Realm-Weavers

This initial blog post is personal but the takeaway for both GMs and players- don’t minimize the positive healing power of play.

I remember a pro GM telling our group he used to under-sell himself with his price points, but now he was beginning to value his product, charging a fair market price so he could support his family full-time. My brother chimed in that many other entertainment industries don’t quibble about charging high prices for experiences.

Think about it- from IFly to birthday parties to ski slopes to deep-sea fishing to live music concerts, entertainment industries aren’t too shy about charging high fees.

Why are role-play games any different?

I believe it’s because we undervalue the power of play because play is considered the realm of children, Consequently, play is considered ‘frivolous’.

In graduate school, I trained to be a play therapist- using the symbology of play and toys to communicate, reenact, and help to heal children’s trauma. For a long time I too believed play to be a lesser therapy- 1) because it involved children, 2) because less linguistically and therefore, not adult, 3) and play isn’t supposed to be serious. 

Yet as I grew in experience, I began incorporating play into my work- finding it less invasive and often more natural than talk therapy. And in doing this, it woke something in me- my  body and the brain remember play no matter how old I am.

3 to 4 years ago, I hit a wall. One of my family members had some profound mental health issues, I was burned out at work, and because of these things and my own history of trauma, I lost someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

For a year, I was completely devastated. Finally, I remembered what I had learned through work helping others resolve some of their own traumas and that is to tap back into that positive energy that I had experienced years before.

During my undergrad college years, I played and GMed a lot of role-playing games. I loved playing and the warm fuzzy feelings I got from them. Somewhere along the way- being a father, family responsibilities, work- blah blah blah, I stopped playing. Then life got even harder and I forgot play. Everything got heavier and heavier- it was like taking energy from my bank account but never putting anything back in. 

After many years of repeatedly hitting the wall, I took a difficult look at myself, realizing I needed to return to the things that left bright eyed and bushy tailed, grinning from ear to ear with boundless energy.

For me, it was role-playing. For , it may be something different. Though play, my emptiness began to fill up again and slowly, but surely, I began to heal. It didn’t bring back everything I lost, but it brought back my joie de vivre (joy of life) and with it, a recommitment to my raison d’etre (reason for being).

It’s ironic that play, something I used to think of as less than, brought me back to my purpose.

I’ll continue thoughts about the nature of play and role-playing in other blogs. For now, I want every GM reading this to understand what a vital role you play in peoples’ lives. 

You help connect or reconnect people to life-affirming energy.

Please don’t undervalue what you bring to the table. For many, you help us recover and or those of us who are socially anxious and introverted, you help us build community and healthy relationships- things vital to healing trauma.

– Jeff Johnson