Good morning, readers: Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands. But, last night the city endured its first air raid in 12 days. As Ukrainians deal with the 493rd day of war, some turn to escapism in the form of tabletop role-playing games.
http://counteroffensive.news
The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack
A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
Tasha Dashkyevich could be forgiven for engaging in a little daydreaming and escapism. Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games are often considered the pastime of nerdy basement-dwellers in suburban homes, not by displaced people seeking a respite from war.
But Dashkyevich says that her community has thrived since the Russian invasion began — a small interlude from the trauma and realities of the war.
Ukrainian gamers are harnessing the power of these games to heal scars of trauma, build fortitude, foster communities, and preserve their unique cultural identity.
http://counteroffensive.newsThe Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack
A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
Dashkyevich is 37, and from Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea. She started playing sometime in 2008 after moving to Kyiv, she said, with a “crazy homebrew” hodgepodge of paper and imagination.
Official Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks and figurines are expensive in Ukraine, thanks to regional licenses that tend to lump all post-Soviet countries into a single, Russian-dominated region.
“We were not aware that there are [formal] books, there was one guy who traveled to Kyiv and bought the original dice set, but we were only allowed to look at it, not actually roll it because it was super expensive,” Tasha said.
Today, she is an accomplished Game Master with her own YouTube channel, Idearoll, started in 2019. Her favorite game is Call of Cthulhu, based on H.P. Lovecraft’s dark tales of cosmic horror.
https://youtube.com/@idearoll
idearoll
Заходять якось Вічний Майстер, Вічний Кіпер та Вічний Гравець до YouTube і…понеслося!
Вітаємо! Ми – авторський колектив idearoll – фанати НРІ, творці історій, шукачі пригод, розслідувачі – це все про нас. І про наш канал, що веде підписників через Узбережжя Мечів та Хребти Безумства назустріч пригодам!
Часом ми відхиляємося від намічених маршрутів, щоб, наприклад, задмухати 10 свічок, сьорбнути крові на Маскараді, зруйнувати Башту Жаху, приміряти на себе маску Джона, потерпіти Фіаско або втілити в життя ще якесь словесно-рольове шаленство.
Тут ми ділимося думками про свої улюблені ігрові системи, а ще багато жартуємо (іноді смішно!).
Контент готуємо - як для себе (бо для себе!), адже годноти про улюблене хобі має бути БІЛЬШЕ!!!!!111!1
Ласкаво просимо!
Read more about Tasha and how TTRPG's are helping out on the homefront at:
http://counteroffensive.newsThe Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack
A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
Around 2:30 am, Shahed drones and Kalibr missiles attacked the capital while air defense responded. The Counteroffensive’s writers were also awakened by another air raid siren around 7:20 am. It was an eventful night and morning.
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-reports-taking-down-all-8-drones-3-missiles-fired-overnight/
Ukraine reports taking down all 8 drones, 3 missiles fired overnight
Russia attacked Ukraine with eight Shahed kamikaze drones and three Kalibr cruise missiles on the night of July 2, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It’s been one week since the attempted Wagner coup, and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has not been heard from in several days. A camp is being built in Belarus and Russian state media is rewriting the history of the Wagner group in front of Russia's eyes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war.html
Ukraine Says It Is Ready for Arrival of Wagner Troops in Belarus
Ukrainian officials have tried to tamp down concerns while heralding their preparations, with President Volodymyr Zelensky nodding to plans for reinforcing the border.
Tim Mak
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