That one player who's always in the middle of every scene? In this week's RPG PHD, Dr. Ben breaks down the psychology of Main Character Syndrome in TTRPGs. Six frameworks. One loop. And a step-by-step GM toolkit for designing your way out of it.
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Every published adventure has a dramatic skeleton buried underneath the description. Beat mapping is how you find it.
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Hey everyone,
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. We hit 10,000 subscribers on the channel and I am humbled by it. None of this happens without all of you and so thanks to each and every one of you who made this possible.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ben
Your passive player problem is a psychology problem. The Bystander Effect explains exactly why players disengage. New RPG PHD video: the research, the design audit, and the fix.
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In this video we take theories of design, cognitive psychology, and visual rhetoric and apply them directly to character sheet design.
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Why do engaged players stop engaging? New RPG PHD breaks down Self-Determination Theory and the three psychological needs your campaign is either meeting or destroying: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
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In this week's lecture, we're pulling from psychology, theatrical theory, and music cognition to build a complete framework for dramatic tension curves and rhythmic pacing.
Had a blast on the Creative Contraband podcast talking with Dani about authority in TTRPG spaces. Ever wonder why some players become murderhobos and others push back on every authority structure the GM sets up? Milgram might have an answer. open.spotify.com/episode/1feR...
FBI hostage negotiation tactics applied to tabletop RPG social encounters. Six techniques, one framework, new video up.
youtu.be/D5Bub6D9MdM
My newest RPG PHD video explores operant conditioning as a lens for thinking about player engagement, reward architecture, feedback loops, and the behavioral psychology behind what keeps a table locked in.
youtu.be/KJVIUJObJTw
