conversation started?
I use my imagination and subvert preconceptions. More often than not, though, I don't even try to break the ice. I think people built their barriers for a reason and it's on them to choose if they want to open the gates or not.

Question: How did you find your current roleplaying group?
Aug 15, 2025 4:39 pm
I found my group at a FLGS and we eventually moved the game to my house.
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