Hello Game Master's Laboratory! My name is Michael (like many of us) and I've been playing RPGs beginning with but not limited to D&D (like many of us) for many years. Although I played in the "good old days" I'm only somewhat nostalgic for them. I like almost everything that has evolved in roleplaying games. I joined Skool to build my own community around teaching the art of being a "Dungeon Master" and I was delighted to find this group because I'm already a fan of proactive roleplaying. It actually comes pretty close to my own philosophies in a lot of ways, and in the past I have had similar thoughts to putting that in a system. "Player-centric" was one term I've played with before. But you guys have done a lot better with proactive, because I realized along the way that we need to involve the players in the creative process, but there is more to game than just satisfying the player's needs. What I think about, these days is in terms of the whole table is working together to serve the needs of the world, itself: a world in which nothing is real (or canonical) until it happens at the table. The GM may have ideas about the lore and background of the setting, they may know about plots and agendas going on behind the scenes, but the output of playing, the living world, is the result of those ideas coming together with the actions of the players, one scene or encounter or adventure at a time. Well, there's my grand philosophical statement. That was the assignment, right? "introduce yourself with a grand philosophical statement on the deep structure of Tabletop Roleplaying Games?" Or did I make that up?

I just got a promotion at work and will be transitioning into an HR adjacent job. As I am getting ready, I have been chuckling as I realize how similar proactive GMing is to HR. Character drama comes in, try to hold on to rules and policy to resolve the conflicts. Big difference is that at home I am playing an active role in creating messy and complex conflicts to cause grief at the table. Somehow I think the work version wont be nearly as fun.