On Sunday, Javaworld’s Esther Schindler posted “10 Business Lessions I Learned from Playing Dungeons & Dragons” in which she explains 10 real-world lessons she learned while playing D&D in her 20′s and 30′s. Here’s a quick recap:

• Feed the Dungeon Master (DM). In other words, treat the person in power with extra kindness. If you take care of your manager, they’ll take care of you.
• One spell, used well, can be more powerful than an entire book full of spells. Get everything you can out of the tools at your disposal.
• It’s better to out-smart an orc than fight one. If you can think your way around a challenge or get your opponents to fight one another, that will usually work out better for you than tackling it head-on.
• “I’m the DM. I’m not there.” Dungeon masters aren’t supposed to tell you things you should see yourself. Learn to investigate and not rely on assumptions.
• The best quests require a mixture of skills in the party. Find new friends and cultivate ancillary skills.
• Simple and internally consistent is more fun than random. The fastest way to upset a game is to be completely chaotic.
• You create your own traps. If you fall into a habit, the universe will bite you.
• Treasure is not always what you expect it to be. Thought and creativity tend to win out over immediate return.
• You don’t have to read all the books, but a modest description of the beast you are about to face is better than facing a daemon and trying six dozen spells before finding the right one. Rely on documentation, so you can learn from others’ mistakes. Draw maps as you go to avoid pitfalls the next time.
• When selecting a weapon or tool, bigger is not always better. Sometimes having a unique weapon or tool can make you a hero, even if it’s not the biggest or best tool out there.

Schindler is soliciting other D&D lessons in the comments to her article.