Why Play D&D? And What’s in it for You!

Why Play RPGs? Discover How Roleplaying Keeps You Young

RPGs are more than just entertainment—they offer creativity, connection, and an escape from daily life. In this episode, the RPG Blokes explore why roleplaying games are so engaging and how they benefit players of all ages.

The Emotional and Social Benefits of RPGs

Many people underestimate the power of RPGs beyond simple gameplay. However, roleplaying provides several key benefits:

• Creativity: Playing a character encourages imagination and storytelling.
• Social connection: RPGs bring people together, fostering strong friendships.
• Achievement and purpose: Completing quests and character development give players a sense of accomplishment.

Why RPGs Are Perfect for Older Players

Some assume that RPGs are just for younger audiences. In reality, they offer a way for adults to explore storytelling, strategy, and creative problem-solving. Additionally, they help keep the mind active while providing a fun and engaging social activity.

Getting Started with RPGs

New players often worry about not knowing the rules or feeling out of place. Fortunately, the RPG community is welcoming to newcomers. The Blokes share practical advice on how to ease into the hobby and find a game that suits your style.

By the end of the episode, listeners will understand why RPGs are an incredible pastime, regardless of age or experience.

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Episode Transcript

Mark:
[0:00] Hello and welcome to the RPG Blokes podcast. We are now going to talk to you about why you should play this game, What we believe it will bring to you in your life, and any doubts that you may Have that it may be right for you might be put to rest over the next 30 minutes. So, with no further ado, I’m going to introduce the RPG Blokes themselves. Of course, there’s me, Mark, I’m the host. And to my left, there is Barry, who I’d describe as the greatest GM who has never GMed yet.

Barry:
[0:34] I’m not refied.

Mark:
[0:37] Opposite me is John. I’d say he’s the most decorated amongst us. The bravest DM of the lot, having DM to children, which is definitely the most… Well, not just our kids’ mates as well. But it’s definitely the most challenging aspect of the hobby is to bring young people into it. And Stephen to my right here he’s got 40 years and counting a GM extraordinaire Probably what you’d say Dungeons and Dragons expert amongst us you’ve played every yeah

Stephen:
[1:08] I’ve played every edition.

Mark:
[1:09] Every edition which I think the rest of us have gaps in our suhi on that respect maybe

Stephen:
[1:13] I don’t John.

Jon:
[1:14] Fourth edition sucks always airs always will

Mark:
[1:18] So yes today we’re going to talk about why you should play the game We’ll

Jon:
[1:22] Be right back.

Music:
[1:22] Music

Jon:
[1:36] So i’ve got an angle on this one i have trawled the

Mark:
[1:40] Internet and studied psychology studied it yeah i have 10 minutes the internet And and i’ve found what might be described as the seven basic emotional needs Of human beings this really just covers everything everybody would need in their life. And we’re going to try to convince you that this hobby will provide something On each of those emotional needs.

Stephen:
[2:05] Sounds deep.

Mark:
[2:06] So they are, just to say in advance.

Barry:
[2:08] Wait, wait, wait. Are we going to have to talk about emotions? I’m not sure I signed on for that.

Mark:
[2:12] Yeah, I think some of them are.

Barry:
[2:13] Anyway, it’s been a lovely afternoon.

Mark:
[2:16] We’re not trying to attract sociopaths, but we could leave off the emotional side of it.

Stephen:
[2:20] It’s going to be therapy for some.

Jon:
[2:23] Hashtag not a cult.

Mark:
[2:26] Come on. We said we’d be honest with people. So shall I list them in advance or shall I surprise you with them? These guys don’t know what’s coming up, so what would you prefer?

Stephen:
[2:37] Yeah, surprises. Roll the dice.

Barry:
[2:39] All right.

Mark:
[2:40] Oh, okay.

Stephen:
[2:41] Just as long as it’s the one we want, yeah. Okay, so I.

Mark:
[2:43] Don’t have a D7, so we’ll just do them in the order I said. Well, you have got one.

