We’re tackling a difficult and complex topic in this episode: How to roleplay characters with mental illnesses with sensitivity and grace. First, though, we’ve got a bit of other business to talk about, starting with our forthcoming appearances on City on a Hill Gaming (including Jenny’s very cool special episode, Side Quest #4 – The Crimson In Your Veins.) Grant’s also very happy to talk about his officially-started Eberron game, which went great! We also take a minute to remind everyone about our YouTube channel, which is finally updating with new episodes like this one and old episodes as we can.
Our Patreon question is from Raymond Dickson, who asks: How do you like to deal with a planned hiatus in a game (summer, scheduled surgery, travel, etc.)—not just going ahead with someone missing from the game, but putting the whole thing on hold for a bit? Unfortunately, our advice to Raymond is … not optimistic. But we do our best!
After an enthusiastic Scripture reading, we get right into this one, starting off with a lot of caveats and notes. We then break this down into three general (and largely artificial) categories, talking about persistent and ongoing mental illnesses; temporary, acute insanities; and artificial “madnesses” brought on by the sort of external causes we encounter in genre fiction. We talk a lot about the use of these at the table, but also do our best—within our limited abilities as non-experts—to give what advice we can about helping others deal with these issues at the table and in life, too.
Mentioned in this episode: Our previous episodes on mental health with mental health experts; “spoon theory”; and Sea Lions.
Scripture: Isaiah 1:17; Matthew 25:41-43; James 5:14; 1 John 3:17-18