Tag: Learning-RPG

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The Significant Power of the Moral Dilemma

Roleplaying games (RPGs) have long been a haven for storytelling, strategic thinking, and escapism. But beneath the layers of dice rolls and character sheets lies an opportunity for deeper engagement—the moral dilemma. I love these conundrums in my games, both as a player and DM. These moments of ethical uncertainty transform a game from a casual pastime into an unforgettable experience. The same is true in leadership training, where presenting trainees with morally complex scenarios forces them to grapple with the consequences of their decisions. They also take trainees away from the black and white course content to the grey examples of real life. In both cases, moral dilemmas create engagement and challenge in ways that are uniquely impactful.

The Core of a Moral Dilemma

A good moral dilemma places players in situations where every choice carries significant consequences. In RPGs, these moments can range from choosing between saving a village or preserving an ally’s life, to deciding whether to betray a trusted NPC for personal gain. In leadership training, dilemmas often revolve around issues like resource allocation, interpersonal conflict, competing stakeholder outcomes, or the balance between individual and organizational values and goals.

The key is that there are no “right” answers. Instead, players or trainees must weigh their values, priorities, and the potential fallout of their decisions, creating a tension that lingers long after the choice is made.

Why a Moral Dilemma Enhances Engagement

  1. Emotional Investment
    When faced with a moral dilemma, players become emotionally invested in the story. They’re no longer just rolling dice or following a script; they’re making deeply personal choices that define their characters—or their leadership style. This emotional engagement ensures that the experience feels both meaningful and memorable.
  2. Immersive Storytelling
    A moral dilemma forces players to think beyond scenario mechanics and immerse themselves in the narrative. Instead of focusing on optimization, they start asking, “What would my character do?” or “What kind of leader do I want to be?” This leads to richer storytelling and more profound connections between players and their roles.
  3. Collaboration and Conflict
    In both RPGs and leadership scenarios, dilemmas can lead to heated discussions among team members. Differing values and priorities come to the forefront, sparking debates that can either strengthen the group’s bonds or test its resilience. These moments of collaboration or conflict mimic real-world dynamics, making the experience feel authentic.
  4. Growth Through Challenge
    Struggling with tough decisions builds resilience and critical thinking. In RPGs, players learn to accept the consequences of their actions and adapt to the evolving story. In leadership training, participants develop decision-making skills and gain insights into their own values and ethics.
The “it depends” arrow is where the most challenge comes from.

Crafting Effective Moral Dilemmas

To create a compelling moral dilemma in either a D&D adventure or a leadership training module, consider the following:

  1. High Stakes
    The decision should matter. Players should feel that their choice will significantly impact the game world or the people around them.
  2. Ambiguity
    Avoid clear-cut solutions. Each option should have both positive and negative outcomes, forcing players to wrestle with uncertainty.
  3. Relevance
    Tailor the dilemma to the characters’ or trainees’ goals and values. The more personal the choice feels, the more impactful it will be.
  4. Lasting Consequences
    Decisions should ripple through the story. Whether it’s a betrayed ally seeking revenge or a workforce demoralized by a tough call, consequences make choices feel real and meaningful.

Bringing It All Together

Imagine a leadership training session where participants roleplay the leaders of a company facing a crisis. A natural disaster has struck, and resources are limited. They must decide whether to prioritize aid for employees or allocate resources to the wider community. Each choice has implications for morale, public relations, and long-term stability. The discussions and debates that follow are rich with insights into team dynamics and individual values.

Similarly, in an RPG, the adventuring party might stumble upon a town cursed by a powerful artifact. Destroying the artifact will save the town but doom the adventurers’ quest to stop a greater evil. Do they sacrifice their mission to save innocent lives, or press on and let the town perish? These choices push players to think deeply about their characters and their place in the story.

Final Thoughts

Moral dilemmas are more than just storytelling tools; they’re catalysts for growth and engagement. Whether you’re running an RPG or designing a leadership workshop, introducing ethical challenges forces participants to think critically, act decisively, and reflect deeply on their values. The result is an experience that’s not just engaging but transformative—one that players and trainees alike will carry with them long after the session ends.