Stephen:
[2:48] D7?

Mark:
[2:50] That’s weird.

Stephen:
[2:50] That’s the devil’s work.

Jon:
[2:51] D7, D5, D9.

Mark:
[2:53] Okay, so the first one is security, right? So people need an environment that Allows us to develop to our full potential. These safe places can be physical, emotional and spiritual.

Jon:
[3:05] So everyone’s going to have different takes on that. Most people won’t realise it. It’s just they’ll feel comfortable in some places, not in others. New groups can be quite intimidating, even if you’re not socially awkward or Something. It’s just walking into A whole room with people with different preconceived ways of doing things.

Mark:
[3:27] But once you’re in that room and once you feel comfortable in that place, Then this hobby, I think, offers all of those things. I think it can be quite spiritual. What’s that?

Stephen:
[3:39] I’m sorry, I missed the question.

Mark:
[3:44] Excellent start. Do you think we’ve gone in too highbrow on this?

Stephen:
[3:47] It went over my head. Repeat it, please. Sorry.

Mark:
[3:50] Okay. security so that is providing a safe place both for a physical emotional and spiritual

Stephen:
[3:57] Well yeah i suppose if you think you’re not going to be safe by going to this Place then i guess it’s you know it’s not going to encourage you to go in the First place i guess depends on what you feel is a safe space right.

Barry:
[4:08] I would never describe myself as a spiritual person but i can i can talk about It being a safe place in certain ways like i’ve had nights where i’m rushing Home from work the last thing I’ve wanted to do when I get home is leave my Flat because my social battery is completely drained I’m not feeling people right now but on those occasions when I’ve dragged myself To the game those sessions, the sessions where I’ve been least enthusiastic about Getting off my ass and getting there have been some of the best sessions that I’ve ever had. Do you know what I mean? So I do think there is, you know, something restorative about it. It’s kind of, you know, you’re socializing, but, you know, there’s next to no small talk. You’re playing more than socializing, although you’re using speech, You’re engaging with other people’s characters. You’re also, you know, every now and then there’s a sidebar between you and Another player, which is just a quick catch up. But there’s no expectation for you to sit there and and And go into detail and tell people how your week has been You can leave it all behind you can let all of all Of that that baggage that you have from day-to-day life gets Left in the car pick it up on the way out by all means but You know it’s still left in the car and and the other thing i’d say As well as i remember speaking to you when we have when we had a social so You know we have twice a year we we meet up At the same venue but we’re not really playing it’s just having a Drink and chatting to people I remember looking across the room and Saying to you if you took a photo of these people and said tell Me what these people have got in common never in a million years would You get it you know it is it the all walks of Life thing and I do think if we’re gonna give it the spiritual bit you know I do think that meeting people that is unlikely that you would meet in another Way is kind of good for the soul you know I’ve made really unlikely friends Out of our club and I do think that’s that’s been a really positive experience For me in that regard Yeah,

Mark:
[6:00] I’d like to reinforce one of the things you said, the fact that you can come Along and not quite feel that you want to be there. And then once you’re there, you’re just really, really glad that you made it. And I get that feedback quite a lot from people within our society, People, particularly as the DMs that have that extra challenge on the night To produce a game and present that, who, when they’re not feeling too great after a day’s work, Quite often it would be easier for them to stay at home and cancel. But they turn up and they often say, really glad I did. You know, all of that shit that I was having to deal with today and this week, I just completely and totally forgot all about it. And it’s a common thing. It’s definitely a feature of our hobby. It gives you that emotional security, I think.

Barry:
[6:45] There’s definitely an element of escapism about it. You know, for four hours, everything that’s going on in your life just disappears. The only thing that matters is your character at the table and your campaign.

Stephen:
[6:56] Yeah, I think you don’t really notice once you’re playing the game who else Is around, as in other games that are going on, but they kind of fade in the Background and you do immerse yourself in the game you’re actually in. So it’s kind of, yeah, you become part of the immersion of the environment, Really, once you’re there.

