It will surprise no one to learn that the Guild's Skilltree is inspired by those found in role-playing games. Organizing progress into hierarchical stages makes sense when learning complex skills. What kind of game is life, though? I have thought about this question over the years and I conclude that life is clearly a tabletop RPG.

Let me explain.

In life, as in tabletop RPGs, we encounter many dragons.

You can always battle the dragon head-on, if you want. But you can also outwit the dragon, trade with the dragon, or sneak past the dragon unnoticed. If you frame your objectives wisely, you might not need to deal with the dragon at all. Do you truly need the dragon's treasure hoard, or would any pile of gold suffice? If the latter, there are safer and smarter paths to that goal.

In many games, you become individually stronger until you can defeat the strongest dragons solo. While I believe in self-improvement, no one can realistically master every skill. Life is too short. To take on the toughest dragons, you need allies to divide the work and contribute their unique talents. Sure, you could try to face the dragon alone, but it's an inefficient use of effort. Instead, befriend a bard, hire a warrior, bond with a cleric, gain the trust of a wizard, and make a coordinated plan. Cooperation makes us more than the sum of our individual abilities.

People play RPGs for various reasons, just as we all have different motivations in life. Do you like roleplaying, or do you get a thrill from min-maxing? Or are you just here for pizza and socializing? Do you prefer to play the game linearly, or try to break the system and find bugs to exploit? Do you view the purpose of the exercise as a test of wit and will against the DM, or are you happy to be swept away in the experience? Whatever your reason, whatever your personal dragon, you're probably better off finding a like-minded crew and tackling the beast as a team. At the very least, try to empathize with those who are playing the game differently than you.

So join your cohort, gear up, and start looking for dragons.