So, the next time you’re crafting an encounter or a scenario, don’t shy away from the grey areas. Embrace the complexity, and watch your players or trainees rise to the challenge.

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Strengthen Teamwork With An Innovative Dice Pool Mechanic

dice pool

As some of you may know, I have been developing a rules-lite roleplaying game specifically for leadership development. It is tentatively called Play to Lead and you can find the latest version here. One of my key design philosophies is that teamwork and collaboration are core to the game function. As such, there needs to be a mechanic that centers on this aspect. Currently, I’ve included a simple advantage style roll, similar to that used in the current iteration of Dungeons and Dragons. Effectively, if you work as a team to solve a problem roll two dice and take the best result. But, this doesn’t encapsulate the team dynamic that I am looking for. When writing a previous post on the subject I’ve realized that there has to be a more engaging way.

Therefore, I’ve decided to introduce the team dice pool, to add a new layer of strategic depth and reinforce the importance of working together. This article explores how the dice pool mechanic works, why it encourages collaboration, and how it transforms group dynamics into meaningful gameplay.

What Is the Team Dice Pool Mechanic?

In Play to Lead the team dice pool is a shared resource that players contribute to and draw from during the game. At the start of the game, add one die to the pool for each player, plus one extra. Place the dice in the middle of the table, within easy reach of everyone. Whenever the team faces a challenge, they can choose to add any number of team dice to aid the roll, but only if all players agree. Once used, team dice are removed from the pool. The team must decide whether to use the dice now or save them for future challenges in the adventure.

For example, the team are trying to fix a snowmobile to allow them to escape the Arctic research station. The mechanic suggests that they work together to mend the engine and add two team dice to the roll. A discussion ensues. Some players want to save the team dice for later in the adventure when they brave the Arctic wastes on the journey home, whilst others argue that without the engine there will be no escape. Finally they agree to use two team dice from their pool of four, leaving some in reserve for the journey ahead.

Generally, the team dice pool should be a finite resource. However, if the players do something out of left field or display great leadership or teamwork, the games master can award a dice back into the pool. Us this sparingly, as the decisions about when to use the pool are harder when the resource is finite.

Team Dice Pool Summary

  • When undertaking a challenge where more than one player is involved, team may add any number of team dice to the roll. Roll the dice and take the highest number.
  • All team members (players) must agree on when and how many dice should be used.
  • When players do something spectacular the games master may replenish a die back into the pool (use sparingly).

This mechanic gives the team a shared resource that they must allocate together. Ultimately, forcing team discussion and collaboration.

A Team Dice Pool enhances the teamwork aspect of any roleplaying game.

How It Encourages Collaboration

In Play to Lead, the team dice pool is not just about numbers—it’s about strategy, trust, and communication. Here are a few ways the mechanic encourages teamwork:

  1. Strategic Contributions
    Each player brings something unique to the table. When faced with a challenge, they’ll need to decide how many dice they can afford to contribute based on the current situation. However, they must balance this with the need to save resources for future challenges. Players have to talk things through, strategize together, and decide as a team how to best approach each obstacle and whether to use the dwindling pool of dice to enhance their chances of success.
  2. Sharing Success and Failure
    Whether the roll succeeds or fails, the outcome reflects the team’s combined effort. If they succeed, everyone feels that accomplishment because they collectively decided to use the dice pool. If they fail, it’s a shared experience, too, prompting discussions about what went wrong and how they can better support each other in the future. This shared responsibility strengthens the group dynamic and fosters a sense of collective ownership over the game’s progress.
  3. Building Trust and Leadership
    The dice pool also presents opportunities for leadership within the team. Players will need to rely on and trust each other’s judgment about when and how to use those resources. This builds in-game leadership and teaches players to recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s a subtle but powerful way to develop trust—essential in both the game and real-world teamwork.
  4. Promoting Balance and Equity
    No single player can hog the spotlight in Play to Lead. The team dice pool is a shared resource, and everyone has a stake in its management. This ensures that even quieter or less experienced players get a chance to contribute meaningfully. The mechanic naturally balances the dynamics between stronger and weaker characters, encouraging all players to work together, regardless of individual power levels.