Mark:
[7:10] It does give me a sense of security. I feel very much at home. John, do you have?

Jon:
[7:15] Yeah, a lot of it will be the groups you’re with. Not so much the systems. You don’t have to get bogged down in the details. So the group I play on Wednesday at the moment it’s D&D not my favourite system But the group makes it worthwhile. We’re rolling along at the end of the night. Energized.

Mark:
[7:39] It does that. I mean, this is the end of a long day. You start work early as Well in the morning. So by the end of the day…

Jon:
[7:45] And I’ve only got a few hours.

Mark:
[7:47] Until you back up. Yeah.

Jon:
[7:49] But that, yeah, it does you good.

Mark:
[7:53] The next one on the list is socialization. So we’re social creatures. This one’s easy, isn’t it? Disconnection increases, loneliness, isolation, and connection with others allows Us to know not only that we are not alone, but we are desired and sought after. This is an easy sell, which is why John’s going to tell us all about it.

Jon:
[8:14] I’m not a people person in general.

Barry:
[8:17] National state, the obvious state.

Jon:
[8:19] Well, you know, humans kind of suck. Apart from artists, writers, Songwriters, that sort of thing.

Stephen:
[8:26] AI, you mean?

Jon:
[8:27] No, don’t start. But even if I’m, again, like Barry said, not feeling like humans at the moment, Your your avatar your character experiencing things with that that filter in place

Mark:
[8:46] But it’s more to do with the disconnection the Increase of the loneliness how it solves that on a personal level within your Life i mean this is a hobby that people can connect with yeah and find friends Find people like-minded people at the very least um that can share a very sociable Experience so So it does serve a basic, The need of human nature, really, for that level of socialization.

Barry:
[9:11] I just want to very quickly go back to something that John said, Because I have a phrase that I use a lot, which is, you know, When you were talking about people, Is people are simultaneously the worst and the best things in life. And it’s often to do with where you are. And one of the things that I think, like I said earlier on, That one of the things that’s interesting about role playing is that not only Are you having those interactions with the players around the table but you’re Kind of simulating those friendships and relationships with the characters that You’re playing as well and so sometimes it does feel like socializing light so yes you are around

Jon:
[9:49] A table with

Barry:
[9:50] A group of people but the pressure is off of you and the pressure is on your character but

Mark:
[9:55] Do you think that that helps facilitate friendships

Barry:
[9:57] Absolutely Absolutely. And it also means that on the occasions where you get Someone who, you know, struggles to make friendships is you used to phrase socially awkward earlier on. I mean, and I think we all know that our hobby has probably slightly more than Its fair share of people with social anxiety. I do think that separation between you socializing and then playing your character Does make it more accessible to people who, you know, the worst thing in the World to them would be a room full of people. Do you know what I mean? I do think there is that separation between being yourself And playing your character and That absolves you of some of the responsibility that you have when, You know, socialising particularly with new people.

Stephen:
[10:40] Yeah, social side of it. Obviously, everyone needs a reason, Obviously, to meet up with people as such, because I suppose with family-wise, It’s generally Christmas, isn’t it, birthdays. But I think most of the time, if you’re a role player, you have reasons to get Together with these people. Generally, your friends, they will probably become your friends if you play Long enough. I guess I’ve been playing, like you said, for about 40 years. And I think probably most of my friends are from playing role-playing games Because we regularly get together. There’s reasons to do so. Whereas a lot of other things you do possibly don’t Give you those sort of reasons to get together every single week. And role-playing.

Mark:
[11:13] Certainly can be

Stephen:
[11:14] An excuse to get together every single week.

Mark:
[11:16] So you maintain friendships far better.

Stephen:
[11:17] Oh, yeah, obviously, because people drift apart, don’t they? You have different things you get into and you do different things at weekends Or during the week when you go to work and you work in different places. But it’s a great reason to get together with like-minded people.

Mark:
[11:31] It’s a reliable and regular thing to do. You have to play it regularly and everybody invests in that. So the chance of making good friends or just getting on and meeting other people Regularly is an opportunity to do that.

