Real Life Party Members and Traveling Companions
Having the right characters in your party can make the journey much easier and more enjoyable.
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Every good fantasy story includes a band of adventurers facing danger together. Role-playing games often have parties of different classes, each with unique skills and talents to support each other and take down the most difficult of monsters. Video games may feature solo missions, but the dungeons are often a group affair.
It’s possible to play an RPG by yourself. With enough experience grinding, one can unlock the higher-level gear needed and beat the boss alone. But as a team, that same battle can be done more quickly and accomplished by lower-level players working together. And at the end of the campaign, defeating the Big Bad Evil Guy is a lot easier when in doing as a party.
Real-life is the same. All too often, we try to take on all of our problems by ourselves. But having the support of others can make reaching our goals much easier and allow us to make lasting friendships along the way.
For some people, there is a sense of pride in managing all their problems alone, and they may see getting help from others as a weakness. At the same time, others fear they will be a burden to people if they ask for help. But we are all worthy of attention and support. And like an adventuring party, we each bring in our unique skills to help each other.
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another,
‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
– C.S. Lewis
Character Classes and RPG Party Roles
In video games, there is typically a minimum of 4 character classes: warrior, ranger, tank, and healer. Your adventuring party in real life should be no different and have members of the same.
Photo by Gioele Fazzeri on Unsplash
Healers are beyond medical professionals. They can be those that can heal broken hearts and troubled minds. A healer can be that friend who always listens when you’re having a bad day, a co-worker who supports your work, a partner who knows when you need a hug or a dog who wags and is always happy to see you come home. They believe in you and know that you can do great things. Their support is like granting a powerful buff of stamina and endurance to your character to help you keep moving towards your goals.
“Support of someone that believes in you is like getting a stamina and endurance buff for your character.”
In games, the tank stands fast and holds back the enemies’ attacks so that the rest of the party can focus on damage and defeat the monsters. But in real life, tanks are not often big, brawny characters with high hit points. They can be the spouse who entertains the kids while you’re studying for that advanced degree or a friend who defends you when other people say unkind things. They can even be the strangers standing up in support of fair treatment and equality so that everyone has better opportunities. Tanks are about defense, and like in games, while they are watching your back, you can be free to focus on other things.
“Rangers can help you avoid traps and help you plan for the future.”
The ranger or scout class tends to have high wisdom and perception. In real life, this might be the person that helps you to prepare for the future. Their experience and guidance can allow you to avoid traps and plan for possible issues that are farther out. They may also see the big picture when you struggle and can’t find a solution for a problem. They may be teachers, mentors, colleagues, and friends, and using their eagle eyes, can help you see what you cannot.
Warriors are fighters. They are the ones in battle, and with the party’s support, they can take down the hardest of monsters. When it comes to facing our struggles and accomplishing our goals, we are ourselves, the warriors. But at the same time, while we are fighting our own battles, we are also playing a supporting role for the rest of our party. Being a healer, tank, ranger, or all of the above, we support the others in their own quests. (Learn more about quests in Real-Life Questing)
Traveling Companions
As you travel on your journey, you encounter many people along the way. Those that are going in the same direction as you may become your traveling companions for a time. Together, you work towards a common goal, such as students striving towards graduation or a business team developing a new product. It may be neighbors who want to have a more welcoming community or colleagues pursuing the same goals in their industry.
But it’s not just goal-oriented. The commonality may be just a shared interest or hometown or just because you enjoy each other’s company. Companions include family members, partners or a spouse, friends, and acquaintances.
Like RPGs and fantasy stories, every party is slightly different and can be everything from a powerful duo to a large guild all working together towards a common goal. But members are also working on their own individual quests, and sometimes the only commonality is that we all just want to live our best lives.
“Your party may range from a powerful duo to a large guild.”
At times, individuals’ quests will lead people in a different direction, and they no longer travel the same road as us. Our neighbors may move away; our favorite co-worker gets another job or a lover that becomes our ex, our traveling companions may change, and our party will evolve with time.
Finding Other Adventurers
Everyone deserves to be supported in their journey. There are times that you may feel that your current party is not strong enough, and you need to recruit more heroes to join your band. In games, it’s as easy as visiting the local tavern or putting up a notice at the adventurer’s guild, but recruitment is more complicated in real life.
For some people, making new friends comes easily, while others struggle. As a child, we spent our school days surrounded by kids of the same age and often similar interests, and it may have been easier. But as adults, approaching new people seems awkward and may fill us with anxiety. But the likelihood is that they feel the same and are grateful for someone to start a conversation.
“Making new friends comes easily to some, but many of us struggle with it.”
If you are looking for fellow adventurers, here are a few alternatives to the local tavern:
Allow your existing friends to introduce you. There is a good chance that you will have something in common.
Look for opportunities to meet people with similar interests and continue to show up to give people a chance to get to know you. It might be a Meetup, a class, a support group, or volunteering for a cause that you believe in.
Party members don’t have to be in person either. Online friends are just a real as those you physically meet. In many cases, it’s easier to stay in touch and have regular communication with people online, and it can spawn very meaningful and lasting friendships.
“Party members don’t have to be in person, online friends are just as important.”
But remember that building a relationship is an organic thing. Like a tree, it needs care and attention. Reach out, follow up, and share your journey with them. Be patient and know that it can take a long time to grow.
But as you are seeking new members to your party, remember that you are to be an important part of theirs. While you need support and help from others, they need it for themselves as well. A companion that refuses to share will often find themselves left at camp while the rest of the party travels on. It’s important that we are the support person to others that we need for ourselves.
“Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.”
- Bill Watterson
Conclusion
It’s much easier for adventurers to work together as a party to defeat their foes and achieve their greatness. For ourselves, we need and deserve a positive and supportive group of people that believe in us and want to see us succeed. And as they help us to achieve our goals, we must be their heroes to help them succeed on theirs.
When we have the support of others, working together, we will do great things. You’ll defeat the BBEG and save the princess, or whatever your personal and group quests are. Remember, as the hermit told Link in The Legend of Zelda, “it’s dangerous to go it alone.”
Author:
Laurie Trueblood is a writer and life coach that enjoys fantasy, science, psychology, and everything nerdy. As the founder of Adventures to Authenticity, her mission is to help others level up and become the best versions of themselves.
Interested in reading more on RPGs and real-life: Check out TTRPGs and Personal Development and Is Life an RPG? Why We Should Treat Life Like a Roleplaying Game
