Spotlight on Thirsty Sword Lesbians!
Swords Cross and Hearts Race!
Are you thirsty?
Do you have a sword?
Are you a lesbian?
It actually doesn’t matter, because the actual questions should be!
Do you love fun RPGs?
Do you want to run games with, for, and alongside queer people?
If yes, then we invite you to dive into April Kit Walsh’s tales of derring do, and in these tales, we definitely want you to kiss and tell! Welcome to our Spotlight on Thirsty Sword Lesbians! Before we get started on a quick look at the game, which is created by Evil Hat, and managed to bring in 8,152 backers to the amount of $298,568 we want to point out one of the answers on the Kickstarter.
“What if… not Lesbians? We’ll let you in on a secret: you don’t have to play a lesbian. The game plays with themes that are common for all sorts of people who are marginalized on the basis of gender and sexuality, as well as feelings that go beyond the queer experience. If you want to play thirsty sword cishets, we’re not going to stop you—just don’t be surprised if the game turns them queer.”
We love this, and we love it because it doesn’t exclude anyone at all. We know some great cishet people who would love to dive into this one, and run/play it with their queer friends. After looking at this I have several ideas for games I’d run with my queer family.
Lesbians of the Apocalypse
PBtA is big RPG magic for a lot of people, and with April’s game you’re going to get some epic moments of swashbuckling glory, kissing and canoodling, and even more. Thirsty Sword Lesbians funded in just under 3 hours too, so it just goes to show just how much people wanted this one, and to play/run stories in a myriad of settings.
So, “if you love angsty disaster lesbians with swords, you have come to the right place.”
Your lesbians (or whatever you play) are people, people with feelings, sword skills (or some other weapon) and a lot of panache. Kind of like that Monkey Island fight, verbal zingers with barbed words are the choice of weapon.
Battles can end in love, and more.
Solving problems with wit, empathy, style is the order of the day here and we’re definitely down for some of this in our sessions.
Who are the Thirsty Sword Lesbians then?
Beast, Chosen, Devoted, Infamous, Nature Witch, Scoundrel, Seeker, Spooky Witch, and Trickster are your nine-character types available, and each one explores an emotional conflict that drives the drama forward. Rather like the way Dumas did the Three Musketeers, only it’s not just one setting.
What does the game include?
It includes six adventures that can stand alone or kick off a longer series: Sword Lesbians of the Three Houses, Best Day of Their Lives, Constellation Festival, Gal Paladins, and Monster Queers of Castle Gayskull. For even more inspiration, it features The Starcross Galaxy campaign setting along with five more settings from these contributing authors:
- Lesbeans Coffehouse by Dominique Dickey
- Neon City 2099 by Jamila Nedjadi
- The Three Orders of Ardor by Whitney Delaglio
- Les Violettes Dangereuses by Jonaya Kemper
- Yuisa Revolution by Alexis Sara
The book also offers advice on how to make your own tales of fighting with swords, falling in love, and zinging verbally. There are also seeds for even more settings.
“Thirsty Sword Lesbians is explicitly designed to tell melodramatic and queer stories; tales fraught with relationship triangles, mystery, intrigue, relationship anarchy, celebration, and revolution. It includes rules to highlight different identities, emotional connections, and setting elements.”
About April
April Kit Walsh (she/her or ze/zir) writes queer games about feelings, vulnerability, and caring for one another. She used to be a swordfighting ballerina, but claims those days are behind her; she has absolutely no idea who that masked heroine with the sword and the tutu might be. You can find April’s games at GaySpaceship.com and on Twitter at @GaySpaceshipGms. When not writing RPGs, April is a civil liberties attorney working to protect the rights of activists, journalists, and everyone else impacted by technologies of control or of empowerment.
Come back tomorrow, when we take a look at April’s next book for Thirsty Sword Lesbians, and if anything we’ve put here tickles your fancy, then it’s time to grab a copy of the core rules now!
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