As Ethan Gilsdorf reveals in his Ted Talk, tabletop RPGs can be a vital tool for kids to make sense of the world. Equal parts escapism and wish fulfillment, tRPGs provide a sandbox for young minds to explore new ideas and hypotheses beyond the threat of the real world and its consequences. In Ethan’s case specifically, they were a way for him to unplug from a stressful life with his tragically disabled mother. He learned the value of peaceful negotiation–a skill for all ages–while bargaining with trolls.
Grimms’ tales have been instructive since long before the brothers collected them in 1812, yet–before Disney and the brothers’ own puritanical embellishments–these tales were full of sex and violence. Many of them are deeply moral stories but not many modern parents would be comfortable reading to their children about, say, Cinderella’s stepsisters cutting off their toes and heels to fit into the glass slipper. The original versions of the stories we tell alongside nursery rhymes were once told without regard for the age or maturity of the listener. In fact, a little maturity was assumed.
Likewise, myths can be valuable teachers. The Tower of Babel provides an explanation for the multiplicity of languages in our world, but it’s also a glimpse of things we can accomplish together when our differences are overcome. Hades and Persephone provides an explanation for seasonal crop growth, but it’s full of societal cues too–Zeus, the ruler, gives Hades permission to abduct Persephone; the world was locked in winter while Persephone was away, so Zeus acted on behalf of his people and demanded her release; even the gods must obey rules, so Persephone must return to Hades’ side three months each year because she ate food in the underworld. First nations myths about the Wendigo are densely packed with cautionary lessons about scarcity, isolation, and the evils we can be driven to out of desperation.
Can adults today make use of the same magical vehicle to learn things about life? Join me Friday for the second part of a discussion about how we can use myth to enhance our tabletop gaming.