Stephen:
[11:45] It is probably the best, yeah.

Barry:
[11:47] So I think as well, I 100% agree, it’s also a really affordable way to get together with people. And there’s like… Keeping in the pub? Well, and for me, that’s exactly what I was about to touch on as well. Quite a lot of my social life revolves around alcohol. Not a terribly unhealthy amount, but it’s nice to have something in my life That absolutely doesn’t.

Mark:
[12:10] And I think, although it’s not on the emotional needs of human beings, The reasons you should be playing this hobby, the cost, the low-level cost of It is a very large factor in that because we all have expenses. And the average night out or the average hobby is expensive. And having something that you can just come along to. And if you’re playing at home, it will cost you nothing beyond the initial outlay. Or if you go to a community, we pay, what, £4 a night, and it doesn’t have to be any more than that.

Barry:
[12:38] So even the people that are running commercial spaces will be charging something Like £5 per hour per player, which isn’t extortionate. I’ve seen, is it mutant RPGs? They run a thing down in SE1 somewhere, South East London, and I think they Charge a tenner for the afternoon. You know, so even the people that are doing it commercially and trying to make A buck out of it, it’s still relatively affordable. I mean, we’re very lucky in that our club is a, you know, community club. It costs £4 for the night, which is normally like, it’s a pound an hour.

Mark:
[13:11] Yeah, we’re not profit.

Stephen:
[13:12] Less than a pint these days.

Mark:
[13:13] Yeah, not a pint at the community centre. Is that a big stable? Well, yeah, I think so. Yeah, so the price. We will talk about price again, actually, We’re going to come back to that, the expenses of the hobby. Okay, moving on to the next one. Volition. Well, every human being apparently needs the power to choose their own destiny Or decide what they want is best for themselves. So volition is an important part of human makeup.

Stephen:
[13:40] I suppose the volition of a Role-playing game is what separates it from a ball game or something else. You get to choose exactly what you want to do when you want to do it. It has a more open kind of feel to it.

Mark:
[13:51] But do you think that satisfies the human need for volition? I think it could do.

Stephen:
[13:55] But I mean, if you’re only playing this game because you need volition, then maybe not. But if it’s subconsciously, it could well satisfy your need for volition, For sure. Yeah. Making actions that you possibly…

Mark:
[14:07] You feel empowered.

Stephen:
[14:07] Yeah. I mean, you can make actions for your character that you could be your True self there, potentially do things that you would want to do in real life, But couldn’t really do it.

Mark:
[14:15] Actually, now you say that, many people play the game with an image of themselves within it. And I think they genuinely do get out of it Some of these things you’re just speaking about there.

Stephen:
[14:26] And I think sort of the nature, if you’re a volition in the game, People that want that are more drawn to those types of games or the sort of DM that offers them that sort of game.

Mark:
[14:35] So it satisfies the need for volition where in reality, in real life, Really, let’s be honest, there’s always somebody telling you what to do.

Stephen:
[14:43] Exactly.

Mark:
[14:44] This is somewhere where you can break out of those bonds and project yourself.

Stephen:
[14:50] Yeah.

Mark:
[14:50] Good for the soul, as Barry likes to say. Go ahead.

Barry:
[14:54] When I listened back to our last recording, John said something that really Got me thinking and kind of struck Me when he said there, we did a brief description of what an RPG was. And John said, you know, when you’re watching a movie or something on TV and In your head, you’re like, why are you going down into the basement? I wouldn’t do that. It’s kind of your opportunity to prove what you would do in those situations. But for me, you know me, you probably mean, I love doing this stupid thing. I’m like, let’s go to the basement because that’s where the action is. And it’s getting to do those things. So I think we’re saying with the volition Of your character, you know, in terms of playing other games that aren’t role-playing Games, that was a revelation for me. I can just do what I want. I mean, if you do the stupid thing a lot, The other players and characters might not appreciate it so much. So you have to find that balance. But then, you know, there’s technically nothing Stopping you from doing whatever you want whenever you want in the game. It’s fun, right? It’s very liberating to think, oh, you know, I could just punch this person in the face without any real-world consequences. Hurrah.

