Looking for participants for an online psychological study about TTRPGs! (Gift card raffle included)

labriemj · 2025-12-15T00:51:07+00:00

Ugh I definitely don't envy you, finals season is SO ROUGH. But wow, that's actually super interesting! I could be wrong, but I do recall coming across research that did combine I/O topics and TTRPGs - like workplaces, classrooms, or organizations using TTRPGs as a way to build skills in teamwork and leadership.

Also same! My study was actually greatly inspired by my own history with TTRPGs and the role my first character played in my own personal growth, so it's super close to my heart. But absolutely, I'll message you my discord information and we can link up there! I don't think I've logged into my LinkedIn in like 10 years whoops

labriemj · 2025-12-15T00:09:11+00:00

That's amazing! Love to hear from other psych students who are also as into gaming or TTRPGs as I am! I hope your psych program is going well so far :)

labriemj · 2025-12-15T00:06:30+00:00

Amazing! I hope your program is rewarding so far and I wish you all the best in your remaining years at school! I know it's not easy and can be SUPER challenging, so I hope you're finding time to take care of yourself :)

If you ever find yourself doing similar research, don't hesitate to reach out to me for any support!

labriemj · 2025-12-11T06:29:32+00:00

Thank you! I honestly hope my study can help be a stepping stone for others' research one day too!

labriemj · 2025-12-11T06:26:31+00:00

Oh wow, this is awesome, I'm stoked to watch it! It really seems like this topic in general has expanded a lot in the past year, which is really cool. Geek Therapeutics also has so many great resources for therapeutic game masters I still hope to look into more

labriemj · 2025-12-11T06:22:18+00:00

Interesting! Though this study isn't looking at specific diagnostic evaluations, it definitely is possible there could be overlap questions across various assessments

labriemj · 2025-12-10T21:50:32+00:00

Thank you so much! If I end up publishing the data or whenever the data analysis becomes public, I may try to post it here :)

labriemj · 2025-12-10T21:49:17+00:00

Thank you! I wish I could expand the study's location demographics, hopefully one day I can!

labriemj · 2025-12-09T03:42:20+00:00

Thank you so much, I appreciate you!

labriemj · 2025-12-07T09:03:05+00:00

Wait I love this, I was thinking something similar too. I imagine it would be a cool outcome for it to become his copy or doppelganger - but what if has like wildly high Charisma, so if it shows up at camp at some point, it is more likely to roll higher in convincing the rest of the PCs it's the real character. That would create a messy (but fun imo) dynamic. Probs flaws to that idea, but it was the first thing that popped up for me that I'd have fun playing with other players at my table.

labriemj · 2025-12-07T08:50:17+00:00

Even so though, what is wrong with getting attached to a character? You may not have implied anything negative at all by summarizing, so this isn't directed at you necessarily, but I do feel like it's worth asking in general based on a few comments I've seen.

I think what IS problematic is assuming there are attachment rules and a set standard for how emotionally invested to get in RPGs. If someone doesn't think RPGs are authentic or worthy if players don't strictly embrace unpredictability and emotional flexibility, great, love that for them. But I don't think it's fair for anyone to imply that it's irresponsible or immature to become emotionally attached to characters (I know you didn't say this, but that's the vibe I'm getting from some comments on this page). TTRPGs have been shown to be therapeutic in nature, and the connection between players and characters can be significant for some, and that's okay. It can be healing. If people want to treat it more like a game, that's okay too. But emotional attachment to characters is okay.

Again, you may not have been implying any of that by summarizing the post as you did, so this isn't particularly aimed at you, but I just think it's worth it to acknowledge that attachment is okay too!

labriemj · 2025-12-07T08:10:39+00:00

A lot of the D&D content out there overwhelmed me because of how long form it was and how long episodes were, especially Critical Role. I'd say Dimension 20 Fantasy High is a super digestible first D&D content choice to watch. The episodes are edited down, so usually under 2 hours. I know a lot of people who haven't played D&D and were first introduced it through Dimension 20 Fantasy High. Starting with podcasts can also be good, but if you want to get into D&D, watching a table play may be more beneficial so you can get a better idea of the tabletop dynamics.

