How I Overcame RPG FOMO

And learned to love what I have

If you get a ton of emails, as I do, pitching every new rpg product, kickstarter, etc. under the sun, it can get a pit overwhelming.

In just this past week, I received messages from

• Troll Lord Games about Castle Zagyg

• Pathfinder 2e Remaster Happy Birthday Humble Bundle

• D&D Beyond has LotR stuff

Mey, ok. None of this requires my immediate attention.

There was a time where I thought I needed every new thing that came out, especially if it was dnd related because that is what everyone played. Today, the hobby is so expansive it’s impossible to keep up so I have to pick a lane.

My feelings are not because I wouldn’t love to have all of this, but I realized, the chances of me playing any of this in the near future is probably slim to none.

I was staring at my Pathfinder 1e collection the other day, some core books and some splat books, and was thinking about selling them. The chances of running 1e, again, is super slim.

Some of the factors of my FOMO (or lack thereof)

Social Media

Ads on social have some affect. I look and say, oh, that’s cool or that would be nice, but there is very little that entices me these days. Email is more tempting because it includes a little more information and maybe a free-bee to wet might appetite.

Life Stage/Scaling

Age plays a part in this, The older I get, the less I need. I’ve never been 56 so there is no planning there is only feeling and applying some reasoning and logic. I am also looking at my stuff and saying, “there is only one child in this family who I would leave my stuff to and I don’t want it to be a burden.”

I heard someone talk about an old Indian saying, “How do you curse your neighbor? Gift them an elephant.”

I think collections can become elephants that need feeding, shelter, and time and energy to catalog them, if it’s big enough. Most of all I think you sit around, like I have and wonder, “I wish I could play …”

Personality Traits

I am not neurotic or anything but I am a completionist. I am working on finishing my 5e collection and then I am done with completing anything except a book here or there like maybe a few more Castle and Crusade books.

Social Connections

I was talking with Dustin, who is part owner of the game store I shop at, and he told me about a guy came in with thousands of dollars of 1e D&D stuff looking to get rid of it. He paid that man $300 for it. It was a steal.

FOMO hit me hard on that one but I took a few breaths and said, “Good on you”. Maybe the solution is to celebrate what other have not care so much of what you do not have.

Self-Acceptance and Self-Worth

As I get older, I think I have a stronger idea of self and that I don’t need to have what others have to complete me or make me a better person or to have the one up on someone. I am who I am and I’ve cool with not having the latest hotness.

In the end, for me, it boils down to finding contentment. Being happy with what I have and what I don’t have. I’m happy to play/run 1e D&D, Shadowdark or any other OSR stuff for the rest of my days and be happy about it.

If you struggle with FOMO, here are a few quotes on contentment that may stir your conscience or soul

“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.”
― Lao Tzu

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
― Socrates

“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough”
― Walt Whitman

Tell, me do you struggle with RPG FOMO? How are you dealing with it, or not.

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