Mark:
[15:55] That happens a lot, doesn’t it? It really does. Acts of violence, Just there is something therapeutic about it, isn’t it?

Barry:
[16:03] Yeah, I once beat a star lead to death with a pew to tankard and it was one Of the greatest moments of my life.

Jon:
[16:10] At least it was a shoot.

Mark:
[16:12] And let’s just say that this aggression that you see within the game It is in No way apparent within the room that it’s completely the opposite.

Barry:
[16:20] Absolutely. 100%. You can literally be planning war crimes while sipping a latte.

Mark:
[16:26] It is all healthy and wholesome, no matter what the devout Christians will tell you.

Jon:
[16:31] There’s the whole psychological model of people being the hero in their own story. And like you said, a lot of time, we’re not. We’re told what to do. We’ve got this. We’ve got that in place. So, yeah, the chance to explore an aspect of your own personality or if you’re In a particular mood and you have a character that’s embodying that, It might not work long term. It might just be, look, guys, I’ve had a really shit time. Let’s go do something. Or the other more wholesome version is you want to do something right. Most of the people are given a choice. everyone wants to At least once they want to do an evil campaign They want to explore that in the Safety of a fantasy world and there’s Been memes and stuff that come it come up of What what role players really do when they’re set loose in an open sandbox environment And it’s the dog save the kid do the thing help someone pick fucking flowers It’s just the no expectations just Again not brilliant for a target focused campaign that people have got a thing To do that but you can expand on almost anything for the sake of doing it and You can’t always do that in the real world

Mark:
[18:02] And a lot of people express themselves that way really clearly within your games Particularly because you encourage those kind of open

Jon:
[18:09] Thoughts it’s not only doing the stupid thing it’s doing the thing that’s tall. And there’s a place for that.

Barry:
[18:16] And sometimes they’re one and the same thing, the stupid thing and the sweet thing. You know, logic dictates that we should go and do X, but Y sounds like a lot more fun.

Jon:
[18:27] Running Shadowrun, one of my long-term games at the moment. One of the guys in there, he’s like this punk rock-based character who sees Dead people. He’s got this whole focus thing going on. A lot of bad things have happened. He got this… Really big reward from a dialogue that runs a corporation he used that to get A job for some junkie mum hood whose kid had got we’re

Mark:
[18:54] Still in make-believe

Jon:
[18:55] World here yeah yeah but as a character felt like the right thing to

Mark:
[19:00] Do so i think you can see this game really provides you with a great sense of Volition i’m not sure if i used the word correctly there but why not yeah

Jon:
[19:08] You’ve got to get mixed up with violation, that’s right.

Mark:
[19:11] So next, similar to socialization, I suppose, it’s community connection. So we’re part of a wider community than just the room in which we’re playing Our games with and the people around us. Our brains are social organs that function with the purpose of feeling connected To something greater than ourselves. There’s a huge industry now with this hobby, but there’s also a huge underground Industry for this. It’s not all commercial. I think this hobby offers many layers of depth in which you can explore without cost.

Stephen:
[19:39] Yeah, it definitely is a wider community, for sure. It definitely links everyone Else who plays the game, everyone that plays, say, Dungeons & Dragons, for example. You can kind of speak their language, as it were.

Mark:
[19:50] Yeah, the community is part of the joy of it, isn’t it? There’s a convention In London, Dragon Meet, once a year, and it’s lovely to go to it.

