So, why are we talking about Dungeons & Dragons on our podcast? On this episode, we talk about the many real life-skills, wellbeing, team-building and social benefits of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPG) With colleagues from the University of Staffordshire: 

(See some helpful links at the bottom of the show notes).

Professor Esther Maccallum-Stewart (School of Digital Technologies and Arts) who specialises in game design and world building. She has been playing D&D and TTRPGs for decades! She writes published material for D&D and TTRPGs and is supervising several students who are undertaking their PhD research studies on the various social phenomena's related to D&D.

Martin Tideswell (Director of Community and Commercial Engagement) Has been playing D&D since the 1980’s. His passion has taken him to conferences all over the world, he has run games for friends, colleagues and even for local schools. He has over 4000 minis (figures that represent characters within the game). He has collaborated with Wizards of the Coast (current company owning the D&D franchise) as a European Liaison, and has even won trophies for playing! 

Dungeons & Dragons was created in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, who formally, had worked on military games. They released the iconic ‘Red Box’ 1st edition and since then, we are currently on its 5th (2024 updated) edition. Thanks to recent pop culture programs such as ‘Stranger Things’, Big Bang Theory and ‘Honour Among Thieves’ (D&D film), we have seen a welcome resurgence and a growth in popularity of this wonderful franchise, where thousands of new players have been inspired to take a brave step into the diverse world of TTRPGs. 

So, why are we talking about this on a Health and Social care University podcast?!

Well, there are recent studies- especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic, that report the plethora of benefits that are perfect for healthcare professionals, students, and staff alike: Many of which, show that within education D&D/TTRPGs may help to:

- Stimulate students creative and outside-the-box thinking. · Decision making · Deductive reasoning · Strategy creation · Systems thinking · Imagination · Collaboration · Communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork and critical thinking · Executive function · Resilience and confidence in self-advocacy. 

- Facilitate student self-reflection due to the need to self-reflect on behalf of their character based on input from the Dungeon Master or Games Master (DM/GM). 

- Develop social-emotional skills. Students developed confidence in approaching and establishing friendships with new peers – increased imagination and emotional regulation. 

- For neurodivergent students, found that D&D highlighted the use of boundaries, self-autonomy, self-advocation and liberation. 

- Augment mental health and psychological therapy. It is becoming a popular tool within the therapists toolbox, from helping soldiers overcome PTSD, addiction rehabilitation centres, helping men and women overcome domestic abuse and used in schools to help children with Neurodiverse challenges, gain confidence and social skills (to name a few). 

Got a question about D&D? Get in touch with us on Twitter!

Martin Tideswell: @MartinTideswell
Mary-Anne Astle @mary_annastle
Ben Woodrow-Hirst: @benw_h

D&D related Links

YouTube

WASD20: ‘Dungeons & Dragons: A Complete Beginners Guide’

HowToADHD: ‘Making your tabletop RPG ADHD friendly’

Downloads

Free D&D 5e ruleset download

Starter Campaigns (Recommended by Martin Tideswell)

Grant Howitt (2023) ‘Everybody is seagulls’ (adult content) TTRPG, free download (pay what you want) (Mentioned in the podcast).
Click here for more information 

D&D Wizards of the Coast: Template and pre-built Character Sheets resources for play

Articles

Martin Tideswell (EIC) (2020) Stoke-on-Trent Live: ‘How roleplaying games such as D&D can slay lockdown boredom while helping educate your children and keep friendships strong’


Websites

Welcome to Glasgow 2024, A Worldcon For Our Futures (mentioned by Esther)

D&D related Podcasts

Critical Role (adult content)

Dungeons and Daddies (Adult content)

Girls who don't D&D (good beginner listen: Adult content)

Acquisitions Inc. (Wizards of the coast official podcast: Adult content)

Places to play (mentioned)

The Long Rest: Shop and play area Stoke-on-Trent website


If you have been affected by any of the topics that have been discussed in this podcast, don’t struggle alone, Staffordshire University are here to help… contact Wellbeing Support on 01782 294976 or by emailing studentwellbeing@staffs.ac.uk.

Upcoming podcasts

Student Perspectives Mini-Series; Celebrating cultural diversity at Staffordshire University Health Science and Wellbeing: Being a single parent and a student.

Want to get involved?

We have a state of the art Podcast room at BlackHeath Lane!

Are you a student? Member of staff? A HealthCare worker? Do you have a topic you would like to share? Get in touch! Let's Pod!

Contact me: Twitter: @benw_h email: ben.woodrow-hirst@staffs.ac.uk Samuel O’Brian: Samuel.Obrian@staffs.ac.uk or Joe Natalello joseph.natalello@staffs.ac.uk


Hosted by: Ben Woodrow-Hirst
Edited and produced By: Ben Woodrow-Hirst
Artwork: Shaun Kelly
Theme Music: Gavin Samways Additional background music: Relaxation Harmony “Celtic, Medieval Tavern mic (used under YouTube ‘Royalty-Free Creative Commons License’).