Making Decisions as a Team

One of the core ideas behind the team dice pool mechanic is that important decisions shouldn’t be made in a vacuum. If the team needs to figure out how many dice to commit to a challenge, they must openly discuss their take on the situation and overall goals. This creates natural moments for team-building as players assess risks, talk through options, and align on the best path forward.

It’s not just about dice—it’s about building consensus, making informed choices as a group, and learning how to lead or follow when necessary.

Fostering Communication in Play to Lead

At its heart, Play to Lead is a game about communication. Whether it’s communicating during the game to decide the best use of resources, or reflecting on the outcome of a roll and figuring out how to improve next time, this dice pool mechanic brings team communication to the forefront.

This dynamic creates a natural, in-game space for conversations about leadership, trust, and collaboration, aligning with the game’s mission to teach these real-world skills through play.

Final Thoughts

The team dice pool mechanic in Play to Lead is more than just a gameplay feature—it’s a tool to foster teamwork, enhance communication, and build trust among players. By having a shared resource that gives significant advantage on in game challenges, it encourages players to work together, strategize, and support one another.

This mechanic not only makes the game more fun but also brings the game’s central message of collaboration and leadership to life in a tangible, engaging way. In Play to Lead, the team’s success isn’t just about individual accomplishments—it’s about what the group can achieve together.

While I have written this article about my own ruleset, I believe this mechanic could also work in other roleplaying games. In D&D a team dice pool of D20’s could be used to confer advantage for team based challenges. What do you think? Would you try implementing a team dice pool in your own games? Let me know how it works for you!

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Play a Game to Develop Awesome Leadership Skills

In previous posts, we’ve explored how being a Dungeon Master (DM) in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) offers a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills. However, stepping into the role of a player can be just as valuable in learning and practicing leadership. While you may not be the one guiding the story or setting the stage for encounters, the choices you make as a player can be purposeful in enhancing your leadership abilities. Here are three tips for leveraging your D&D player experience to develop leadership skills.

Using Your Persona to Explore Different Leadership Models

Playing a character in D&D offers the perfect opportunity to experiment with different leadership styles. Including those you might not naturally gravitate toward. A player’s character can be purposefully designed or role-played to embody various leadership models, such as:

  • Situational Leadership: Depending on the needs of the moment, does your character adopt a directive, coaching, or supportive style? Perhaps in battle, they take charge with authority, but when solving puzzles or negotiating with NPCs, they lead through collaboration and encouragement.
  • Transformational Leadership: Maybe your character focuses on inspiring and motivating others by developing a vision or goal that everyone can rally behind. These could include completing a shared quest or fighting injustice.

D&D lets you experiment with these styles and reflect on how different approaches can inspire or challenge your party. Being purposeful with different styles let’s you work out your own way of leading. Use each session to practice a leadership model that you can later apply in real-world settings.

Situational leadership, one of the many models you can use to develop leadership skills

Creating Cohesion Within the Team

A strong D&D group relies on collaboration and trust, much like an effective team in the workplace. As a player, you can take a leadership role by focusing on team cohesion. Instead of leading from the front you take the initiative in getting the players to bond as a group. Here are a few ways to foster unity:

  • Encouraging Participation: Ensure that everyone at the table has a chance to contribute. Sometimes quieter players may hesitate to speak up. As a player, you can encourage them by drawing them into the conversation or seeking their advice in-game.
  • Resolving Conflicts: When disagreements arise within the party (or even between players), step up as a mediator. This not only keeps the game moving forward but also helps you hone your conflict resolution skills, a crucial aspect of leadership.
  • Celebrating Successes: Recognition is an often overlooked aspect of leadership. Whether it’s a particularly clever move in battle or the solving of a tough puzzle, take the time to acknowledge the contributions of others. This builds morale and reinforces the idea that everyone plays a vital role.

