An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Hi All,

We’re still on hiatus for this month’s virtual panel, but in the meantime I thought it was worth putting in a plug for CAR-PGA member Hawke’s RPG Research and RPG Museum. RPG Research is a 501(3) non-profit charitable research and human services organization of international volunteers performing research studies on the educational and therapeutic aspects of participation in role-playing games and community programs improving lives using music and RPGs. As Hawke explains, “We are helping people heal & improving the quality of life for diverse populations around the world by providing accessible & inclusive collaborative research-supported programs using music and role-playing games.”

Check out the latest video summarizing RPG Research here and donate at http://www.rpgresearch.com/donate.

I hope you have a safe, fun summer, and we’ll catch up again in September!

Sincerely,

Mike

Committee Chair

FROM THE EDITOR

As Mike says in his words above and exemplifies in his article discussing his own games with scouts, linked at the end of the New Material section, the gaming energy we expend—we, Mike, Hawke, you, me—to grow the hobby and its many positive impacts on the lives of others should continue, grow, and inform the efforts and possibilities in new games and stories and lives.

I’m getting my school haircut today, though it’s not clear if I’ll be in my classroom or online again when classes start in a couple of weeks. There is so much to prepare in this time of uncertainty, and that’s as true for everyone as for teachers and gamers. We can’t predict well our exact needs within the next month, much less beyond. In Atlanta, where I live and teach, every ICU bed is full, vaccinations are still lagging far behind, and the kids I teach are all too young to receive a shot and start building their immunity to Covid-19. As summer began, everyone began to feel more comfortable gathering, and many new projects began. Only two months later, we’re looking at shutdowns and lockdowns once again.

I’ve been running RPGs of various kinds with students in my classroom and after school for many years. During the spring and summer of 2020, these moved online, and though many tired of one Zoom session after another, these games were so important for many of my kids, a space to play, be themselves, socialize with one another, joke, win, fail, keep going, imagine. I’m not in your class, but can I join the game? Can you open another game, so more kids can play? Can we keep playing next term, next year? Can you help us set this up in the middle and high school? Yes! It was sometimes a big load on top of my normal teaching, home, and the strange pressures of Covid Times, but it grew wonderfully and gave many kids and families something different, something new. Many want to play more, run their own games, explore other expanses of imagination.

I’m running a summer game for the next two weeks, and then I start the next games in class and beyond. I hope it never stops growing.

Keep on playing!

David

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

Game Manufacturers Association (2021 Jul) GAMA Horizons Fellowship. https://www.gama.org/page/Horizons. GAMA announces program of mentorship and peer coaching, access and space within GAMA and GAMA Expo 2022, and financial support for creators from historically underrepresented communities.

Genius, Jean (2021 Jul 6) How visionary comic book artist Moebius inspired a new wave of weird tabletop RPGs. https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/feature/moebius-inspiration-tabletop-rpgs. Keeping it imaginative and strange.

Griepp, Milton (2021 Jul 16) Hobby Game Sales Over $2 Billion in 2020. https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/48827/hobby-game-sales-over-2-billion-2020. RPG sales grow by 31% year-on-year, breaking $100 million for the first time.

Hall, Charlie (2021 Jul 22) D&D’s Drizzt books were built on racist tropes, R.E. Salvatore wants to change that. https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/22585687/dungeons-dragons-r-a-salvatore-drizzt-black-controversy-race-interview. Expanding and diversifying the drow.

HarperCollins Children’s Books (2021 Jul 6) HarperCollins Children’s Books Partners With Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast on Exclusive Dungeons & Dragon Middle Grade Publishing Program. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harpercollins-childrens-books-partners-with-hasbro-wizards-of-the-coast-on-exclusive-dungeons–dragons-middle-grade-publishing-program-301324235.html. Novels of several kinds coming to the primary school bookshelf.

Hughes, Gwyndaf (2021 Jul 4) Covid-19: ‘Dungeons and Dragons got us through lockdown’. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-57636378. Mental health, family time, and widening acceptance.

Knox, Kelly (2021 Jul 17) A Sweet Adventure from Nerds X Dungeons & Dragons Arrives. https://nerdist.com/article/nerds-dungeons-and-dragons-candy-adventures. Candy company and Wizards of the Coast create scenario sequence and characters.

Maria, Anna (2021 Jul 1) The Black creatives of Dimension 20’s ‘Misfits and Magic’ are redefining inclusivity in tabletop gaming. https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/dimension-20-misfits-and-magic-inclusive-tabletop-gaming. Challenging traditional narratives and storytelling.

Oloman, Jordan (2021 Jul 12) Gaming is entering its fashion-forward phase. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2021/07/12/video-game-fashion-esports-streetwear. Fashion and video gaming culture.

Peck, Mark (2021 Jul 4) Panzers, Beans, and Bullets. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/04/war-in-the-east-2-wargame-russia-stopped-hitler. Review of War in the East 2 and the importance of logistics.

Perkins, Chris (2021 Jul 29) D&D Canon. https://dnd.wizards.com/dndstudioblog/dnd-canon. Defining relevant material for D&D 5E in order to increase accessibility for new dungeon masters.

Sam the Educational DM (2021 ) How to Make Friends and Succeed at Your Persuasion Check. https://dumpstatadventures.com/guest-writers/how-to-make-friends-and-succeed-at-your-persuasion-check. Gaming for social interaction and development in an age of lonely children.

Starchild, Tiffie (2021 Jul 15) . https://blacknerdproblems.com/black-fae-days-melanated-magic-continues-at-sankofa-solstice. The importance of imagination for Black folks.

Stitch (2021 Jun 25) D&D Renaissance Could Usher in More Accessibility, Inclusivity in TTRPG Fandom. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/dungeons-dragons-accessibility-inclusivity-ttrpg-fandom-fan-service-stitch. New media and players confront and weaken old stereotypes of gamers and within fantasy traditions.

Ward, Bill (2021 Jul 9) Jack Vance’s Influence on Dungeons & Dragons. https://goodman-games.com/blog/2021/07/09/jack-vances-influence-on-dungeons-dragons. Vance’s concepts and stories and sense of play informed earliest forms of published RPGs.

FROM MIKE TRESCA

Tresca, Mike (2021 Aug 2) Camping and D&D: Actual Play. https://www.enworld.org/threads/camping-and-d-d-actual-play.681703. Gaming as a social icebreaker for scouts new to camping.

© Copyright 2021 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn’t have someone else’s copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.