Chapter Four: Character—Roles and Immersion

[The Perilous Dreamer]

He says:

The term “role-playing” entered the English language from German, like the term “wargame.” Originally, rollenspiel denoted an exercise in group psychotherapy, the “psychodrama” invented by Jakob L. Moreno. When he immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1925, Moreno began importing his existing work to English; in 1943, he wrote that the term “role-player is a literary translation of the term Rollenspieler which I have used,” and in that same article he invokes the now-familiar form “role-playing.” [

That is roleplaying, not role-playing. But given the origin of the word it is a shame that a different word was not invented and used for what takes place in D&D, but unfortunately we are stuck with the implications (from group psychotherapy) that the worst people in the roleplaying game genre have imported into the game, part of which we can blame for the rise of the evil of "safety tools" which is directly imported from the perverse BDSM community.

What makes the use of this word even stranger is that in the psychotherapy context its purpose was to destroy fantasy and return the person to reality. Yeah, pretty ironic that that word in particular is used for the games we play, which turns the original usage upside down. And both contradictory meanings co-exist in the current world. Roleplaying is its own antonym.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next follows a lengthy section culminating with the game Diplomacy. I game I would love to have a copy of, but have never seen.

[hengest]

Mar 22, 2024 12:39:16 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

He says:

The term “role-playing” entered the English language from German, like the term “wargame.” Originally, rollenspiel denoted an exercise in group psychotherapy, the “psychodrama” invented by Jakob L. Moreno. When he immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1925, Moreno began importing his existing work to English; in 1943, he wrote that the term “role-player is a literary translation of the term Rollenspieler which I have used,” and in that same article he invokes the now-familiar form “role-playing.” [

That is roleplaying, not role-playing. But given the origin of the word it is a shame that a different word was not invented and used for what takes place in D&D, but unfortunately we are stuck with the implications (from group psychotherapy) that the worst people in the roleplaying game genre have imported into the game, part of which we can blame for the rise of the evil of "safety tools" which is directly imported from the perverse BDSM community.

What makes the use of this word even stranger is that in the psychotherapy context its purpose was to destroy fantasy and return the person to reality. Yeah, pretty ironic that that word in particular is used for the games we play, which turns the original usage upside down. And both contradictory meanings co-exist in the current world. Roleplaying is its own antonym.

I have not looked at this book in years and barely remember it. Does he discuss "safety tools"? What are "safety tools," anyway?

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Mar 22, 2024 16:37:09 GMT -5 hengest said:

Mar 22, 2024 12:39:16 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

He says:
That is roleplaying, not role-playing. But given the origin of the word it is a shame that a different word was not invented and used for what takes place in D&D, but unfortunately we are stuck with the implications (from group psychotherapy) that the worst people in the roleplaying game genre have imported into the game, part of which we can blame for the rise of the evil of "safety tools" which is directly imported from the perverse BDSM community.

What makes the use of this word even stranger is that in the psychotherapy context its purpose was to destroy fantasy and return the person to reality. Yeah, pretty ironic that that word in particular is used for the games we play, which turns the original usage upside down. And both contradictory meanings co-exist in the current world. Roleplaying is its own antonym.

I have not looked at this book in years and barely remember it. Does he discuss "safety tools"? What are "safety tools," anyway?

He does not mention safety tools, I am just making a connection. As for "safety tools" here is one thread The X-Card and IIRC there is another more recent thread on the subject, but I do not recall the thread title. The gist is that with safety tools your game can be called to a halt and you are expected to fix the "problematic triggering" thing, but no one is required to tell you what the problem is and you are not allowed to ask what the problem is. You are expected to be a mind reader.