Dungeons and Dragons and why it might be what we are all waiting for
I used to think that D and D was for geeky boys. I was wrong
When I was a guide, the scouts I knew spent whole Saturdays locked in one of their dad’s garages playing Dungeons and Dragons. No girls wanted to or dared enter. I imagined it was fetid and sweaty and that maybe they dressed up for role play.
I didn’t think of it again until the pandemic when a close friend has been playing it weekly with her daughters, her partner and her ex-husband; amicably and for hours.
Suddenly I was interested. Girls? D and D? And they didn’t seem to be dresssing up!
So I asked about it and what I heard made me really envious. I wanted to play so luckily Santa brought us a starter pack, but both of my kids refuse to play. And we don’t have a Dungeon master (or was it Dragon master?), the person who narrates and constructs the story of the game.
So I asked Iain to talk to me about it on the podcast which you can listen to here.
What I found was that D and D is an amazing way with experimenting with the bits of you which don’t normally see the light of day. So, for example, I could create a character who is an extrovert, attention-seeker to see how that feels, or I could let my shadow have a play by creating a character who is jealous and greedy and seeing the consequences of that. It could be an amazing coaching, self-development or team building tool.
Iain, as you will hear, is clearly a really skillful story constructor and I look forward to at some point playing D and D with him and seeing how he used it for personal development.
In the meantime, I think it really is the most amazing tool for encouraging imagination and experimentation which is more than just a game.
So, in fact, not just for geeks and boys after all.
So do have a listen to find out more.
Iain uses D and D with teams, organisations and individually and you can contact him by emailing me here
Here are some links which Iain recommended:
Critical role:https://critrole.com
https://springhole.net/writing/general-roleplaying.htm
https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a19459855/dungeons-and-dragons-beginners-guide/
https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/best-games/best-tabletop-roleplaying-games
Julie Leoni
Coach, author, podcaster, facilitator, Yoga and psychology teacher, learner
I have over 30 years of experience and qualification in various therapeutic and meditation/mindfulness based approaches. I work with change. Some changes we chose, others happen to us. Sometimes we know we want to change but don't know how. Sometimes we don't want to change but external events or people are forcing us to change. The menopause, children leaving home, the end of a relationship or job, becoming a parent, coming out, bereavement are just some of the personal changes I support people with. I also work with people who want to make changes to their life and wider world in response to social issues such as Covid, the climate crisis and racial, sexual and gender inequalities. Times are changing whether we want them to or not and we need to be nimble, agile, curious and open in order to part of the new story emerging. Work with me to get clear on what matters to you, what makes your heart sing and what kind of future you want for yourself and those you love. It is possible to live differently, get in touch to explore how.
