Have yo ever learned anything about the world from roleplaying a character or situation? I mean, something very genuinely linked to the real world or about yourself and others?
I tend to create characters to explore subjects that I don;t quite understand. I do as much research into them as I can, while also weaving in subjects about myself I want a better understanding. In fact there is a kind of therapy called roleplay therapy but that is beside the point.
I guess a good example that one of my character is born with a magical curse. I got tired of seeing a lot of magically cursed characters at the time that just seemed like they were cursed with awesome. It gave them powers, made them super invincible and had more benefits than anything else. And so I created a curse that felt like a legitimately incurable curse that someone had to live their entire life with. It had a lot to do with his magic and not being able to ever have control over it unless he had someone to actively help him with it, or even using some items to assist with it and even then it could not be controlled completely.
I want to say I was surprised, but I really wasn't. Now that someone had a curse that was not fun and acted like an actual disability, peoples characters could not and would not even try to understand him. They instead chose to shout at him to learn how to control it, apply their own "cures" without ever trying to at first understand it at first. They applied their own experiences to him immediately and when that didn't work, blamed him for not wanting it bad enough. Some players even felt justified in their characters reactions even after me explaining what would actually need to be done, and that there was no magical cure to his ailment and was something that had to be mitigated and adjusted to.
And in a way, this taught me about unseen disabilities
And I learned something from it. His curse had no viability at all. He would constantly explain his issues to people and have it bite him in the ass. He would hide his symptoms and ailment to the best of his ability which did not work out well for him or anyone else. And in a way, this made me acutely aware of the struggles of those with non visible disabilities and how society treats them.
Are there anyone else with similar experiences of learning through roleplay?
I tend to create characters to explore subjects that I don;t quite understand. I do as much research into them as I can, while also weaving in subjects about myself I want a better understanding. In fact there is a kind of therapy called roleplay therapy but that is beside the point.
I guess a good example that one of my character is born with a magical curse. I got tired of seeing a lot of magically cursed characters at the time that just seemed like they were cursed with awesome. It gave them powers, made them super invincible and had more benefits than anything else. And so I created a curse that felt like a legitimately incurable curse that someone had to live their entire life with. It had a lot to do with his magic and not being able to ever have control over it unless he had someone to actively help him with it, or even using some items to assist with it and even then it could not be controlled completely.
I want to say I was surprised, but I really wasn't. Now that someone had a curse that was not fun and acted like an actual disability, peoples characters could not and would not even try to understand him. They instead chose to shout at him to learn how to control it, apply their own "cures" without ever trying to at first understand it at first. They applied their own experiences to him immediately and when that didn't work, blamed him for not wanting it bad enough. Some players even felt justified in their characters reactions even after me explaining what would actually need to be done, and that there was no magical cure to his ailment and was something that had to be mitigated and adjusted to.
And in a way, this taught me about unseen disabilities
And I learned something from it. His curse had no viability at all. He would constantly explain his issues to people and have it bite him in the ass. He would hide his symptoms and ailment to the best of his ability which did not work out well for him or anyone else. And in a way, this made me acutely aware of the struggles of those with non visible disabilities and how society treats them.
Are there anyone else with similar experiences of learning through roleplay?
Kahmical wrote:
They applied their own experiences to him immediately and when that didn't work, blamed him for not wanting it bad enough. Some players even felt justified in their characters reactions even after me explaining what would actually need to be done, and that there was no magical cure to his ailment and was something that had to be mitigated and adjusted to.
And in a way, this taught me about unseen disabilities
And I learned something from it. His curse had no viability at all. He would constantly explain his issues to people and have it bite him in the ass. He would hide his symptoms and ailment to the best of his ability which did not work out well for him or anyone else. And in a way, this made me acutely aware of the struggles of those with non visible disabilities and how society treats them.
And in a way, this taught me about unseen disabilities
And I learned something from it. His curse had no viability at all. He would constantly explain his issues to people and have it bite him in the ass. He would hide his symptoms and ailment to the best of his ability which did not work out well for him or anyone else. And in a way, this made me acutely aware of the struggles of those with non visible disabilities and how society treats them.
Goodness that's deep. I actually just attended a minority outreach seminar the other week. I had the privilege of listening to the account of a woman with psychosis, who described her life exactly this way- as others trying to fix her without really understanding the disability in the first place, or expecting her to conform her behavior even though her mind worked a little differently. Using a magical curse as context for disability is imaginative and insightful.
I've picked up on all kinds of strange, esoteric tidbits over the years from RPing. I remember being at an aunt's wine party when she wheeled a friend over to me so I could answer questions about unicorns (specifically, why so many tapestries had unicorns laying their heads on the laps of human women, which I explained was due to old mythos claiming the purity of virgins was a lure used to trap unicorns). I've studied old 19th-century etiquette texts to help write my nobleman and etiquette mentor, and I've found a LOT of the old theories still apply in my modern communication course! While studying Celtic history to create my Irish pixie, I read lore claiming that the early residents of Ireland had such sophisticated medicines, they were thought to be magical (fairies). In battle they used copper weapons, which fell easily to the iron weapons of invaders, so that's (supposedly) one reason why Fair Folk are described as weak to iron. I'd say a very small portion of what I've learned has been as impactful on my views as your experience above, though I've definitely learned all sorts of fun facts. At least they make for interesting conversation starters!
Libertine wrote:
I've picked up on all kinds of strange, esoteric tidbits over the years from RPing. I remember being at an aunt's wine party when she wheeled a friend over to me so I could answer questions about unicorns (specifically, why so many tapestries had unicorns laying their heads on the laps of human women, which I explained was due to old mythos claiming the purity of virgins was a lure used to trap unicorns). I've studied old 19th-century etiquette texts to help write my nobleman and etiquette mentor, and I've found a LOT of the old theories still apply in my modern communication course! While studying Celtic history to create my Irish pixie, I read lore claiming that the early residents of Ireland had such sophisticated medicines, they were thought to be magical (fairies). In battle they used copper weapons, which fell easily to the iron weapons of invaders, so that's (supposedly) one reason why Fair Folk are described as weak to iron. I'd say a very small portion of what I've learned has been as impactful on my views as your experience above, though I've definitely learned all sorts of fun facts. At least they make for interesting conversation starters!
Duuuuuuuuude! I consume constant historical information and mythological tales and I never heard or realize this! That's amazing! Where can I read up about this?
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