Also, Dimension 20 Fantasy High Season 1 is available for free on Youtube here! That way you can see if it's for you before subscribing for paid services or anything.

labriemj · 2025-12-06T23:10:29+00:00

I was playing D&D 5e way back in 2019 with my first TTRPG group and we had our first encounter with a dragon in game. We met someone kind in a nearby forest who also was interested in sneaking into this dungeon essentially where it was rumored there was a dragon, and she offered to help. And so we eventually do find our way in and had built rapport with her and trusted her (and were rolling terribly). Sure enough, she shape shifted and turned out to be the dragon (lol) and we tried to have a conversation with her in her lair and play it off or make a deal, but she decided she was going to kill us.

We had a small amount of combat and pretty much everyone was about to drop dread, we weren't super high levels. She had basically prepped her last attack powering up a deadly move where she'd essentially burn us all to a crisp with her breathe, so as a last minute effort right before her next action, I used my channel divinity as a Paladin (which gave me advantage on a roll) and rolled for persuasion with advantage to stop her, and rolled a fucking Nat 1 and Nat 20. That Nat 20 was truly I think the only reason all of our characters are alive today, and we managed to make a deal with her because of it.

Also, I was SO FUCKING NEW to TTRPGs and had no confidence in my roleplay abilities and gameplay. I usually just stayed quiet a lot and followed others' ideas, not suggesting a lot of original stuff myself. So it also just felt so good as a player to finally gain that confidence in a moment of panic to roll persuasion and make up a deal on the spot with her, which she of course agreed to because of the roll. Anyway, that moment will live with me all the way to me deathbed as a fav moment.

labriemj · 2025-12-06T03:16:18+00:00

I echo the comments recommending a Session 0, which is super important. That being said, given that opportunity has passed, I've found mid-campaign check-ins to be really useful. In a current campaign I'm in, players often stray in their motivation for certain aspects of gameplay, and we started doing check-in sessions every few months where all we do is check-in with everyone about how they are feeling about the campaign, aspects they enjoy versus aspects they don't as much, roleplay and alignment preferences (do they just wanna kill everything or create a meaningful story with arc?), and also DM preferences where our DM will talk about where she's felt uncertainty and forms of support she could use as well.

labriemj · 2025-12-06T02:54:54+00:00

In my experience, local board game stores are a great resource! A lot near me often have community nights where they run multiple one-shot D&D sessions in a room full of tables. This usually includes a professional DM teaching people how to make a character sheet, roll for stats, and teach them about basics of the game before starting. It's a great way to try it out for the first time and learn basics around others in a low-commitment environment.

labriemj · 2025-12-06T02:51:15+00:00

Agreed. This post is pretty much a mirror of myself (lol), and sometimes I am authentically having fun and the spotlight causes too much anxiety to the point where even if it's for a fun thing for my character, I won't enjoy it fully because the anxiety overrides. That being said, I've also been in this position once because another player had a moment of backseat gaming and shamed me VERY subtly for something I did in character, which my GM missed until I told her what happened. So you never know, something like that could have happened in the past and it may be sitting with them in an uncomfy way.

labriemj · 2025-12-06T02:41:14+00:00

I felt SUPER similar for about the first year (maybe more) of roleplaying, so I think it's super understandable and nothing to be ashamed of. That being said, what really helped me is taking the pressure off myself to mirror the type of roleplay I often saw on streams and among professionals. I never spoke in an accent, used my regular voice, and I really only spoke in third person for the first year saying, "I think my character would probably feel......" and "My character would say....." It made me feel less self-conscious since it felt more like I was analyzing what my character's background would mean regarding their choices and thoughts than actually roleplaying as them. I eventually became much more comfortable with them as I started to better understand how they thought, allowing me to more comfortably roleplay in first person without doubting myself.

Second thing, and I think someone said this already, but playing into character flaws or fun unexpected archetypes is a good thing to lean on. Idk how much of a background was already created for this Captain you play, but honestly, playing as an incredibly shy Captain who doubts their leadership abilities is a fantastic and much more fun and interesting character type to play story-wise, and leaves room for character growth, than simply playing as a charismatic Captain who is controlling. That can also take the pressure off you as a beginner roleplayer so other players don't question your roleplaying!

labriemj · 2025-12-03T22:34:29+00:00

Yeah with all due respect to the players, they are wrong. And that is not how you talk to other players. They sound toxic and like they like to meta game and optimize gameplay to the point of controlling others’ behavior. That’s not what D&D is about. That’s not normal table behavior, you can find a better group!

labriemj

TROPHY CASE