Barry:
[19:59] Yes, for me, the community aspect of it, you’ve got almost… Two levels. There’s the community that you’re involved in, that you’re sitting Down and playing with, and then there’s the larger community. Now, I’ve been accused of being a broken record, because I always bring stuff Back to how everything is capitalism’s fault. But one of the things that really interested me is, obviously, You know, look, there are people like Wizards of the Coast, and now they’re owned by Hasbro. It’s a massive, you know, there is an element of them being in it for the money. And they own Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, they own Dungeons and Dragons now, but they tried to change something. You guys would probably know more about it than me. And there was a massive Backlash from the community. Massive. And I was like, oh, I quite like this. Because the community just went, No, you’re not doing that. And about three weeks later, they went, no, you’re right, we’re not. It was beautiful. But another thing about the community as well is, I mean, we briefly mentioned They’re independent games. There are a load of really creative, interesting, fun, smaller systems that Are being produced by people who Are very passionate and they’re not huge conglomerates making a fortune. They’re passionate people trying to share what they’ve done with people and, You know, hopefully just about scrape a living out of it. And I have an enormous amount of respect for that side of the community as well.

Mark:
[21:17] I think they are just about scraping a living, but it’s the passion, Isn’t it, that you see and the amount of effort they Put into these games that relatively few people will play You’ll find communities online as well If if you wanted to connect with any particular game Almost certainly there’d be a discord channel server for That for that game itself one of our favorite favorite games from when we were Children dragon warriors has a discord channel with about 300 old timers on It you know this is a game that we love and play and you know get the original Game developers from 30 or 40 years ago on that channel interacting with with us so

Barry:
[21:53] I bought the dragon warriors players handbook and it was pay what you like You know, you put in what you can afford.

Stephen:
[22:00] Yeah.

Barry:
[22:01] And I just thought, wow, I’ve never bought anything under those circumstances Before where someone had said to me, you know, I’d rather you had it and didn’t Have it, was basically what they were saying.

Mark:
[22:08] They weren’t even playing.

Jon:
[22:09] Yeah, they weren’t even playing.

Barry:
[22:10] How much did you pay for it? You know, and listen, I’m not skinned, But there are times where I have been.

Stephen:
[22:15] It’s interesting, yeah, about those things. You see them a lot, Don’t you? A lot of people do community stuff, and they say, pay what you like. Yeah, exactly. A lot of people put zero in it, but I’m guessing that makes something.

Barry:
[22:24] But you’ll get more affluent and honest people. So I put in I think it was something like I think I put in whatever it would Have cost me for the D&D players or a bit less than that but for me being part Of that community means you’re helping the people that are putting zero I guess

Stephen:
[22:41] That’s the point of the.

Barry:
[22:42] Room yeah that’s the you know it gets spread around and I like that I think it

Stephen:
[22:45] Will upset the people that put zero the ones that put I’ll put 100 quid in you Know it’s kind of it swings around the bounce with that I suppose.

Mark:
[22:50] So certainly be mindful when you step into this hobby into the room You’re stepping into a very very large connected community Across the entire world and a lot of passion and The majority of it not trying to make money out of you and just Wanting you to interact with them and play a part in the story and the tale And the development of their favorite systems Dungeons and Dragons being the One that stands out amongst the rest and it does try and monetize you more than Any of the others possibly put together.

Stephen:
[23:23] Well they’ve put the money in to begin Even if the Fair Wizards of the Coast Or Hasbro have sunk a fortune into it over the years, and other smaller indie Companies are riding on their coattails a little bit, as in getting the eyes on role-playing. So they benefit from it on the long run, looking on the positive side of big corporations.

Mark:
[23:41] Yeah, I don’t want to speak disparagingly about them, because we love Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It’s an absolutely awesome game, so we certainly wouldn’t talk it down. But they are trying to make more money out of us,

Stephen:
[23:54] Yeah, I guess that’s the nature of things, things that will move on.

Jon:
[23:58] If they’re producing more content, like they have been for the most part, that’s fine. If they just re-skin it, call it something else, change a couple of words, That’s where it goes bad. So this is why some systems just crash and burn, but they don’t get the feedback up front.

Mark:
[24:18] I think of all of the points so far, that’s probably well served with its own Podcast. there’s so much to talk about but just to say you know you’re getting Involved with something that that’s huge on the community level

Jon:
[24:29] Yeah so community used to be small ads in the magazines and play-by-mail games And wait looking through the letters column in the odd very niche magazine that Would be out there so imagine white dwarf back when it wasn’t just paid advert Things like that.