Developing Emotional Intelligence

Being a leader isn’t just about decision-making; it’s also about understanding and managing interpersonal dynamics. D&D, as an inherently social game, offers ample opportunities to develop emotional intelligence, a core trait of effective leaders. Paying attention to how your actions, both in-game and at the table, affects others helps hone this skill.

  • Practice Empathy: Whether in character or during role-play, try to understand your fellow players’ motivations and emotions. This can help you build stronger relationships within your group, as well as improve your ability to lead with empathy in the workplace.
  • Adaptability: In both leadership and D&D, things don’t always go as planned. Use your playtime to practice staying calm under pressure, adjusting your strategies when necessary, and being flexible when new ideas are presented.

Final Thoughts

When I play D&D as a player I find great satisfaction in practicing and understanding different leadership principles during the session. I wrote about a great example of a player led mutiny here. I love it when the group are put under pressure and have to try an win against insurmountable odds. Post-game I often think about how we dealt with the stress as a team, what worked, and of course, what didn’t.

Playing Dungeons & Dragons as a player offers an incredible platform to explore and refine leadership skills in a low-stakes, highly creative environment. Using your character to explore different facets let’s you translate these in game lessons to real-world leadership scenarios. Next time you sit down for a session, think about how you can be purposefulto develop leadership—not just for your character’s growth, but for your own.

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Encouraging Terrific Teamwork in D&D: Mechanics and Tips

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and other games like it, are praised for their ability to bring players together in a shared narrative. While individual character development and heroic moments are highlights, the real magic, at least from my perspective, lies in the collaborative storytelling and problem-solving that happens at the table. Emphasizing teamwork and communication not only enhances the experience but also ensures that players feel a strong connection to both the story and each other.

While writing this blog, I have also been developing a simple RPG ruleset that can be used in the workplace. (You can download a free working copy of Play to Lead and a sample adventure here.) I showed the draft to Rich, a very good friend of mine, and he made a great observation.

“If you’re writing a game to help encourage teamwork, why isn’t there a mechanic that encourages teamwork?”

I was gob smacked. Rich was absolutely right!

In an effort to improve Play to Lead I want to explore a few ideas that aid in the teamwork aspect of roleplaying games. While I am looking to incorporate some of these into my ruleset you can use these ideas to elevate the cooperative nature of your own games.

Team-Based Objectives

The first step would be designing scenarios and challenges where success depends on the entire team working together. For instance, create objectives that require multiple skill sets or abilities to complete, such as a puzzle that needs both intellectual and physical solutions. I’ve tried to incorporate this in the design of my adventure The Lost Temple. Each character has specific skills and equipment that need to be used together to complete the challenges.

As the Dungeon Master/designer it is important that no single character can resolve these objectives alone. Encourage players to discuss and strategize as a team, highlighting the value of each member’s contribution.

Synergy Bonuses

From the game mechanic point of view synergy bonuses are pretty simple to implement. Essentially, these are bonuses where characters gain extra benefits when they combine their abilities or work in tandem. For example, if one character uses a defensive ability while another attacks, they both receive a temporary boost to their effectiveness.

Dungeons and Dragons has an excellent mechanic already in place. When characters pool their resources or assist each other advantage is applied. That means you get to roll two dice and choose the best result. This is excellent in the context of that game. But for Play to Lead I want teamwork to be at the forefront. Therefore anyone who assists on a task gets to roll their dice. The highest roll from all participants then constitutes the final result. Hopefully players will look for interesting ways to work together to gain this bonus.

As a Dungeon Master make sure to provide visual or narrative feedback when these bonuses trigger, reinforcing the idea that collaboration leads to greater outcomes. Regardless of the system players must be aware of the mechanical advantage that teamwork gives them.

