The start of a long adventure: Trying to start a TTRPG club in my town.

 

    So I am sitting there with my wife recounting a strange dream I had that I was hooning about in an old school van with the classic Larry Elmore art plastered on the side running a DM business. It was like some kind of parody of the days I was a tutor, and without doubt far more enjoyable. In her trademarked way of smiling at my nerdy nature Allison listened to my ramblings. She really is the best thing that ever happened to me, and probably without a doubt the best wife a gamer could have ever found. The longer I talked the more an idea was forming in my head. Not a paid DM, but what about trying to start a club. A Tabletop Roleplaying Club. 

From another intro game I ran for new players, one of many.

    Many moons ago I was part of a large D&D group. About forty odd people, with five dedicated DMs crafting the campaign and a pool of over thirty players. To this day the Seareach campaign was the most enjoyable time I have had in my time playing TTRPGs. It came fairly early in my playing career and was something I always wanted to do again. It was the backdrop to meeting my wife, and definitely came during a large push of self development. It was all of these positive experiences that always made me go back to thinking about it. So now in my thirties, my son almost two years old, and with years of pandemic gloom hanging over us I thought it was time to try and bring back some positivity. I wanted to build something that might bring people the same positive experiences that I had experienced, and of course I want to have a whole lot of fun doing it. 

    

This was an acting bit I did for a mate's film project and all from the confidence I gained playing TTRPGs

    

     I have become recently interested in the old school D&D experience, and had been looking into OSR which took me to watching Tim Kask's videos. from there I would drop a question looking for advice from the old druid himself. For those keen to see it watch the following video from the 19:16 mark. 

The Druid and scholar himself

        So I want to document my attempts to get this club started and if I am successful it will be a great way of looking back, and if I fail you can learn what not to do. So where do I stand now. Well I was too slow to the party to make this year's cut off to apply for a local grant, and to be frank that is a good thing. Next I am talking to my FLGS and there is alot of interest there and some great support. I have months to drum up numbers, do all the leg work, policy documentation, membership designs, and other projects I cannot talk about just yet. But for now I will share my pitch. Those out there looking to do the same feel free to use this as a resource to build your own groups. 

hoping for fair winds and calm journeys

Proposal pitch. 

                Confidence, community, and creativity. These are the core values that a Tabletop Roleplaying (TTRPG) Club would foster in Maitland. There are numerous benefits that can be seen for those that engage with TTRPGs, and more over following the isolation of the pandemic such a club would be coming at an opportune time for the community.

                In terms of confidence we must first accept that confidence is the end result or by-product of experiencing success. TTRPGs provide an arena for people to gain these experiences with success and thus generate confidence. The American writer, teacher and journalist, Ethan Gilsdorf stated in 2016 during his speech ‘Why Dungeons and Dragons is good for you’, that “journey into fantasy can help in real life”. Removing the surface level of just playing games together there is a great deal more happening in such activities. Players are exposed through playing these games to the training, development, and growth of what we call ‘soft skills’. Soft skills include a range of skills such a time and resource management, interpersonal communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving. In addition, this is framed in an entertaining setting that creates an intrinsic drive to keep coming back. The ongoing improvement and growing competency in these skills in a shared group setting strengthen their advancement, and will transfer to life beyond the game. This is based on the psychological phenomenon known as ‘social play’, in which skill development is experienced via structured imaginative play. TTRPGs lend themselves precisely to this process. Importantly this all happens organically and often players are not aware of it. It would be argued that viewed on their own these skills are not only encouraged but desired by almost any employer. Therefore it is quite logically argued that such a club would help produce more driven and productive people.

                In 2019 Cade Heaton of Ball State University stated that TTRPGs have potential in the field of mental health. In fact researchers began to agree that they have therapeutic benefits for people. As Heaton states ‘it places our brain in a state where it is primed to learn, grow, and evolve in a way that we cannot do normally’, and ‘the game tricks us into letting our guard down and not activate the social anxieties that we may have’. More over Heaton goes on to state that whilst play experiences are in a fantasy setting, however the feelings are real. This means as Heaton says ‘in their place can arise feelings of confidence and competency and of course fun’. That these same feelings can carry across into a person’s everyday life beyond that game. At the very least it is fair to say that the years of living through a pandemic have left many with a need to escape and overcome such feelings and regain some sense of confidence, hope, and even in some cases overcome the potential poor mental health that has resulted from such isolating times.   

                As a former teacher myself I have used gaming, and such spaces, to assist first hand in this way. I can attest not only as a facilitator, but also as someone who has experienced for myself the benefits of TTRPGs for the development of self-improvement. In my university years I began playing TTRPGs and found that through sessions I was able to practice not only the previously mentioned soft skills. I was also able to practice beneficial skills such as public speaking, managing groups, and organisational skills that I would go on to use in my teaching days. During my time working and volunteering with Hunter River High School, I ran a small group that used games to help students improve such soft and social skills. These were individuals who we isolated and disconnected. Through the vehicle of games they forged social connections and improved their communication and collaborative skills. They came ‘out of their shells’, and in some cases became more interested in reading, study and became more confident within themselves. I recently spoke to one of these graduated students and they excitedly told me that those sessions sparked their interest in reading, and they still talk to members of those groups.

