Everything I Need to Know I Learned from RPGs

A wry, wise and sometimes touching tribute to the many ways in which pop culture can help you life a good, meaningful life.

Jeff Ashworth, author of the bestselling Game Master series of resource books for the world's most popular roleplaying game, combines his depth of knowledge about the mechanics of dice-based RPGs and the universal experiences gathered while playing a campaign to create a ruleset for leveling up your own life. Featuring invaluable lessons drawn directly from TTRPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Blades in the Dark, Fiasco and other TTRPGs (“Always check for traps;” “Never underestimate the power of a short rest;” “Don’t feed the trolls”) as well as in-depth analyses of the ways in which these games’ character archetypes can be successful models for varying approaches to life (“Rage is My Armor: How to Live Like a Barbarian and Keep Your Job”), this player’s handbook for the game of life also features high concept illustrations of (and strategies for defeating) horrifying real-world monsters like that pile of junk in the garage, the soul-sucking ghost of nostalgia and the many-headed hydra that is the work/life balance. With more hilarious, practical lessons than you can fit in a bag of holding, and referencing more than a dozen popular tabletop roleplaying games, it’s a self-improvement book for anyone seeking guidance (both the spell and the advice) in their daily lives.