The organization guru Marie Kondo is the perfect inspiration for bringing balance to your next Dungeons & Dragons‘ campaign.
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My best friends and I have played Dungeons & Dragons almost every weekend for the last 16 months. My wife Darcie plays the rogue in the group, steadfastly looting every dead body and ruin for anything that can be put into the group’s Bag of Holding.
Every few months, Darcie takes an evening to convert the scrapped armor, useless weapons, and spare Rings of Protections into gold pieces that is eventually distributed to the party. Despite this, Darcie still has a pretty massive Excel spreadsheet containing everything from those firecrackers the party looted from a goblin over a year ago to mummified monster bits that couldn’t be turned into stew. The party (and I as the DM) appreciate her commitment to acting as the party’s quartermaster and rarely question her methodical pursuit of maximizing the party’s wealth by collecting junk.
When we’re not playing Dungeons & Dragons, one of Darcie’s new hobbies is watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, one of the hot new shows on Netflix. If you’ve avoided the Internet since January 1st, Kondo is the unlikely flashpoint for a whole lot of angry feelings, all because she encourages people to simplify their lives by discarding unnecessary belongings. The core tenet of Kondo’s KonMari method is “Does it spark joy?” and if it doesn’t, folks should probably get rid of it.
I personally love Marie Kondo if only for the way she’s set the Internet on fire with her unassuming politeness, gentle smile, and her ability to fold clothes into tiny little squares. But earlier today I realized that Kondo could also be easily ported into the world of Dungeons & Dragons or really any RPG that has player inventories.
Let’s face it, Netflix has already presented Kondo as a benevolent demigod who enters a person’s home and leaves with them much happier. So – why not actually use her in your campaign as just that – a divine entity who encourages players to USE ALL THE COOL STUFF THEY FIND.
Let’s face it, if you’ve ever played an RPG like Dungeons & Dragons or a video game equivalent like Skyrim, you’ve probably hoarded a ton of items that you’ll never use. As a DM, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched cool items like a vial of blood that turns into the simulacrum of a Demon Lord or a magic rapier made of the leg bone of Jack Skellington go into a Bag of Holding only to never see the light ever again. Sure, some of these items have very specific uses (a Ring of Water Breathing is useless unless you’re by a body of water), but other items are meant to be used and consumed.
Kondo and her KonMari method actually syncs into Dungeons & Dragons quite easily. She’s the god of using high level spell slots and consumable items instead of hoarding them for future encounters that never happen. Worshipping at the altar of Marie Kondo (the D&D god) only requires a player to follow the ideal of “Does it spark joy?” You can create an entire character built around the concept of finding joy in simplicity and order, which also acts as a great foil for the usual D&D party of chaotic neutral murderhobos who steal anything that isn’t nailed to the floor.
Even if Kondo can’t fit into the pantheon of your D&D campaign, players should still be reminded of the KonMari method every once in a while. The KonMari method won’t help players fold their expensive magical tapestries into compact boxes, but it can encourage players to drink those Potions of Firebreathing or try out that Vicious Sickle on the next brigand that accosts them on the street. All of those minor magic items sitting in your Bag of Holding or your adventurers’ pack are perfect for throwing a wrench into the best laid plans of a DM…which frankly is the best part of D&D.
It can be tempting to just sit on that Scroll of Invisibility or that huge bag of gold pieces for the “perfect” opportunity, but honestly there’s always going to be another encounter. All of those consumable items can’t bring you joy just by sitting unused in your inventory, which is why you should use them whenever possible. It’s a lot more fun to watch your DM scramble in crestfallen horror as you totally muck up the encounter they planned for hours than it is to play right into his hands.
If you’re worried that you’ll never find a specific consumable item again, remember that the world of Dungeons & Dragons is a flexible one. A creative DM will almost always find a way to replace a lost item with something equal or cooler to the party, because part of their job is to craft an enjoyable world for the player. Sure, you might end up encountering a shady black market potions dealer or traveling to a lost ruin to find another magic wand, but that’s part of the fun of Dungeons & Dragons.
So, the next time you consider tossing that cool item into your Bag of Holding, consider equipping it instead. If it doesn’t work out, you can just sell it…which means that you can buy something even better. Every item in Dungeons & Dragons should spark joy, and you should get rid of it if it doesn’t. That’s what Marie Kondo (and your DM) would want. Now I just need to find a way to build my Paladin of Marie Kondo for the next time I need a great NPC to cross my party’s path…
Be sure to leave a comment about how Dungeons & Dragons sparks joy in your life, or shoot me a message on Twitter at @CHofferCbus!
