Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago

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Dr. Ben discusses Social Contract Theory in TTRPGs, Full Lecture (Episode #122). #dnd #pathfinder #ttrpg #wfrp

Social Contract Template: dropbox.com/scl/fi/g1orltaymuigt0oc9zpfz/Social-Contract-Template.pdf?rlkey=53q9zktt90mut1faon6qi3f35&st=vmy475vy&dl=0

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Emergent Video: youtu.be/tWDnfvQF_ww

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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:08 Social Contract Theory
03:57 Statecraft to Gamecraft
07:48 Implict vs Explicit
15:04 Play Culture
20:15 Structuring The Social Contract
25:41 Agency, Consent, Tone, Narrative
31:58 Design and Social Contract
36:38 Final Thoughts
39:24 Thoughts?
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Music and Sounds:
epidemicsound.com/track/Erdns8jA3D
epidemicsound.com/track/MRyCi54t7M
epidemicsound.com/track/AQBpWzOsID
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Music: creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0
epidemicsound.com/track/c0X3Z8H8uZ
epidemicsound.com/track/yCvSWOBYUe
Music: creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0
epidemicsound.com/track/bWHPOsoaql
epidemicsound.com/track/uDAHxg3lIS
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
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epidemicsound.com/track/jrNZjxJQqZ
epidemicsound.com/track/c0X3Z8H8uZ
epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/8c51eca6-dbb5-4925-b4ec-7ee51630322e

Works Cited
Britannica, “social contract,” Encyclopædia Britannica
Martin Ralya & Chris “Bankuei” Chinn, “Social Contracts for RPG Groups,” Gnome Stew,
Adam Brown, “A Deeper Look at the Social Contract,” Gnome Stew, April 6, 2022
RPG Museum Wiki, “Social contract” and “Big Model,” retrieved 2020
Iain McAllister, “RPGs and the Social Contract,” The Giant Brain, Nov 27, 2019
The Same Page Tool by Chris Chinn, Deeper in the Game blog, Mar 2010
“The Culture Beneath the Stairs #3: Why the Gaming Group Isn’t a Social Contract,”
Jazzsequence, “TTRPG Social Contract & Safety Tools,” jazzsequence.com, 2022
John Stavropoulos, “X-Card” safety tool document (2013) – via RPG Museum
Sarah Lynne Bowman & Evan Torner et al., “Role-playing Games for Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations,” DiGRA 2020 (excerpt on social contract)