                This is not surprising to those familiar with TTRPGs as they often forge long lasting social bonds. Providing an environment that would facilitate the generation of such long lasting social benefits is another reason I believe such a club should be funded. A TTRPG club is sorely needed in the current years of pandemic that we have experienced since 2019. There are a growing number of studies coming out that indicate that on average young Australians are spending more time isolated with screen viewing on average falling between five and a half, and nine hours a day. Maitland having a TTRPG would provide an environment to foster greater social connections between individuals. Due to their nature TTRPGs are designed to best be played in person and thus encourage people to spend less time on screens and more time engaged with others offline.

                There is also a social benefit to the creation of TTRPG club in Maitland for offering an activity for young people to adults that would perhaps otherwise become distracted or even led astray. A cursory look at the local CBDs and Greenhills centres display a fair number of youth with little to do other than become involved in antisocial behaviour. From my prior experiences with my high school example these students saw a decrease in behavioural issues. Now this may only be anecdotal, yet there is still an argument to be made that when given a productive outlet that provides positive rewards, social improvement, and entertainment that individuals are fair more likely to avoid negative or antisocial behaviour. This must therefore be seen as yet another benefit that a TTRPG club would offer to the Maitland Community.

                Whilst certain TTRPGs are more popular and well known than others. For example Dungeons and Dragons is perhaps the most recognised TTRPG, there are a number of others and the TTRPG club I am proposing would act as a central organisation that would bring these together and bring them into being one community. Within this members would forge connections and would represent a range of background and age groups. After all it is worth mentioning that hidden within the games rules and play is a subtle but inescapable messaging to value the differences in others. Again the valuable life lesson cleverly hidden beneath the veneer of fantasy. I have previous experience with this. I previously was part of a TTRPG group that had 40 members who would regularly meet once a fortnight. These individuals were all different age groups, and backgrounds but were bought together via the gaming experience and as I have previously stated made connections that still exist today. Additionally with players from all of these different backgrounds socialising and sharing with one another there is always the chance for an organic mentorship to be occurring. That younger members can learn from the older members. This socialising that would be facilitated by such a club environment would be less likely to happen within the wider day to day life. Such positive and beneficial mentorship would be fostered by a club environment and form another reason that a TTRPG club merits council funding.

 

                The final core value that a TTRPG would promote is that of creativity. At their core TTRPGs are an exercise in creativity. From the game runners who prepare and lead stories for their games, to the players who create their characters, in some cases writing long and elaborate backstories. There is a strong and natural promotion of creativity in those who play them. Famously artists, writers and actors such a Jon Favreau, Vin Diesel, Anna Prosser, and Stephen Colbert credit TTRPGs as a vehicle which helped shape their own creative pursuits. A club would further nurture this further with the addition of plans to run workshops for members to assist them with how to improve their story writing, campaign designs and potentially in the generation of their own materials. These workshops are something that I have taken part in previously as well facilitated in part by the local community through the Good Games store in Newcastle. People were invited in to share their knowledge and help those new players improve their confidence and skill in writing and storytelling. This not only benefited those that ran their games but also increased the enjoyment of those that took part in them and encouraged others to transition from player to game runners. This saw people taking on positions that increased their public speaking and confidence. These sort of workshops would be more than possible due to my connections with Good Games Maitland, and its owner and manager. Discussions for such workshops have already been taking place.

                Another area of creativity is that of the visual arts such as drawing, which naturally occur within TTRPGs from the creation of maps to players being encouraged to illustrate their characters. The club would be able to introduce these artists to one another and assist them in creating connections that would help share their knowledge and potentially lead to mentorship of one another. These too could lead to further more art focused workshops.

                Within the club there would be opportunities for shared projects. The main would be to take Maitland and transform it into a setting that could be used in games. Redrawing maps, creating storylines, and creating a final document that could be provided to members to use and share in their games. This project would not only encourage creativity, and team work, but would also give a sense of ownership as players see their home town represented. Also this is a further example how creativity can be facilitated by a TTRPG. Such projects would become a regular staple of the club with the aim of creating a content library and encourage members to generate their own settings, campaigns, material and stories. Such creative endeavours and the sense of achievement they would bring to members are a core aim and further reason that a TTRPG club merits funding from council.

 

                Confidence, community, and creativity are beyond question the aims and benefits of a TTRPG club and worthy of local council funding. A TTRPG club would create such a beneficial entity to not only the immediate members but arguably to the wider Maitland community. It improves and promotes social skills, the soft skills previously described, and generates creativity in the community. It would help build connections between those of a wide variety of backgrounds and ages groups. It would encourage creative endeavours and offer multiple outlets for members of the Maitland community. The encouragement, facilitation, and development of more engaged, happier, and more creative members of the community must be seen as a worthy project. The above arguments from various academics and enthusiasts are all in agreement of the value of TTRPGs to those who engage in them. In summary I want to finish with the words of Tim Kask, author, and one of the creatives behind Dungeons and Dragons the most famous and widely played TTRPG and the game that gave birth to almost all those that came after. “Roleplaying helps build teamwork, self-confidence, forces critical thinking and any number of positive things. Natural leaders arise, and the kid in the corner with the hoodie and the phone glued to their face pulls back the hoodie and gets involved. They are great for kids with low self-esteem and low confidence. The results can be astonishing. It is great socialisation. It is not out vandalising, it’s not out doing drugs, or having fist fights”. 

    I will hope to keep you all up to date as I progress with this effort to build something. It wont be happening overnight but my sincerest hope is that it will indeed happen.