Mechanics including rolling additional dice, or using a pool of dice can really highlight the teamwork and communication in game

Shared Resources

Another idea is to implement a shared resource pool that players can draw from for special abilities or actions. This could be a pool of “teamwork points” that accumulates based on cooperative actions or successful team-based objectives. Having a physical pool of teamwork dice that actually gets bigger before their eyes could really keep the idea of teamwork front and center. The additional twist here is that the team have to agree when these additional dice get to be used.

When running your games encourage players to manage these resources together, discussing when and how to use them for maximum impact. This promotes communication and planning, making teamwork an integral part of gameplay.

Role-Based Interactions

When designing the adventure assign specific roles within the team that complement each other. These could includes a leader who provides direction, a scout who gathers information, and a support character who buffs others. These roles should be flexible but designed to work best when used in concert.

As an example, I’ve used this in my adventure Lost Temple which includes the roles below.

  • Archaeologist – professor of the ancient world. Equipped with a lantern. Read hieroglyphics, understand artefacts, high level of knowledge
  • Climber – working at heights professional. Equipped with a 50m rope. Climbing, ropework, high level of agility
  • Engineer – technical specialist. Equipped with a shovel and axe. Construction, demolition, high level of practical know how
  • Navigator – directional expert. Equipped with a compass. Map and compass skills, unerring sense of direction
  • Pilot – helicopter pilot. Equipped with a lantern. Piloting vehicles of all types, radio use, electronics master
  • Expedition Leader (optional) – no specialist skills. Equipped with a knife. Must facilitate the team working together

As you can see, each role has very distinct skills and equipment. Only by combining these skills together can the team hope to escape the lost temple.

For games where you aren’t providing the characters consider guiding players in choosing roles that suit their play style but also encourage them to think about how their character’s strengths can benefit the group. Make sure to create moments in the game where these roles can shine, showing the value of each position.

Communication Challenges

Create in-game challenges that require clear and effective teamwork and communication to overcome. For example, a puzzle that involves different players receiving different pieces of information that they must share and interpret together. The most simple of these could be a simple cypher or map split into multiple parts and the team need to work together to fit them together. Another idea would be to make the puzzle verbal. Players need to take it in turns to speak parts of the solution in the correct order to pass.

Use these challenges to subtly teach players about the importance of listening and sharing information. Encourage out-of-character discussion if needed, but make sure the challenge requires in-character communication to succeed. Using the children’s game “Chinese Whispers” to pass complicated messages between themselves could work really well in this instance.

Narrative-driven Collaboration

In addition to having team-based objectives for your scenarios consider designing narrative arcs that require the players to create plans together and execute them as a team. These could be heists, diplomatic missions, or large-scale battles where every character’s role is vital to the outcome. During these moments, focus on the story implications of teamwork. Highlight how their collaboration influences the world and the NPCs around them, making their teamwork feel impactful beyond the mechanics.

Final Thoughts on Teamwork

In Play to Lead, making teamwork and communication central to gameplay can turn a good game into a great one. Presently I have a teamwork mechanic in place. However, I’m going to spend more time thinking about how a team dice pool can be incorporated as I love the idea of having a physical representation of teamwork at the table. I’ll also make sure to have teamwork as a central theme to all future Play to Lead adventures.

Make sure to keep the ideas above in mind when designing your adventures. Having players working together makes for a much more satisfying experience.

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What Are Megagames? Exploring the Benefits of Large-Scale Gaming

Although not well known, Megagames stand as the ultimate immersive experience, blending elements of role-playing, board games, and live-action simulations. These large-scale games, often involving dozens to hundreds of players, create complex and dynamic environments. This structure and emergent play style really puts players through their paces. Notably, I believe that Megagames could be an exceptional in fostering leadership skills. This article delves into what Megagames are, provides specific examples, and explores how they might be used to enhance leadership skill through experiential learning.

What Are Megagames?

Megagames are large-scale games that combine elements of strategy, role-playing, and simulation, often played out over an entire day. They typically involve multiple teams, each with distinct roles and objectives, interacting within a shared narrative framework. The complexity and scale of these games demand coordination, strategic thinking, and adaptive problem-solving from players.

