I recently retired from military service. I use to play a lot when I was in junior high and high school back in the 80s but haven't rolled a dice until recently. I rediscovered the game (playing 5e) with the same group of friends I played with back then. I found that it has help me in many ways.
The first is at a surface level. D&D parallels military life in some ways. You are problem solving, having to interact with many different kinds of people, and advancing in level. Also, as you advance in level the challenges become harder. On a deeper level it has helped me cope with the lingering affect of my service: anxiety, sleep deprivation, and isolation.
Rediscovering the game has been profound. I am hooked again. I am excited and looking forward to our next game and the game after that. It goes far beyond the escapisim the game provides. It's reconnecting with friends, making new ones, and working through personal issues through a character. I don't think I chose to play a Devotion Pally with a soldiers background by chance.
I was thinking about reaching out to some local veteran groups to see if anyone has played or would like to learn how to play. It might help them on some level. Are there other veterans, active duty or reserves members having a similar experience playing the game?
I can't speak for myself as I have no military experience however I do read a lot of forums and discussion groups on news, science, technology and psychology as well as journals in those fields so I can say with some amount of confidence that you're not the first vet to find D&D to be therapeutic. I would even dare to say that if you reached out that you would absolutely find other vets who would be interested as it's a fairly common discussion topic and there are numerous articles about its benefits. If I wasn't a clumsy dunce who deleted his entire portfolio and research folder, I would've linked you to research article I wrote up on it. All I currently have is a link to one of my sources: http://ijrp.subcultures.nl
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
There are a number of studies that link roleplaying games to positive outcomes for children and teens. I would imagine the effects you are describing would impact more people if it had an impact on you. I am not a veteran, but as a teacher, anytime you can get people doing something fun together it creates bonding moments and would make them feel more connected. At best, you help some people in the same way this has helped you. At worst, you make a few friends with whom you have a shared experience already and get a new D&D group out of it. I know several friends of mine played while they were deployed so you probably have a few people willing to play in any group of recent veterans.
I know this post is pretty old, but I'm a Navy vet who has somewhat recently gotten into D&D and have turned a former Marine onto it. We've talked about it quite a bit, and he's expressed some wariness about civilian-run games that are combat heavy. He's not trying to be exclusionary; he's a friendly and open guy. But he's got quite a bit of combat experience and trauma. It can be hard for him to open up on stuff like this (even in a fantasy setting) with people who haven't been in. I've wondered about setting up a group for military vets as well, for similar reasons. That's how I came across this post.
I totally get that, a good session zero would help. I'd be curious as to what most of us are 'getting right/wrong'. I'd imagine our combats are more movie combat than realistic.
I currently run a game with a slew of differing branch vets from all walks of military life. If you have questions and i have an answer ill gladly share you can DM me with anything. I'm an open source.
I'm currently putting together an in-person gaming group of military veterans. We are located in Simi Valley, CA and are always looking for players od D&D, or any other ttrpg you may be interested in. If you are somewhat local, send me a DM. I would love to hear from you.
I'm currently putting together an in-person gaming group of military veterans. We are located in Simi Valley, CA and are always looking for players od D&D, or any other ttrpg you may be interested in. If you are somewhat local, send me a DM. I would love to hear from you.
Where were you in 2007... been years since I left Simi Valley. So much has happened since then. Hopefully I can find an in person group in Edinburgh soon. (Who am I kidding, the local gayme store is awesome and serves Mocha. I'm sure I can find a live group. Scotland is too cool, IMO)
Hello all,
I recently retired from military service. I use to play a lot when I was in junior high and high school back in the 80s but haven't rolled a dice until recently. I rediscovered the game (playing 5e) with the same group of friends I played with back then. I found that it has help me in many ways.
The first is at a surface level. D&D parallels military life in some ways. You are problem solving, having to interact with many different kinds of people, and advancing in level. Also, as you advance in level the challenges become harder. On a deeper level it has helped me cope with the lingering affect of my service: anxiety, sleep deprivation, and isolation.
Rediscovering the game has been profound. I am hooked again. I am excited and looking forward to our next game and the game after that. It goes far beyond the escapisim the game provides. It's reconnecting with friends, making new ones, and working through personal issues through a character. I don't think I chose to play a Devotion Pally with a soldiers background by chance.
I was thinking about reaching out to some local veteran groups to see if anyone has played or would like to learn how to play. It might help them on some level. Are there other veterans, active duty or reserves members having a similar experience playing the game?
Thanks.
I can't speak for myself as I have no military experience however I do read a lot of forums and discussion groups on news, science, technology and psychology as well as journals in those fields so I can say with some amount of confidence that you're not the first vet to find D&D to be therapeutic. I would even dare to say that if you reached out that you would absolutely find other vets who would be interested as it's a fairly common discussion topic and there are numerous articles about its benefits. If I wasn't a clumsy dunce who deleted his entire portfolio and research folder, I would've linked you to research article I wrote up on it. All I currently have is a link to one of my sources: http://ijrp.subcultures.nl
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
There are a number of studies that link roleplaying games to positive outcomes for children and teens. I would imagine the effects you are describing would impact more people if it had an impact on you. I am not a veteran, but as a teacher, anytime you can get people doing something fun together it creates bonding moments and would make them feel more connected. At best, you help some people in the same way this has helped you. At worst, you make a few friends with whom you have a shared experience already and get a new D&D group out of it. I know several friends of mine played while they were deployed so you probably have a few people willing to play in any group of recent veterans.
I know this post is pretty old, but I'm a Navy vet who has somewhat recently gotten into D&D and have turned a former Marine onto it. We've talked about it quite a bit, and he's expressed some wariness about civilian-run games that are combat heavy. He's not trying to be exclusionary; he's a friendly and open guy. But he's got quite a bit of combat experience and trauma. It can be hard for him to open up on stuff like this (even in a fantasy setting) with people who haven't been in. I've wondered about setting up a group for military vets as well, for similar reasons. That's how I came across this post.
Have you had any luck with your search?
I totally get that, a good session zero would help. I'd be curious as to what most of us are 'getting right/wrong'. I'd imagine our combats are more movie combat than realistic.
I currently run a game with a slew of differing branch vets from all walks of military life. If you have questions and i have an answer ill gladly share you can DM me with anything. I'm an open source.
I'm currently putting together an in-person gaming group of military veterans. We are located in Simi Valley, CA and are always looking for players od D&D, or any other ttrpg you may be interested in. If you are somewhat local, send me a DM. I would love to hear from you.
Where were you in 2007... been years since I left Simi Valley. So much has happened since then. Hopefully I can find an in person group in Edinburgh soon. (Who am I kidding, the local gayme store is awesome and serves Mocha. I'm sure I can find a live group. Scotland is too cool, IMO)