Mark:
[24:48] Yeah. And now it’s, yeah, it’s just gone. Yes.

Jon:
[24:51] Now you’ve got chats, you’ve got reddits. They buy mouths even exist anymore, Do they? They do, actually. Yeah, they’re still going. There’s a place for them.

Mark:
[24:59] Yeah. Okay, so we’ll move on to the next, well, we’ve got two left. We’re talking now about sense of achievement. Humans need to have something we are working toward. We have the ability to identify, analyze, and problem solve, Imagine, create, and strive. When we believe we are not achieving a goal we begin to be critical of ourselves So says the internet okay so sense of achievement how does this hobby help yeah go for it yeah well

Stephen:
[25:29] I think the whole entire hobby and games are set up for you to achieve i mean Everything about it is about being heroes and generally most games and it’s Kind of geared towards achievement the whole thing you get more levels in your Character they become better you get more items I mean role playing generally Is set up for an achievement.

Mark:
[25:48] And you feel that as a player that is a genuine sense of achievement

Stephen:
[25:55] Yeah absolutely there is a tangible success you get things you get rewarded With things whether it be points or items for your characters more power.

Mark:
[26:06] And each time that happens which is regularly you feel you feel happy it gives you a it’s

Stephen:
[26:12] A dopamine boost yeah yeah of wanting to do it again and again yeah.

Mark:
[26:16] So i would say it quite comfortably does satisfy a Sense of achievement within yourself you know we’re not talking about career Advancement well we are aren’t we within the game but in real terms we’re not Talking about anything it’s all imaginary it’s all on paper it’s all it only Means something to the people you’re sitting around the table with at that particular Moment but it does mean something to all of those people a lot because your your your advancement Is alongside theirs they’re played a part in that and i think you do you do Gain that sense of achievement from it and very much mirrors in a similar way How you would feel in real life if you were to achieve certain things within Your life i think it does it does replicate those feelings

Barry:
[26:59] So i think again for me it’s like it’s it’s split Into two again so there’s the you know There’s the individual achievement things that your Character did which were absolutely pivotal You you know the the party may not have moved Forward without you doing that but also the collective achievements when you When you manage after some deliberation to form a plan to execute the plan the Plan remains by and large intact and you achieve what you set out to achieve There is a moment of oh shit we did that You know and I like that I mean don’t get don’t get me wrong I also like you Know maybe there’s some sadomasochism in here but I quite like failure as well You know, failure within that kind of safe environment because it isn’t actually You that’s failing, it’s your character and your party. That leads some of the…

Mark:
[27:50] And the final sense of achievement is greater.

Barry:
[27:52] Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Because of the challenges. Because of the adversity That you faced along the way.

Jon:
[27:56] It doesn’t have to be power levels or shiny items or anything. It can be knowing that if your character runs into a situation, There’s someone that character knows because they did a favour or they’ve just Paid attention to the world building. They know where to go, what to do. That feeling of control, maybe, or just competence. That’s the volition. It can happen in character rather than…

Barry:
[28:28] No, no, no. One of my favourite things to role play is competence because it’s Missing from every other aspect of my life.

Stephen:
[28:34] Simulated competence.

Jon:
[28:37] Yeah, there’s stuff that your characters do that, you know, You might have an Idea, but it’s far easier to simulate, I don’t know, the willpower role for Sitting in, say, Warhammer fantasy role play, for instance. They’ve got the whole social structure as a mirror of the real world. But, yeah, you can just have that willpower role, whether your character can Sit there for an hour rather than…

Stephen:
[29:01] But then dice are the enemy of competence, aren’t they?

Jon:
[29:06] Well, sometimes.

Mark:
[29:07] No matter how good you are.

Barry:
[29:09] That’s got t-shirt material written all over it.

Jon:
[29:13] I mean, it’s a fantasy game. You were talking about a plan surviving first

Barry:
[29:17] Contact with the enemy.