The design of Megagames allows for rich, emergent gameplay, where the actions of individual players and teams can significantly influence the overall outcome. This dynamic environment mirrors real-world scenarios, making Megagames not only entertaining but also educational.

Examples of Megagames

While I have explained what a Megagame is, it really takes some examples to showcase their scale and complexity. Here are some better known examples.

1. Watch the Skies

One of the most well-known Megagames, “Watch the Skies,” involves teams representing nations and alien factions navigating a world where extraterrestrial contact has just been made. Each team must manage resources, conduct diplomacy, and respond to various crises, all while dealing with the unknown intentions of the aliens.

“Watch the Skies” has been run by numerous organizations across the UK, USA and Australia and there are some great videos exploring the players experiences.

For more information, you can visit the Stone Paper Scissors website here.

A small part of a Watch the Skies Megagame in progress

2. Den of Wolves

“Den of Wolves” places players in the roles of the crew and passengers of a fleet of spaceships escaping a dying star system. Players must manage limited resources, make critical decisions about survival, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics. Leadership roles within the fleet are crucial for the game’s progression.

Further details are available from the South West Megagames. Interestingly they also run games for businesses and other organizations, already proving the concept that games of these sort can build leadership skill and ability.

3. Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos

Written by Megagame stalwart Jim Wallman, “Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos,” throws players into a zombie apocalypse affecting an entire state. Teams represent various governmental and non-governmental organizations working to manage the outbreak, maintain public order, and ensure survival. The game emphasizes crisis management and inter-agency cooperation. A great game to play if a business is experiencing low communication or significant silo-ing between departments.

You can explore more about this game here. A great review can be found on the BeckyBecky blog.

A game of Urban Nightmare in progress

Megagames and Leadership Development

The immersive and multifaceted nature of Megagames makes them an excellent platform for developing leadership skills. surprisingly, they are already being used in this capacity. Both Stone Paper Scissors and SW Megagames are hosting games in the corporate and government spheres.

Here’s a few reasons why these games are so effective:

1. Strategic Thinking and Planning

Megagames require players to think strategically and plan ahead. In “Watch the Skies,” for example, national leaders devise long-term strategies while preparing to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, mirroring the need for strategic foresight in leadership roles.

2. Decision-Making Under Pressure

Megagames often place players in high-pressure situations where quick, decisive action is necessary. “Den of Wolves” challenges players to make critical decisions about resource allocation and crisis response, honing their ability to make sound decisions under stress.

3. Collaboration and Teamwork

Success in Megagames relies heavily on effective teamwork and collaboration. Players must communicate and coordinate with their teammates and other groups to achieve their objectives. This aspect is particularly evident in “Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos,” where various agencies must work together to manage the zombie outbreak.

4. Conflict Resolution

Megagames simulate environments where conflicts of interest are common, requiring players to negotiate and resolve disputes. These skills are directly transferable to leadership scenarios where conflict resolution is a daily necessity.

5. Adaptability and Flexibility

The dynamic nature of Megagames demands that players be adaptable and flexible. Unexpected events and actions by other players can drastically alter the game landscape, requiring leaders to pivot and adjust their strategies. This mirrors real-world leadership scenarios where adaptability is key to navigating uncertainty.

Final Thoughts

Megagames offer a unique and powerful means of developing leadership skills through their complex, interactive, and immersive gameplay. By simulating real-world scenarios and challenges, they provide players with opportunities to enhance strategic thinking, decision-making, teamwork, conflict resolution, and adaptability. As these games continue to grow in popularity, their potential as tools for leadership development becomes increasingly apparent.

As such, I’ve been interested in running one of these behemoths for a long time. I’m currently writing a smaller version for 12 players and I’ll report back once I’ve actually run it. As a side note, if you’re in Perth, Australia and would like to play in a Megagame drop me a line. A game this size will need plenty of players!