I found it impossible to choose a character that had specific regrets so compelling that I wanted to talk about it. I had to think about the regrets they had or might have:

– Does Baxter regret never trying to steal a kiss from Jumper?

– Does Garibaldi regret not taking the stairs at least once instead of always jumping down?

– Does McSweeney regret not leaving Well Enough alone and walking away instead of investigating what was happening in Boston?

-In his last moments, did Dougal the Black regret his arrogance?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the truth is my characters have lots of regrets, and just as many situations where they do not regret their decisions at all. Because that’s what it’s all about: making decisions. This is no different than what happens to us in real life.

Everything that we say yes to means that we say no to a thousand other things. When we choose to go one way, we close the door to countless other possibilities. Such is life.

Sometimes the consequences of our decisions have us regretting them. Sometimes we and our characters long for what might have been. Sometimes we wonder, “What would have happened if I had just let the other guy open the door?”

Alas, we can’t turn back time.

However, this is the magical thing about RPGs. We simply don’t know what’s going to happen. Everything that happens next builds on what just happened before. Every decision invites new decisions, and when you look back, you see what actually happened.

Just like us, our characters can look back and decide they wouldn’t have changed their decisions, because although these choices might have caused problems for them, there were also benefits that would not have happened had they not made those particular choices.

After all, regrets or no, what happened is what happened.