Jon:
[29:18] Yeah, so…

Barry:
[29:20] No, but occasionally, occasionally, occasionally, everything that you’ve said You’re going to do, by and large, happens. And you’re all sort of looking at each other going, that was a bit weird.

Jon:
[29:29] What went wrong?

Mark:
[29:31] So, yeah, a sense of achievement. We all feel that. And the final one is meaning. Being human to have a coherent set of beliefs about life and what it’s all for. And we have to have a core set of values, at least one that guides us with a Sense of purposeful belonging. I don’t know whether we can discuss that at great length. Has anybody got anything on that?

Jon:
[29:51] Oh, fuck you.

Barry:
[29:54] Again, the thing for me about role-playing is that you can depart from that. You don’t have to live to what is your normal moral code. Do you know what I mean? It’s departing from that that I think is important within an imaginative game like this. You touched earlier about every now and then you’ll play an evil character you Know every now and then you’ll be the villain and and and you know it’s it’s You know i generally wouldn’t recommend that people did that in real life

Stephen:
[30:21] Well i’ll just say quickly before john gets in for his i think meanings i think Everyone has a meaning who has joined this game and turns out regularly you Will be missed if you’re not there and you’re part of a team that’s a good point I mean you will be missed yeah.

Mark:
[30:37] Because each person within the group has There’s a

Stephen:
[30:40] Huge amount of minion for each individual person at that table in that game.

Mark:
[30:43] Yeah, and if one is missing, then their skills go. Yeah, absolutely.

Stephen:
[30:47] Skills go. They’re sitting around the table. They might bring something as well Out of the game that people will miss, but you will be missed.

Mark:
[30:52] It’s true. Go for it, John.

Stephen:
[30:55] Well, not everyone.

Jon:
[30:56] So things like belief, anything from self or other powers or anything else, You can manifest those in-game. Again exploring aspects of Yourself maybe deliberately especially If you’re reffing having situations so That players and Their characters very separate can have Something brought out now a Lot of that will depend on how well you know rather than just going for Say shock value or triggering or something like that If someone’s if there’s a Quiet person at the table but on the rare occasion They come out with something it’s absolute fucking dynamite When you you if you’ve got Say a preset scenario and an adventure it’s like A script it’s what most people run from You can tailor things to work Well with others or occasionally For hopefully for the story’s benefit to set them off to get them to do the Thing that’s give them the difficult moral choice which will help them identify That which will help sorry the player identify with the character. And sometimes… This might just be me being weird, that the character might do something to Surprise the player because they’ve been playing, maybe they’ve been phoning It in. They’ve got no real thought with that. Oh, this one looks cool, or the party needs a fighter. And then something will snap and click, rather, not snap, and they’ll come out With something, and everyone’s at the table’s like, oh, fuck, yeah. And little realizations like That can really set things along sometimes a different path sometimes it’s absolutely Fucking disastrous no two ways about it but it’s really really good when you Can get that solidarity this realization of what your character’s place is in the world Just more you know two cents

Mark:
[33:13] Nice one right so that i Think is all of the points made i think i’m hoping that we’ve Convinced you on a psychological level this hobby would Work for you and that’s the reason why we think you should play Really isn’t it it’s a personal experience something that You want to do to enjoy it we think it covers a lot Of the basis is in regards the emotional needs Of human beings you’ll only find out that one way Or another is that is to go and play it we’ve spoken primarily about Playing in person here there is obviously the option to play Online which may be a bit easier for you to do the one Of our next podcasts we’re going to talk about the advantages of online Play and the comparison between in person and online play So we’re not ruling out any of these experiences by playing online just to be Clear about it but we’re very much advocates of playing in person if you possibly Can so i think we’ll um call the podcast to an end there and we’ve we need to Do our thing i think stephen you’re the one that kind of orchestrated that last Time so if you could do the same again for me please We slice and dice let’s slice and dice just go so let’s slice and dice

Music:
[34:22] Music