Dealing with PTSD for RPG Characters
PTSD in gaming
Many Marines return to the states with vivid memories of their combat experiences, and the array of emotions they face internally may be hard to detect. While changes in behavior are more obvious, symptoms can also manifest in physical form. [Marines from Arlington, VA, United States/Wikimedia Commons]
Postmodernism in Dungeons & Dragons
Recently, Megan posted an article about how to reconsider evil characters the same day a video with Nate, Scott, and Kyle talking about whether the alignment system was still viable was uploaded. Along with a conversation I had with the Nerdarchy staff writers about postmodernism, I was inspired to write an article about applying postmodern principles into Dungeons & Dragons.
Gaming Within a Relationship
Well … it happened. I got to introduce someone I was in a relationship with to a table top roleplaying game I was involved in. I have actually done this several times, and have witnessed it from others. In my years I have actually learned a few things from what I have done right and what I have done wrong. Now I have no claim to be a relationship expert, or a love guru, but I do have a road map pointing out a few pot holes on this rather hazardous road. Some things here are from my experience, some are from those gathered from other gamers. Let’s delve into a few things shall we?
Five Life Lessons Learned From Gaming
A group of role playing gamers enjoying a night session. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There’s no lie that we nerds have our own little niche subculture. Get a couple of us together and we will just start geeking out and enthusing about things we love, and for those not in the know, it can sound as though we’re speaking an entirely different language. Sometimes, we have whole conversations in letters.
“Let me tell you about this amazing RPG experience I had where we almost TPK’d and I was hanging on by like 1 HP and we won anyway. The loot drop was amazing ftw.”
Are You Out There? D&D Face to Face Online
The other day I saw a post from someone in one of my online gaming groups, and he said something that really touched my heart because it was also something I have thought about many times myself.
He said, “I think it so odd that we all comment so much on posts from each other in this group of only about 400 people, yet I don’t know any of you and we have never played, I would love to actually play with you all sometime.” He went on to say he felt sad realizing we all look at each other’s comments, like similar posts, hold conversations through the feed, yet never talk or play at the end of the day.
Play Time: RPG Truths Revealed
On a serious note, were you once a child? Did you spend hours with siblings or friends passing the hours playing with toys, making up games, or obsessing over random strange objects just for the fun of it? “Make believe” was always the term I remember being used to describe these moments outside of reality. As an adult I like to call it “being in the moment” or “living in the now.” As a mother, I gain an incredible amount of inspiration and peace just by watching my two little ones create, and find joy, in the day-to-day moments.
Drawing Out The Poison: The unfortunate event of removing someone from your RPG party
This is a topic that can be quite touchy, being that everyone involved is usually quite uncomfortable or annoyed in some way. This past week I had the “super fun” job of voting out a player who was being, in the nicest way to say it, a complete fun sucker. As the silent eye rolls and constant questioning of all the DM’s decision-making slowly filled the room with an ichor of emotions and distaste, it became more and more apparent that this particular character was clearly unstable due to his lack of perception and understanding of everyone’s uncomfortable “energy/gamer vibes.” Usually the worst part of these kind of people is exactly that, that they are oblivious of others’ annoyance and blindly continue in there railroading gaming tactics.
The Gift Of Friendship with D&D
Here is our awesome group! We call ourselves the “Unicorns of love”… Inside joke, of course.
This is the the mural I painted on our living room wall. Tolkien inspired. 😉
This past week brought about some changes for our D&D group, and what almost turned into disaster or possibly the end of our gaming table ended up turning into the best possible thing that could have happened for our game! Our normal meeting place was denied to us by the runner of the local comic shop because of “liability issues,” the real reason being a couple of old, washed-up co-owners who glared at us across the room and obviously had a hard time with how much fun we were all having in our “satan worship” … lol!
Conscious RPG campaigning: Tyrant or Savior?
