We are firm believers in the power of games like Dungeons & Dragons in helping make the world a better place. And we believe that one of the most pressing issues that we, as a society, need to have dialogue on, is mental health. But as much as it is needed, it can be very difficult to have that conversation. This is mainly due to negative stigma, a lack of knowledge, or just pure misunderstanding of what the concept of mental health involves.
It is with this in mind that we decided to develop “A Glowing Mind“. A mental health tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) that is designed to help destigmatize (and hopefully demystify) the concepts of mental health, and help build an environment where we can have that conversation about mental health issues in society. We hope to accomplish this by exposing participants to the concepts, issues, and information that surrounds mental health. Provide context, and give them an idea of what mental health issues may look like in social interactions. And encourage our players to look at mental healh issues from the perspective of coping and understanding what to do when put in these situations.
A Glowing Mind is a TTRPG of our own design. It includes many elements you would find in a game of D&D. It involves a Game Master (GM) that creates and describes a living and vibrant world for the players’ characters (PCs) to inhabit and explore. The GM and players working together to create a shared story of adventure, discovery, and understanding.
The material we are releasing here has two major parts, (1) the core ruleset and (2) scenarios. The core ruleset includes explanations on the different elements a GM needs to consider when designing/running an game. This can range from the role that character cards play, to how dice are used in the game. GMs are free to prepare their own adventures (or scenarios), but we’ve also provided a pre-written scenario that GMs may consider using. The reason why we’ve included a scenario is that we’ve found that just developing rules was not enough to bring the issue of mental health to the forefront of the discussion. The concepts of mental health also needed to be woven into the narrative, and directly exposed to the players for it to be effective.
Playtest Material
The content of the material we are releasing here is still a work in progress. We would be we would be incredibly grateful if you could take the time to give us some feedback on your experience with the game and how you feel it could be improved. Alternatively, feel free to contact us at contact@theglowingfool.com
Earl is what you would call a Dungeons & Dragons addict. He watches D&D shows, prowls the D&D forums, and basically lives, breathes, and eats D&D (It’s no joke, he literally listens to the D&D Podcast while eating). He likes to be thought of as the “lead fool” as he guides us all through the silliness of D&D.
For his day-job. Earl is an ERP Consultant with the Nomura Research Institute (NRI). He is also a Shaper with the Global Shapers: Hong Kong Hub.