What do you fight for in your campaign? What cause is it that you strive for? Is it the meager treasures of the land or the pillaging and plundering of a city in order to fulfill selfish desires? Do you fight for a cause that is greater than your own? Do you fight to protect an entire race of people by destroying an evil tyrant who seeks to destroy an entire race of people all for his own selfish gains and ambitions? Or do you join forces to aid his fear mongering whims only to leave nothing for the creatures that follow in your footsteps? As we delve into these worlds and places in our campaigns, what is it that we are truly seeking to achieve? Why do we adventure? Why do we desire more than what we are, what we have or what we see? The act of a hero is that of selflessness and bravery in order to achieve the good of all. The acts of a tyrant are always the opposite. Do we seek to build or do we seek to destroy?
Why We Game: D&D, online gaming and real life
It’s crazy how many people I know who would be so freaking fun and amazing at playing D&D and they don’t even know it. There is always the usual self-doubt about not knowing or fully understanding a game, and there is the matter of time and space away from everything, ie. phones, family, work, chores, etc. Most of the people I know who would be great at it and don’t even know are usually self-doubters much like I was before I started playing. The idea of starting a new game can be quite an uncomfortable situation and one that often leads many to fleeing the hobby altogether.
Why Spell Casters Are Sexy
When first being introduced to DnD you will find a variety of classes that are presented before you and at first what draws attention to you might be something that suits your sexual orientation, masculine or feminine if you will. Most women might be more drawn...
Relationships and Dungeons & Dragons using your Imagination
Relationships and Dungeons & Dragons by Samantha Jo Karr As a child with a little brother the hours passed like minutes. Our time consisted in dreaming and escaping to other worlds of imagination and design. We would grab ideas from life or experiences and create a...
Ty’s Gaming Resolutions for the 2016 New Year
In a matter of days it’s going to be a new year, and like the beginning of every new year, many of us make resolutions. Some of us will try to lose weight or quit smoking. Others will try to be nicer to people or maybe promise to put money into savings. Me? This year I’m going to try to be a better tabletop role-player. How do I hope to accomplish this? By following my resolutions below.
Expanding my horizons in the new year, Part I
Are you going to watch the ball drop to kick in the new year?
I have a tendency to find a role-playing game I like, then stick with it and nothing else for months, even years. Right now I’m enjoying Fifth Edition D&D, so I’ve been playing lots of it. See, I’ve been gaming for 35 years, off and on, and I’ve played all kinds of systems, some good, some bad, and I guess now in my forties I’ve grown a bit … maybe “lazy” would be the right word, though I prefer “skeptical.” I’m usually not interested in learning yet another system, especially if it’s one which I know I won’t be playing more than maybe once or twice. I need to break this habit. There are lots of great games out there which I’ve yet to experience, and a few which I’ve only experienced once or twice. So, one of my gaming resolutions is to play more games that are new to me, to enjoy the experience of different game systems. I’m especially interested in trying out some zombie survival games.
Expanding my horizons, Part II
Player Tips – How to Deal with Confrontation at the Gaming Table
Hello gaming enthusiasts. If you are like me you had been playing games for quite a while and confrontation at your gaming table is inevitable. People are people and regardless of how many things in common you might have with your fellow gamers eventually an argument or disagreement will happen.
The hard part is figuring out what to do then. Small things like how has to buy the next round or grab the next bag of chips is small in comparison to the large arguments that can happen. I personally have done table top role playing with over 50 people in my rich history and probably played board games with another 20-30. You see gaming is fun and an important part of my life.
Player Tips for Your Gaming Table
Liven up your role playing games with music soundtracks
Players and game masters alike often look for ways to spice up their role playing games, to perhaps add a little atmosphere. Music can be essential to such a quest, providing background sound to keep play on an even keel or highlighting adventurous moments with a boost of adrenaline.
Longtime gamers likely will have their favorite tunes, but those new to the hobby might be wondering what music goes best with a session of Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Traveler, or any number of tabletop RPGs. Also, with the holidays upon us, you might be looking for some gift ideas for your favorite gamer.
I have found that soundtracks often provide excitement and variety to gaming sessions. Obviously music is a subjective matter, much like deciding upon a favorite role playing game, but over the years here are a few soundtracks that have proved quite successful at my gaming tables:
