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Diversity Dungeons © Postmortem Studios 2016.
Mention is made of Dungeons & Dragons and this is used as the ‘common language’ of Role-Playing Games so as to be understood. This is not intended as an infringment and nothing presented here is seriously considered to be rules proposals or similar. Written by: James ‘Grim’ Desborough Advised by: Jina Bandia, Jia Mingzi. Edited by: James ‘Grim’ Desborough
Contents Introduction Pg 1 Race Pg 3 Gender Pg 14 Sexuality Pg 26 Infirmity Pg 33 Publishing Pg 40
Introduction
Much digital ink (and blood) has been spilt taking about diversity representation in tabletop gaming and in every other field of geek and nerd endeavour. Usually these conversations are extremely combative and they tend to end poorly for everyone involved. I’ve been involved in these debates and discussions myself, to my detriment. The position I hold being that free expression and the vision of the author or creator should trump any and all other concerns – including diversity, representation and so on. To my mind the answer is for people to create according to their own conscience, not to be condemned out of hand or for their motivations to be presumed and for diversity of ideas to be the benchmark. I want a world in which Varg Vikernes and David Hill can both make and sell games and I can ignore both of them. That said, I cannot help but be drawn to controversial topics – that is where the interesting conflicts and stories lie - and there are few topics so controversial as the treatment of ‘minorities’ within media. Here we arrive at a nexus-point between realism, expectation, demands for representation, demands for free expression, historical revisionism, magic, science fiction, truth, ‘is’ and ‘ought’. That makes it interesting, but the battle lines of identarian politics, liberalism, conservatism, the regressive left and cultural libertarianism also make it an area fraught with difficulty and wilful misunderstanding. There are no good – or at least no satisfactory – answers to a lot of these questions. Perhaps there are just multiple approaches each of which will annoy some group or other. What’s true in all circumstances however is that these controversial topics are interesting, fascinating and important in terms of world, character and scenario building whatever your particular stance.
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This booklet intends to examine these issues in and of themselves, outside of the current state of controversy and to ask – rather - how we might better simulate the plight of minority groups, understand them within the context of fictional worlds, make allowances for player-characters who might seek to buck those societal trends or allow characters – through their actions – to affect social change within the game worlds. For sake of ease we shall be using the OGL and Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition as a framework for the discussion and for examples that require the use of statistics.
Postmortem Studios
Postmortem Studios is my personal company and imprint. We publish card games, board games and (primarily) tabletop RPG games as well as a small amount of fiction. Postmortem Studios tends to be drawn to the eccentric, eclectic, horror and controversial type of content (as this product shows) but also produces other material you may enjoy. You can keep up with Postmortem Studios at postmortemstudios.wordpress.com
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Race
Introduction
Few things have been so divisive for humanity as race, yet it is an extremely difficult thing to define. The genetic differences between the various races are tiny, really only manifesting themselves noticeably at the very extreme ends of various forms of athleticism and rare genetic disorders. Despite this race has often been at the core of both internal and external disputes and some of the cruellest and most inhumane treatments of other human beings from slavery to medical experiments and even extermination. So why is this? Fear of the ‘other’ has a long history in humanity. We have long competed for resources, hunting grounds, farming grounds, mates and more. Time was we only identified with our kin, our tribe and our extended family. Later we would come to connect with larger organisational groupings. We would align with our kingdoms, our nations, our cultures and our civilisations. Through each of these we still retained a fear of ‘the other’ as our competitors and a threat to us. Only the scale changed. Where once as little as a different accent marked the other, now different things did. Language, culture, style. Race, however, has been markedly persistent in othering us from each other – even more so than cultural or religious values and differences. Why? Race is something visual and immediate. It is often associated with these other differences and often with cultures or places much further afield and much more different than those we migth regularly encounter.
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The English and the French may have a strong historical antipathy for each other but they look the same and culturally have much they can point to in common. Someone who even just appears African or Middle Eastern on the other hand will not – at first blush – be thought to have the same experiences or culture, even if they were born in Croydon and have lived in London their whole life. In fantasy games race is even more othering and different than in reality. The races in fantasy worlds genuinely are different, almost different species (though in most settings they can interbreed to one extent or another). The different races in fantasy have genuine, noticeable differences in their capabilities rather than the stereotypes and extremes. Some are genuinely, on the whole, stronger than others. Some more socially capable. Even worse for race relations there are, in many fantasy worlds, metaphysical racial characteristics. It is possible for a fantasy race to be genuinely born evil with no hope of redemption and this completely changes the morality of race relations (as does the existence of objective good and evil in any case). In science fiction the prospect of race is even more confusing. While it is often an aspect of speculative fiction that our species sets aside its differences and works together regardless of race in idealised harmony, new divisions emerge. Can we see parallels of the race struggle in humanity versus genetically or cybernetically modified versions of itself? Transhumans? Its ‘children’ in the form of artificial intelligence, robotics or uplifted animals? What of truly alien species? Could we ever understand or ally with them or would we be doomed to play out the same old conflicts all over again? These worries and fears, this xenophobia, seems to be deepseated in humanity and it is only really in the last century and a half that we have even begun to try and overcome it. Even then, such progress is spotty. 4
What can we glean from this and how can we apply it in our world-building and in our games? What ways might there be around it that leave a game setting in a plausible state? Its worth considering, in your games, that not all reactions to racial difference are necessarily negative. If a person of an unusual race is genuinely rare they may be seen as an exotic novelty, insulting and patronising perhaps but not necessarily disadvantageous. Some also fetishise other races sexually or in terms of their supposed or actual struggles or reduced position in society. Envious of the righteousness that can come with that identity. Occasionally you may wish to model this by making a character’s ‘alien’ nature an advantage rather than a disadvantage in particular situations.
Racial Differences
Real Differences Between the Races
Differences between the various ‘races’ of humanity (very broadly mongoloid, negroid and caucasoid) are extremely tiny and extremely controversial to study due to the depredations and poor racial theories of the past. In reality there are no truly distinct races and the differences that do exist are largely superficial. There are, of course, differences in things like skin colour, hair and eye colour variety and so forth but there is variation in all these sub-groupings and these small adaptations are to do with geography, sunlight and the food environment. They have little to do with the mind, with the essence of what it means to be human. We’re all capable of understanding each other - but we don’t. Racism today retains its power due to competition over state resources as well as nationalism and nativism. 5
Whatever the true story, colour and other superficial racial markers still identify someone as an outsider and as competition and so racial prejudice can combine with other – sometimes genuine – concerns about immigration, terrorism and ideological differences to create a potent mix. Modelling Modern Race Relations The problems we have today largely stem from a combination of cultural misunderstandings, ongoing conflicts, differing values, immigration stress and senses of national identity. In a game setting these kinds of problems would manifest as penalties to social interactions. We’re using D&D as the model here, but keep in mind that a -1 penalty translates to 5%, which is easily transferred across many systems. Racial Difference Local ethnic subgroup Different nation/culture, same ethnicity Noticeably different race (skin/eyes/dress) Immigrant Notably different religion/culture Cultures in conflict Local culture is racist
Penalty (Cumulative) -1 -1 -2 -1 -2 -1 -1
The penalty score can also be used to determine the likelihood of racially motivated incidents affecting the character, using it as a straight percentage, but also using it as a positive modifier– in the event of an incident – to determine its severity.
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Roll 2D6+Penalty 2-4 5-7 8-10 11-12 13-14 15+
Incident Severity Dirty looks Stereotyping Exclusion Insults Physical intimidation Physical violence
This same scale can be used to help determine reactions and penalties on other bases discussed in this booklet.
Fantasy Racial Differences
In fantasy games the racial differences are much more stark, at least between the different ‘species’. On the one hand this may bring the variations and subgroups within those races together, by showing them something truly other that minimises their own differences. On the other hand it may legitimise discrimination, since the differences between the species are truly real in such settings and may be applied even where they don’t truly exist. That is, if the differences are real in some cases, they may be thought real where they are not. Another thing to consider is whether your fantasy setting is cosmopolitan or not. In high magic or imperial settings people are far more likely to encounter people of other races and cultures and to be less inclined to hate them (you can use the modern modifiers above). In low magic, territorial, somewhat historically realistic settings people are likely to be far more racist – or to treat someone of a different culture as a novelty. In more primitive fantasy settings of the low-magic variety just the people from the next valley over are likely to be seen as dangerous foreigners.
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In many fantasy settings there are races that are genuinely, metaphysically, inescapably evil and while there may be some exceptions, characters who appear to be – or are – one of those races are going to receive somewhat legitimate prejudice, based on an accurate assessment of their essential nature. Another thing to consider in a fantasy setting is how the different statistical bonuses and penalties will affect the perception of that race – especially when its potential takes them beyond human capacity. A race with a Charisma bonus, for example, may gain a reputation for bewitchment, seduction and for leading men and women astray. A race with high intelligence may seem intimidating, detached and aloof to ‘regular humans’. All of this is worth keeping in mind in world-building and in character portrayal.. In many fantasy settings different races have a script/historywritten antipathy towards one another. This can be as low level as Tolkien’s distrust between dwarves and elves, or as powerful as the hatred between dwarves and goblinoids in many settings such as Warhammer Fantasy. None of this will particularly harm relations between player characters – other than guiding role-play for some of them – but when it comes to NPC relations having some racial tension and prejudice can create good role-play scenes, challenges and even whole scenarios (overcoming that prejudice to forge vital alliances for example). The following penalties supplement and replace the modern day penalties detailed above. Use your best judgement.
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Racial Difference
Penalty (Cumulative)
Different locale (low fantasy) Different kingdom (low fantasy) Different country/ethnicity (low fantasy) Traditional Racial Distrust Traditional Racial Hatred Inhumanoid Race Metaphysically Evil
-1 -2 -3 -1 -3 -2 -3
Science Fiction Racial Differences
Science fiction broadly comes in two forms, dystopian and utopian. Utopian science fiction posits a future in which we have overcome many of our prejudices and stereotypes – particularly those stemming from race – while dystopias either have things being worse, or being no better than now. You can use the modern era modifiers given earlier for a dystopian future, it’s likely only the fractures and lines of prejudice have changed. Utopian futures should offset such prejudice by 1-2 points, moderating its severity or ignoring it altogether. Some science fiction settings skirt between these two concepts. Peter F Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn books posit a future in which colonies are ethnically and culturally ‘streamed’ rather than being multicultural. This leads – in this setting – to an ethnically and culturally diverse Confederation, even though each settled world is very culturally and racially homogeneous. With less competition for resources it’s probably best to use a modern ethnicity model, offset by one point to represent the fact that everyone has their own space and isn’t in competition with outgroups. When it comes to genuine aliens, things are likely even more complicated. A truly alien species is going to be hard for a human to comprehend, and vice versa. 9
Different senses, different body plans, different biological and social needs, different mating habits, different ways to communicate and entirely different meanings and contexts when they do. Even basic communication is going to be difficult, let alone understanding. Racial Difference Transhuman/Cyborg/Psychic Uplifted Species Alien Humanoid Truly Alien Species
Penalty (Cumulative) -1 -2 -1 -3
Racial Stereotyping
Identifiable races often carry a variety of stereotypes with them and these usually have some basis (justifiable or otherwise) – or at least some reason – for existing. No individual will usually meet every stereotype about a given people but at least in some degree cultural, economic and other issues may result in conforming in some extent to this stereotype – at least amongst non-player characters. There’s story power in defying or confounding stereotypes as well as confirming them, either one can be a powerful storytelling tool - and a tool of subterfuge for a character. A white person might be expected to be middle class, polite, relatively well off, less likely to be a criminal (unless they’re a hillbilly or redneck). An elf might be expected to know their way around a bow. A cyborg might be expected to be a warrior and these stereotypes help guide the expectations of others in their interactions with you. In game terms this may result in +1 bonuses to things like disguise or bluff rolls if you are playing up to your stereotype. An elven wizard – bow in hand – trying to intimidate an enemy by threatening to shoot them through the eye may get this bonus, despite not really knowing one arrow from another. 10
On the other hand, playing against your racial stereotype may make you less convincing and undermine your efforts, even if your capabilities are truly your own. These instances would result in a -1 penalty. It may also, however, protect you. If you’re not expected to be a threat you may not be searched for weapons – or the search may be less intense. Consider this also. Playing into or against stereotyping in the other areas discussed in this book should result in the same sorts of bonuses and penalties.
Lessons From History
The degree of mixing, travel and communication we see today is extremely unusual in history, at least at the speed we have it now. That said, the past was often more cosmopolitan than we give it credit for. The Romans, for example, made a policy of recruiting soldiers from many of the areas they conquered and sending them far away from home. The Roman army was truly cosmopolitan and included people from all manner of races, nations and cultures. This was lost after the fall of the Roman empire and was replaced with a more parochial attitude until international trade and – sadly – human trafficking began to pick up again with the renaissance and the age of sail. Many things have been used to justify treating other races as lesser. Technological prowess, religious lore, religious differences, appearance, colour and pseudo-science. It seems that if one group of humans can find a way to dehumanise and other another race of people as lesser, they will. Strangely, treating other groups of people as superior has also been used as a tool to demonise and other them. 11
Various conspiracy theories single out one group or another as being ‘secret masters’, manipulators of reality, of wealth, of power and thereby to target them as a threat. A different, but no less deadly version of racism. From history we can also learn what lessens and makes a difference to our prejudices. Hard-won civil rights battles, yes, but also progress in science, technology and communications. The more we bring down such barriers, the more we communicate, the less impermeable these differences seem and the more we realise we’re all human and connected – though the downside is that racists can organise along international lines and spread their ideas more easily. All these aspects can make good fodder for stories and add depth to your world-building. Waves of immigration, cosmopolitan cities versus parochial countryside, new technologies, slavery – and its abolition – civil rights issues, shifting definitions of personhood, all this can help create a rich tapestry and inform the design of your fantasy worlds giving them greater realism or at least greater internal consistency.
Overcoming Racial Differences
Amongst themselves player characters can – and will – treat each other as they wish, as equals. In the game setting however they may find themselves subject to all manner of prejudices that affect their interactions with townsfolk, villagers, storekeepers and potential employers. If you want a game where you embrace and allow diversity but don’t want to forego realism this can present you with a quandary. There are some solutions to this, which are briefly covered below:
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• Wealth: Money solves most problems. An adventurer’s racial or other ‘eccentricities’ may be overlooked so long as they have coin to spend, or will have coin in the future. Avarice overcomes many prejudices. • Class: A character from a noble or religious caste may have more social leeway even if they are outside the regular mould in other ways. Should they ever lose this position or status however, the backlash is likely to be twice as hard. • Personal Reputation: A character that develops a positive personal reputation can be seen as an exception ‘oh, not you, you’re not like the rest’, which is something of a twoedged sword for a character. • Alliances: If the character’s home race/culture allies with the local denizens they’ll be willing to look on them with greater favour. If you want to build such changes into the setting, in order to eliminate most racial prejudice, you’ll have to do something more drastic. Making your setting more cosmopolitan and with greater communication is one way, introducing religious or philosophical movements that preach against such prejudice is another. In that way you can reserve such prejudice as a hallmark of ‘bad guys’ if you want to flag someone as an antagonist, but you’ll lose a lot of richness and texture from your game world as a whole.
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Gender
Introduction
Few things are as divisive in the media today, or in society as a whole, as the issue of gender. Games are not untouched by this consideration with great drives – in particular – to make games more inclusive on matters of gender. Laudable as this goal is it sometimes comes at a cost. As with racial struggles there’s a certain amount of disrespect of the struggles of the past that can come from whitewashing the diminished position of women in history. On the one hand you don’t want to – necessarily – gloss over the restrictions and societal rules of historical or fantastical (canonical) worlds, on the other hand you want to allow characters and players of either gender the freedom to play as they wish and to rebel against and defy those restrictions. Games can serve many different purposes. We can use them to escape, to indulge, to confront, to represent and to show. Sometimes we will want to escape the roles and biology of our genders, sometimes we will want to indulge roles and ideas that we wonder about, sometimes we’ll want to confront injustice and expectation and sometimes we’ll want to experience what others have experienced in some manner so we can understand it and show it to others. There is no one way to do this and a large appeal of games is found in being able to experience ‘the other’, whether that comes down to personalities, politics or even whole societies. A fair and just world is very often a boring one, such is the human condition.
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Gender Differences
It is a matter of some controversy to what extent the differences between the genders are down to biology (and evolutionary psychology) and how much they are down to social constructs such as tradition and religion. It does seem impossible to deny that there are significant biological differences between the average man and the average woman, though there will always be exceptions. In some particulars these differences are minor, in others they are fairly major and there are all manner of speculations as to why these differences are as they are and why the human ape is as sexually dimorphic as it is. The physiological differences between men and women are quite stark and while it’s not suggested that you actually use the following statistics. The following section is intended to illustrate quite how stark those differences can be in reality, not how you should or would seek to represent them in fantasy. • Strength: Women are between one-half and two-thirds as strong as men, with closer to the same Strength in the lower body (two-thirds) than the upper body (one-half). As such, women’s strength would be rolled as 2D6, rather than 3D6. • Dexterity: Men and women have different strengths in different aspects of manual dexterity on average, but given the statistic is very much a catch-all there’s no significant difference overall. Roll Dexterity as normal.
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• Constitution: Constitution is another catch-all statistic with its backs and forths. Men tend to perform better at endurance sports due to their greater oxygen capacity, but women’s lesser need for oxygen, food and other resources grants them many advantages. Their greater body fat makes them more resistant to cold and they are shown to be more resistant to G-forces, to be better able to cope with pain and to generally be more enduring in a great many other ways. In a catch-all statistic like Constitution this should probably be reflected by a single +1 to Con in advantage of women. • Charisma: It’s generally accepted that women have greater emotional intelligence, something that reflects in Wisdom as well as Charisma. Autism and other emotional difficulties appear to be more common in men – or at least more obvious. This should result in a different bell-curve for men (flatter and shorter) and women (a more usual bell curve) with men also dropping short. For men roll 1d6+1d10 for Charisma. For women roll the standard 3d6. • Intelligence: The highs and lows of male and female intelligence are the same, but men tend to concentrate at the ends (low and high). Roll male intelligence on 1d10+1d8 (minimum 3) and for women 3d6 as normal. • Wisdom: Men are considered to have better threedimensional awareness and perception, but lack the emotional intelligence of women. Women also have better night vision, hearing, sense of smell and colour depth. All around women have an edge over men when it comes to perception and ‘intuition’. As such women should receive a +1 bonus to Wisdom. Personality differences are much more controversial with ‘nuture’ playing a much more active role and making it hard to differentiate whether differences are innate or societal. Some very broad particulars appear to hold true though (on average, not in the case of individuals). 16
Men tend to take more risks, for example, while women tend to be more risk averse. Men tend to be more aggressive and women more passive. Some research suggests women to be more Neurotic, agreeable, warm and open to feelings, while men often report higher assertiveness and openness to new ideas. Weirdly, gender differences in behaviour and personality seem to be highest in egalitarian and wealthy societies with more gender choices and less overt where life is harder and choices are more restricted by necessity. All of this is controversial and none of it speaks to an individual, but it supports ideas that the gender stereotypes that we have, have at least some slight basis in real causes. You, by no means, need to include such in your games – at least where the characters are concerned – but if you’re going for realism some degree of difference may need to be introduced, at least in nonplayer characters.
Gender Stereotyping
Gender stereotypes vary from culture to culture and the length and breadth of those differences cannot be adequately discussed in such a short work. It is strongly suggested therefore that you research gender roles from history and from different societies to get a broader view. While individuals may defy stereotypes many people will meet some or many aspects of a stereotype and cultural standards and stereotypes tend to exist for a reason and also tend to be enforced by that culture. The greatest influence on these stereotypes is doubtless reproduction. 17
In humans (and by extension humanoids in other games) the women carry the children and are the ones essential for reproduction while men are relatively disposable (a single man can impregnate hundreds of women, a single woman can only produce so many children). This simple biological fact doubtless dominates as a reason for many gender stereotypes, men as disposable warriors, women as precious and fragile to be protected – and in extremes traded or considered wealth. These things fade away only with technological, political and social progress acting in tandem and even then can linger in large sectors of society. It’s also worth noting the effect that goes the other way. In societies that are wealthy, safe and egalitarian gender differences in life choices can grow broader with women increasingly choosing – for example – caring professions and men increasingly choosing engineering and other, similar roles.
Lessons From History
History teaches us that, with notable exceptions based on class, wealth and exceptional ability that women have tended to play a subordinate but protected role across cultures throughout time – at least so long as power and control has been contingent upon a strong sword arm and physical violence. There’s an apocryphal saying that a society can only be so liberal as its wealth allows for, but this seems to largely hold true. Industrialisation and the rise of machinery – and later information technology – took industry and wealth creation away from physical labour and this - combined with the necessities of the Great Wars – liberated women to create their own wealth, to work and to demand the consideration that that new-found wealth and power creates. There are, of course, exceptions throughout history. Women who wielded power by inheritance. 18
Women warriors who would defend villages and camps when the men went away or even in rare cases fight at the front. In game worlds it is possible – or even likely – that many of these historical contexts and possibilities would be very different and, obviously, player characters can always be exceptions to any societal rules in any game world. There’s just little point in doing so if it doesn’t mean something and run up against opposition.
Fantasy Genders
Fantasy worlds allow for many alternative possibilities and concepts when it comes to gender from asexual reproduction to true hermaphroditism, from magically induced sex-changes that are absolute and true rather than cosmetic to strange and even horrifying modes of reproduction. The fantasy genre, however, tends to be fairly conservative and in most of the fantasy races presented in most books and games we essentially see the standard human (and animal) binary with minor cosmetic changes and – perhaps – a scattering of asexual races. A problem we encounter here is that even in fantasy worlds, people are more comfortable with – and more likely to play – the familiar. When it comes to the role of genders in fantasy there’s a lot of things to consider. The most important of these is the role of magic in the game world. In a low magic world things are unlikely to be too different to our own history. Magic is not enough of a social influence in low magic settings to replace the role of industry and liberation. War – however – might be. A truly ruinous war in a low-magic setting, requiring every person to bend every effort to survive might well work as an alternative if you want to bring in gender liberation. Plague is another option.
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The Black Death at its height killed something like one third of the British population, leading to enormous social upheaval – primarily on the lines of class, but also in many other ways. In a fantasy world such a plague and such an upheaval could easily change the balance so far as gender goes, just as much as class. In a high magic world magic would, plausibly, play the role of industrialisation and the ‘feminisation’ of the workplace. Magical items, fantastical beasts and magical artefacts make physical labour and muscle power less important. Access to magic is not usually gendered in game worlds – though access to different kinds of magic may be. Access to magic and its power is much more important than gender or any other consideration and even in a high magic world is a relatively scarce resource, important and usable as leverage for social change. High magic worlds will also create larger issues of social change, if one takes the idea to its plausible and logical conclusion then healing magic makes childbirth (or contraception) a much safer prospect, populations would be higher but birth rates lower, families smaller, food and wealth more abundant. Magic can play many of the liberating roles that technology has in our own history and world. Other considerations to take into account may include the longevity and social structures of fantasy species. Those with great longevity, such as elves, may be more open to flexible relationships and sexual experimentation in order to counteract the boredom of such a long life and to preserve themselves and their relationships in the long term. More short lived and warrior-like races, such as your typical goblinoids, may reward powerful male warriors with more mates, strengthening the tribe with good genes for the next generation, rapidly – because even great warriors will tend to die young. Such species may display more of a pack mentality, social structures closer to nonhuman ape species or even wolves. 20
Of course, your worlds – and how you interpret existing fantasy worlds – is up to you. These are just ways to do so with a plausibility that will aid suspension of disbelief, if you find it necessary.
Science Fiction Genders
Science fiction can go much wilder than fantasy generally does, but some of the advice and ideas in this section are applicable to the wilder ends of fantasy. Technology is obviously the largest consideration when it comes to science fiction and from the historical trends we’ve discussed technology is likely to continue to play a liberating role. Technology is likely, for example, to replace or supplement natural childbirth with artificial wombs. It may also offset for natural gender differences or to render them irrelevant. It will almost certainly automate some or all physical labour and combat requirements that reinforce such roles. At the extreme ends of technology a post-scarcity society renders work almost irrelevant with people doing whatever they want, voluntarily, regardless of other considerations. Transhuman technology could render gender irrelevant in robotic or other customised bodies. It could also allow for full, genuine gender swaps and allow genetic material to be mixed between people of the same gender to produce children together regardless of their default, biological role. When it comes to alien species there’s even more leeway and opportunity to experiment. On Earth virtually all animals are split into two genders with some species able to reproduce sexually and asexually as necessary. Some animals are able to switch genders according to environmental cues and even social position. 21
Some animals have a gender that is massively different to the other gender of their species (look up what happens with angler fish for example). Others have gender caste systems. Eusocial animals such as bees and ants tend to have a single massively reproducing female, a transitory male caste for periodic breeding and many gender neutral members fulfilling other, disposable roles. Science fiction has explored some other ideas for multiple genders including the idea of a third gender contributing genetic material or acting as a ‘catalyst’ for the mating of the male and female. There have been alien species in fictional material with only one asexual gender and those where the male carries the babies like a seahorse. Some have transcended reproduction entirely, allowing their species to slowly die out or using other methods such as cloning to perpetuate themselves. Others, most famously Alien’s ‘xenomorph’, are parasites and take on some of the genetic material of their host as a form of adaptation to their environment and breeding. With science fiction the sky is really the limit, depending how far you want to push plausibility or explore the far ends of these ideas within your games and settings.
Overcoming Gender Differences
If you need to overcome gender differences plausibly in your campaigns then the preceding sections have plenty of ideas that work for world-building. If you need to create a singular exception for a character or for a non-player character and want to maintain plausibility then you have some options, somewhat similar to the racial options.
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• Wealth: Creates opportunities that are otherwise unavailable, regardless of gender. • Class: Those who stem from powerful families or castes are often given more leeway in some ways, but more responsibilities in the other. • Expertise: Someone who is truly exceptional at a particular kind of activity or skill will be traded leeway from normal gender roles in exchange for the use of those skills. • Disguise: In history many people have disguised themselves as their opposite gender in order to overcome the societal constrictions otherwise in place for their gender or to enter the ‘other world’ in segregated societies. • Necessity: Desperate times, such as total war, plague and mass casualties, can require the non-traditional gender to step into the roles of the other. It’s worth pausing here to consider how men are also affected by gender roles. Because of expectations and the historical/ fantasy perspective that is most common most of this section has implicitly addressed the inequality and gender roles of women. Historically however, men had just as much pressure and expectation in their own way and while the ruling caste may have primarily been men, the overwhelming majority of men were not members of the ruling caste. We seem to care less about men, a result – perhaps – of that biological disposability and this, and the gender dimorphism in strength and other qualities, has made men the warriors and dangerous workers for millennia. In medieval settings of low magic men are going to be expected to fight and to become an army (if of fighting age) at a moment’s notice as part of a levy. They may even be expected – as Englishmen were – to practice with the bow or spear every week in practice for conflict.
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Men were considered the heads of their households which was a position of authority, but also responsibility. They were sometimes held responsible for the debts and even crimes of those that they had authority over, bearing responsibility for everyone. Guilt was transferable, as was debt. It’s also worth considering how male roles may exist or be enforced in your game worlds and that male gender roles appear – judging from our modern world – to be more resistant to change and liberation than those of women.
The Gender Campaign
A campaign focussing on the advance of gender equality can be quite appealing and even a focus for a whole game. The battles of the Suffragettes and Suffragists in our history can make an interesting backdrop and foil for historical or Steampunk games. The Great Wars are another period that has become popular for alternative history games and these too were important periods of liberation and ambition. A pulp version of these conflicts may go on longer or be more deadly, its liberating technologies and espionage – not to mention the role of the Communists – can create lots of opportunities for female characters that might not otherwise be available. Some pulp games tend to whitewash over the issues of race and class from the past, as do Cthulhu Mythos based games. This seems – to me – to be a disservice to the people of the past and a missed opportunity to address these issues, fight them within the context of the game and to get a buzz from being heroes doing the right thing. It can even be fun to go against that, playing good people with historically accurate – but challenging – views, trying to understand how and why such people could hold such retrograde viewpoints. 24
Defying gender expectations – in any direction – can make for rich and interesting characters but only if they’re against a backdrop of a game world that has more conventional expectations. Many media characters have drawn strength in so doing from Lord Fanny in The Invisibles to Emma Peel in The Avengers. Being an exception only really has story power if that exceptional nature means something and plays a role in the story and encounters.
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Sexuality Introduction
Sexuality has possibly proven to be an even bigger sticking point in the advancement of equality than gender has been. This isn’t that surprising as the two are somewhat linked, with gender expectations and sexual expectations seeming to move hand in hand. Even though same-sex relationships are common in nonhuman species and even though the rate of homosexuality is fairly stable (so far as we can tell) across cultures, time periods, nations and races it is still regarded – by many – as somehow being unnatural and this is often most strongly expressed via religion. In many ways the treatment – and exceptions – of sexuality follow the same principle and pattern as we’ve seen when it comes to race and gender. Exceptional people are allowed leeway and ‘eccentricity’ in the ways that the ‘common people’ are not.
Sexuality Differences
There may or may not be certain genetic or physical differences associated with homosexuality and other alternative sexualities. These are controversial however and there is no single indicator or ‘gay gene’ that can be pointed to. Certain behaviours, modes of dress and so forth may be somewhat associated with alternative sexualities but it is very hard to disentangle these from social signalling – something of vital importance amongst certain minority groups to find members of the same outlook and attractions.
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Alternative sexualities may run along with the defiance of gender stereotyping with men acting in feminine ways or with stereotypically feminine interests or vice versa. Again though, this is no absolute guide and in part may be down to feeling free to follow one transgression with another or to socially signal your sexual status. In short, there’s no necessary difference between those of different sexualities and they can cover the full physical, social and psychological spectra. There may be tendencies, societal expectations and these may create necessary actions and behaviours, which are much more relevant.
Sexuality Stereotyping
Stereotypes around sexuality tend to cluster around their defiance of expected gender norms. Gay men are expected to be effeminate, gay women are expected to be masculine. Bisexuals are often, unfairly, considered to be ‘slutty’. The sexuality and sexual presentation of transsexuals is completely called into question and often not believed or taken at all seriously. Playing into or against these stereotypes can be extremely powerful. If you’re a capable, physically powerful man who is identifiably gay you may be underestimated as a ‘sissy’ giving you advantages over your enemies. A lesbian who is not identifiable may be able to take advantage of men’s sexuality while being immune to the reverse. Even people’s discomfort around alternative sexualities can be a two-edged sword, useful for intimidation or putting people off their guard while, at the same time these stereotypes can swallow up opportunities and lead to hatred and even violence.
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Lessons From History
The treatment of other sexualities has varied wildly through history with various levels of acceptance but always with at least some undercurrent of hostility. In pagan religions it tended to be more accepted and in certain Native American tribes there was room for transsexualism and homosexuality within mystic traditions. In other pagan societies androgyny and hermaphroditism was also, often, considered magical and powerful. In Greek societies homosexuality, and even pederasty, was relatively accepted – though looked down upon by many other sections of the culture at the time. In defiance of stereotypes though, it was the Spartans who had an institutionalised homosexuality amongst their warriors to help bond them into a fighting force willing to fight and die for each other. An esprit de corps that flies in the face of many modern concerns about allow homosexuals into the armed forces. Homosexuality has often been accepted, or existed beneath the surface, even in societies that we think of as being deeply homophobic or repressed. In Victorian society there were ‘molly houses’ for homosexual and trans men and plenty of rent boys - often frequented by the gentry. Lesbianism wasn’t even acknowledged as a thing that existed, allowing it to be relatively safe or to result in mental healthcare, rather than incarceration. This went on but was simply not commented on – provided you were wealthy or powerful enough to warrant it being ignored. Oscar Wilde’s relationships were an example of how things could be an open secret – until he ran afoul of the wrong person and refused to recant. In some modern Muslim societies, which we consider repressive of homosexuality, there is institutionalised pederasty of young boys which is somehow culturally acceptable in a way homosexuality is not. 28
As with other liberalisations the acceptance of alternative sexualities seems to come with the wealth and comfort of the society around them as a whole and alongside similar advances in race and gender relations. Transsexualism lags behind, but is likely to be the beneficiary of the next set of technological advances in cosmetic surgery and other transitioning techniques as well as social reform.
Fantasy Sexuality
The reproductive pressures on people in many (low) fantasy settings to keep up the population and ensure continuity of family, legacy and nobility. These encourage traditional sexuality and keep alternative sexualities to the shadows and secrecy. In higher fantasy settings these concerns are lessened – though noble lines are still under pressure – and magic can compensate for many of these concerns. In both settings the presence of multiple religions, pagan-modelled religions and tribal customs with more open concepts of sexuality than typical monotheism that we’re familiar with in our era, are likely to lead to a more generally accepting society. Fantasy worlds with humanoid and other intelligent species also raise the question of people being attracted to other humanoid species over their own people. Elves in particular are known for their beauty in most fantasy settings and half elves are quite prevalent. More controversial in discussion around RPGs is the presence of half-orcs, which in many settings are presumed and assumed to be the result of rape on the part of ravaging orcish tribes, rather than consensual reproduction. Given the wide variety of attractions and preferences – and attractions to the ‘exotic’ already present in humanity today - it’s certainly no great stretch to suppose that attraction to humanoids outside one’s own ‘species’, of either gender, would be prevalent.
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Exemptions for alternative sexual expression are likely to be found in many of the same groups that other exceptions are made for. Priestly and shamanic classes will get a pass, the wealthy, the nobility and those with wealth or specially notable skills – such as magicians – are likely to get the same sort of level of acceptance. Regular sexual expression – in its myriad forms – on the other hand is much more likely to be accepted, again, given the plethora of religious and cultural traditions – not to mention races – living in close proximity in most fantasy realms.
Science Fiction Sexuality
As with previous matters discussed in this booklet, the advancement of the acceptance of alternative sexuality is likely to advance with technology and the wealth, comfort and security that goes with it. Running against this is the possibility that greater space (literally) will give room for more regressive cultures to found colonies and places for them to live where their exposure to alternative expressions and values is limited – prohibiting advancement. This is not unlike closed communities such as the Amish today, carving out their own spaces to live in secluded cultural isolation. Advances in arenas like cybernetics, biotech and others are likely to make gender – and indeed sexuality – things that can be tailored, altered and engineered. To take an idea from both Hubbard and Haldeman, some societies may choose to engineer people to same-gender attraction as a form of population control, in other cases people may seek to change gender or attraction in order to be with someone they love but are not otherwise attracted to sexually. 30
In short, bodies, genders and sexualities are likely to be much more flexible leading to all manner of strange combinations and broad fluidity – though many people will likely reject this as unnatural or use it to ‘cure’ natural variations in sexuality. If you want to know how crazy and wild sexuality could get in a science fiction universe, all you need really do is to look at the wilder ends of of the internet and virtual realities. People would be able to indulge every body type, every sexual kink, fantasy and gradiation on the gender and sexuality spectrum and even to inhabit wildly non-human bodies with their consciousness. It would be wild and extremely challenging from our current point of view.
The Sexuality Campaign
A campaign focussing on sexuality and its role can take many forms from the liberation of even normal sexuality, to struggling for acceptance of those who do not fit the normal mould. Historical games set in past eras may run up against repression and shaming, secrets, blackmail, imprisonment and other issues. These can be used as teaching tools – though games probably shouldn’t become too educational in case they become boring. Still, these historical elements – the trial and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde or the Stonewall riots, the initial panic and lack of understanding of the AIDS virus and other incidents can all make for dramatic and interesting backgrounds to game events and powerful contexts and personality shaping events for characters. Many of these same themes may be explored in other settings.
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Even in fantasy or science fiction settings there may still be resistance to alternative sexualities and the same sorts of themes of secrecy, blackmail, shame, special exceptions and unfairness. Advances in the liberation of sexuality have rarely been so dramatic and public as they have for race and gender – despite marches and riots – rather they have tended to be small and incremental changes in attitudes, which build over time. As such, sexuality is perhaps better used as backdrop and a source of personal plots and side-elements in adventures, rather than necessarily being the main focus.
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Infirmity Introduction
Infirmity and disease are, perhaps, the greatest challenges in prejudice to overcome. Physical or mental disability make people uneasy, remind them of their own mortality and suggest the presence of disease – and fear of contagion. These fears may not be rational (though some long term infirmities are contagious), but they are deep-seated and instinctual. Unlike many other forms of prejudice there is an undeniable and meaningful difference in capability and health too. Conversely, certain injuries and scars can be seen as badges of honour and courage. This was certainly true in ancient cultures and to an extent holds true in the modern world – modern soldiers who are amputees are seen as heroes (and symbols of the horrors of war, both). In fantasy and science fiction worlds, where such injuries might more easily be healed, repaired or replaced the relative rarity of untreatable conditions may well increase the stigma or render them confusing curiosities to normal people. In the reverse of the trend we’ve seen in the other topics, advances in society and technology may well make this kind of prejudice worse.
Infirmity Differences
Infirmity leads to genuine and often extremely debilitating differences in capability. Losing a limb, an eye, hearing or the ability to walk will have real and severe consequences upon a character’s capabilities. Here’s some guidelines on how such loss of capability may affect a character, using D&D as the common language of games.
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• Losing a Hand: Reduce Dexterity by half (minimum of 1) and add 2 if it was their non-dominant hand that was lost (though obviously this cannot go above the original score). Reduce Dexterity by half (minimum of 1) without compensating if it was their dominant hand. Combine both effects if both hands are lost. Reduce Strength (or rather the ability to apply Strength) by 1 in both instances. • Losing an Arm: Losing an arm involves the losses of losing a hand and, in addition, a further 2 points of Strength. • Losing a Foot: Losing a foot reduces movement by 10% (rounding up). • Losing a Leg: Losing a leg halves your movement for each leg (replacing the effect of losing a foot) and, in addition, reduces your Strength by -2 via the loss of lower body strength and the ability to apply it. • Losing an Eye: Losing a single eye should result in a -2 penalty to all efforts reliant on sight or depth perception (including ranged attacks). Losing both eyes should result in the usual Blindness penalties. Some Games Masters may want to compensate characters who lose access to a sense by providing them with a +1 bonus to their other senses. • Severe Scarring: Depending on the severity of the scarring, characters may suffer penalties to their Charisma – and resultant penalties to their social skill capabilities – but may also get their penalty to Intimidation offset or even grant a bonus on top. Other permanent injuries might harm the ability to speak, hear, feel, may reduce intelligence or otherwise harm capabilities. The guidelines above should provide a Games Master inspiration but ultimately rarer and more complicated injuries will require improvisation and adaptability.
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Infirmity Stereotyping
People who are hurt in one way are often treated as though they are hurt in other ways. Someone in a wheelchair may find that they are pushed around without their say so and treated as though they can’t make up their own mind. Someone with any infirmity may be treated as though they are also mentally subnormal or hard of hearing, even though they have full access to the same mental capabilities as anyone else. This is especially true for those with speech impediments, deafness and facial deformities. One, offensive, stereotype that may have some factual basis is the notion of ‘retard strength’ in which people with mental disabilities are – apocryphally – supposed to have more physical power than most people. There may be some basis to this. According to people working as orderlies and attendants in mental health facilities there is, but it is not that they are actually stronger, rather that they do not know how to gauge their strength or hold back, and do not care so much if they hurt themselves. This could translate into something like a +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution for those with an Intelligence of 5 or below, but exerting that full Strength may well result in the loss of 1 Hit Point each time or other indicators of strain (such as temporary losses of Strength).
Lessons From History
For much of history those with seriously debilitating injuries were simply out of luck. While an eye-patch, a peg leg or a hook might allow a man to stay active and useful, other injuries that would prevent a man – or woman – from working would reduce them to begging unless they had family or accrued wealth to look after them. This went as much for old age as anything else and while injuries or infirmity might elicit sympathy that didn’t, necessarily, relate to assistance – part of the reason people had such large families. 35
While charities and institutions did their work, for a great deal of our past there wasn’t much a surgeon (or more often a barber) could do but to hack off a crippled limb and hope for the best. Institutions for the mentally disabled or those suffering from mental illness were – for many years – even worse. People were treated as much as ‘zoo attractions’ as patients in need of care, shut away to salve the conscience of their families and to keep them out of trouble more than anything else. It isn’t really until the advent of modern medicine in the later Victorian era and advances in the compassion (if not necessarily the ideas) of psychiatric treatment that we really saw improvement. Even then it is really only in the modern age that prosthetics have truly become effective – and in some cases better than the originals. It’s also only now with true advances in neuroscience that we have hope of effective treatments for mental disorders. We may even soon be able to bioprint new organs, use stem-cells to repair brain damage and to restore sight with cameras and bio-chips. We’re at the crossroads of the capacity to be better than human.
Fantasy Infirmity
Low fantasy worlds are going to run into many or most of the same issues that we have had in the past. What magic there is to fix injuries is going to be rare and ruinously expensive so we’re going to see the pegs, hooks and patches of our own history as the ways and means to ‘treat’ these injuries. In high magic settings magic is going to be much more available and, along with it, access to regeneration, true healing and curing magic with much greater availability. 36
As such, infirmity is only going to stick with the truly poor and those suffering from curses and other supernaturally inflicted injuries that aren’t amenable to magic. As such, it’s likely to attract a great deal of prejudice and superstition – more so than even in our history. An arena not covered much in fantasy settings is dealing with congenital disorders. If a child is born mentally subnormal or crippled, can magic cure or heal that? Source books and the magic talked about in them tend to talk about regenerating lost limbs, healing general injuries (hit point loss) and so forth, rather than dealing with congenital infirmity. Can a regeneration spell or potion grow back a limb that was never there in the first place or can it only restore the status quo? These are decisions you’ll have to make for your own campaign, but my tendency would be to make these kind of innate hardships (genetic disease, birth deformities and so forth) much harder to deal with, requiring specialised spells or artefacts not normally available in normal circumstances – and this can form the bases for quests and plot-lines. Another thing to consider is the existence of tribal and warrior cultures in fantasy worlds. In these cultures – regardless of magic – those who are crippled by injuries or born ‘weak’ may well simply end up culled. These kinds of efforts are also good markers to designate Evil gods within the metaphysics of the game world. Punishing weakness and failure with the ultimate sanction.
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Science Fiction Infirmity
While it is likely that future societies, wealthy and stable enough to explore space, would be more compassionate and would have the technology to fix or replace most, even all, diseases and infirmities the sheer rarity of them would make them a curiosity and an object of extreme pity. Cybernetic, cloned or bio-printed limbs are likely to at least equal if not exceed the ability of your natural limbs which, in true cyberpunk fashion may well lead to these things being desirable, sought after and even fetishised. With even new bodies being possible those cultures, religions, philosophies and so on that reject augmentation and healing will run into the same disgust and pity that those who reject blood transfusions and transplants today get. The extent to which that cultural and religious tolerance is extended by those outside that culture may grow smaller, rather than larger the more pointless and wasteful such deaths and sufferings become.
Overcoming Infirmity Differences
So long as an injury genuinely debilitates someone there will be aspects that cannot be overcome. Dungeons are not wheelchair accessible, and are never likely to be. A peg leg will make it hard for you to charge into combat. Blindness is going to seriously impact your capacity as an archer without some compensatory skill, magic or technology. Depending on the setting some of this can be overcome via magic, prosthetics, bio-tech and cybertechnology. Otherwise the prejudices fade for the same reasons they otherwise might – wealth, class and specialist capabilities. 38
A blind watchmaker may find themselves still able to work perfectly well using their sense of touch and to produce watches as good as any other, and so not be pitied or receive as much – or any – prejudice. Context may also make a difference. Hooks for hands and peg legs may not be too debilitating to those who fight in close quarters – such as a dungeon or on board a ship – and so may be acceptable, or even expected. A hook for a hand may well be a good weapon in contexts where you’re not otherwise allowed to go armed and a wooden leg or hand might be something you’re willing to risk in a trap instead of your own one.
The Infirmity Campaign
Infirmity is not something that is likely to be a focus for a campaign, but rather a backdrop and atmosphere element. There might be crippled soldiers begging on the streets, filthy asylums, rich but bitter crippled elders running their guild empires. In science fiction settings there may be those with rare, incurable conditions seeking alien artefacts or new technology to find some hope for their own survival. Infirmity may be a motivation or a plot element but it is unlikely to form the central plot core for a whole campaign of social change since that will typically be down to factors that are well beyond the control of the players.
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Publishing in this Atmosphere Introduction
Few people in the gaming industry have had such a rough ride when it comes to these issues as I have, and I have learned a lot from it. I haven’t necessarily managed to apply those lessons successfully but you may manage where I have not. I’m cautioning you, however, that games writing – along with many other aspects of geek media – are a fucking minefield currently and that goes double if you’re white, male, straight or ‘cisgender’ and triple if you’re interesting in realism or controversy. Don’t go thinking that because you’re a liberally minded, progressive thinking person that you’re going to be immune. I’m a left wing, liberally minded, genuinely progressive person who just happens to be interested in controversial topics and exploring them through games and humour. Because of that interest, despite my left-liberal credentials over a lifetime, I have been pilloried, boycotted, petitioned, blocked, blacklisted and have had to use occasional pen names to retain employment in some instances. It doesn’t matter what your actual attitudes or intentions are, you will be damned anyway if you annoy or stand up against the wrong people. Navigating this minefield is virtually impossible, but hopefully you can at least make informed decisions and walk into the trap with your eyes open. That’s, sadly, about the best you can hope for if you want to retain integrity and don’t want to engage in nepotism and virtue signalling.
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Diversity & Representation
Increasing diversity and representation is a laudable goal, though in video gaming (the closest research we have to tabletop gaming) representation has been shown to not be much of a concern for the general audience. Rather it is a huge concern only for a small number of very engaged activists. Role-playing games have an advantage over other forms of media in that character creation is extremely open, virtually limitless, and in that customisation – of every part of the game is built into it. Representation is, however, just one factor amongst many. Game worlds may also rely on historical realism, plausibility and familiarity for effectiveness. Where these are larger concerns you may find that diversity and representation suffers for the sake of these issues. If you’re designing a realistic game set amongst historical Vikings then the inclusion of women and racial minorities is going to suffer. If you’re setting a game during a period of social upheaval or repression then erasing the struggles of that time is misrepresenting that era and doing a disservice to those who struggled against the real problem at the time. Similarly if you are drawing on source material from a different media age (such as the pulp era) altering that material to fit the sensibilities of today can mean losing the essential character of the source material and – again – erasing the past. It’s also going to cost you fans of the source material who will likely not appreciate the compromises. In science fiction and high fantasy environments the suspension of disbelief, along with other issues, are less important. 41
Magic compensates for things like technology and especially travel and that allows for greater representation of race and culture – no matter the game setting and environment – while also allowing for it to make plausible sense. With science fiction we’ll have at least the same amount of representation and diversity as we have in multicultural nations today and, very likely, more. High fantasy and science fiction also allow you to experiment with entirely fictional cultures, races and interactions or to speculate about how these things may develop in the future. Will we even have individuated races in the future or on colony ships and worlds or will we have blended into a single human race with mixed characteristics? What reasons will we find to divide ourselves up with then? Ideologies? Philosophies? Height? Weight? If you fail to be diverse and to have representation (and upon what metric do you judge anyway?) then you are going to come in for criticism. Even if you do you’re likely to not be able to please everyone, someone will always feel left out or misrepresented. While you may have your reasons for whatever approach you take, they will likely be discounted and argument is not likely to win over most people. The best way to go is, perhaps, to simply state your case for your decision making – should it come up – and to leave it at that. If you can put out content that is diverse in setting and ideas – the kind of diversity that truly matters – as a whole, then perhaps your body of work in totality will insulate you some, but very likely not that much I am afraid to say.
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Metrics for Diverse Representation
An aspect of this that is hard to gauge is exactly what ‘representation and diversity’ would mean. Obviously you can’t just have a single illustration of a gay-blind-spastic-Pakistanitranswoman-in-a-wheelchair (expert at demolitions and ninjitsu) and call it a day, but nor does parity with population demographics or audience demography seem to placate people if that’s used to measure. If you were to use demography, going on US data (which no matter where you come from, people seem to judge by) your representation would have to be approximately... • 72% white. • 13% black. • 5% asian. • 1% aboriginal. • 0.2% polynesian. • 6% ‘other’. • 3% mixed. • 20% children. • 60% adult. • 20% elderly. • 4% gay (though how you illustrate someone as gay is hard to figure out). • 0.3% transgender (though if you illustrate them as passing, again, how would anyone know?). (These are approximate and obviously overlap) As stated before, accurate representation of population or audience – or even potential audience – is not what is being asked for. Rather than that examples of everything are expected to be incorporated and missing anything out – for whatever reason – will be grounds for criticism. 43
Even if you do include wide representations you’re still likely to get negative attention for doing it ‘wrong’, not doing it ‘respectfully’, not consulting or employing appropriate people or even for ‘cultural appropriation’. Again the only way to really tackle this would appear to be to clearly state your reasons for your choices – honestly – and leave it at that, controlling the understandable desire to argue and be understood, as for at least a fraction of your detractors there’s no desire to listen to you or to understand your process.
Criticism & Social Media
Role-playing games don’t get a great deal of professional criticism any more. Blogs, websites and forums offer some of this perhaps, but it’s nothing really like we see in other, comparable industries. Given the state of video games journalism this may actually be a blessing. However this does greatly increase the importance of social media and that can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand it is great for cheap promotion and building an audience, on the other social media is a roiling pot of scalding opinion and ground zero for periodic outrage storms, silly hashtags, petitions and more. If you’re a small publisher you have to be on social media for all the good reasons, but doing so means putting up with the bad. Sometimes criticism and feedback is going to be good and useful, sometimes it’s going to be trash. Sometimes it’s going to be trolling, abuse or harassment and – worst of all – sometimes you’re going to attract the attention of people who think they’re ‘doing the right thing’ (these people are horrendous).
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Learning to differentiate between these various types is a good skill for a publisher to learn, and a good internet survival skill in general. When you get criticism... • Investigate the source – what else do they post? • Investigate the source – is it a new/low post account? • Investigate the source – do they have a presence elsewhere online? • Investigate the source – do they have a lot of friends and followers? • Investigate the source – is this someone whose opinion you should respect? • If they’re just a troll – block, mute or ignore. • If they’re obviously not open to seeing your side, at all – block, mute or ignore. • If they’re well intentioned and open to discussion – listen. You don’t have to agree.
The Kobayashi Maru
The Kobayashi Maru is the infamous piece of Star Trek lore about the deliberately unwinnable scenario. It’s the one Kirk famously ‘won’ by interfering with the program rather than addressing the scenario as it existed. Addressing issues of diversity and inclusion is a Kobayashi Maru scenario. There is simply no way to ‘win’ in this situation and in regard to these issues. If you’re not inclusive – regardless of the reason – you’re bad. If you are inclusive – you’ve almost certainly done it wrong. If you represent bad things happening in your game world (rape, torture, prejudice), it may well be assumed you condone or support those things. If you do give an inch, a mile will be demanded. 45
You’ll tie yourself in knots trying to cater and pander to the various vocal interests that are out there. There’s definitely money to be made pandering to that sector and, equally, there’s money to make taking a stand against the frequently censorious excesses of those who think they’re ‘doing the right thing’. The danger in both instances is in being pigeon-holed – and that may happen regardless of what you really think or do. There are plenty of cases of people taking up with either faction (willingly or otherwise) and then being turned on by those self-same people for a lack of ‘ideological purity’. The only way to win may be not to play.
The Final Programme
If you can’t win and whatever you end up doing, in any way, will inevitably lead to judgement and categorisation, what can you do? I think all any of us can do, as designers, is to follow our own instincts and our own conscience. The overwhelming majority of games writers and artists are not bad people and most are making games for the love of it more than anything else. Games already have a broad appeal and blatant pandering is infantilising and extremely unlikely to broaden an audience any more than it’s likely to shrink it. Do what’s right by you, for the concerns and goals that you have and you’re much more likely to produce something good – and that should be your primary aim in making any game. I wish I could suggest some magic formula after everything I have been through but unfortunately all the last few years have taught me is that there is no formula. 46
The best you can hope to do is be true to your own ideas and hope nobody develops an irrational hatred for you or a bizarre interpretation of what you do. It may be better for all of us, in the long run, not to keep our heads down and hope we don’t upset anyone. It may be better for all of us to fight censorship and regressive attitudes towards free expression, but it’s a hard road and definitely not for everyone. Follow your own conscience. Good ideas and good games will do well, regardless. FIN
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OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 1. 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Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content. 5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License. 6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute. 7. 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Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License. 14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. 15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document 5.0 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Diversity Dungeons copyright 2016 Postmortem Studios (James Desborough). All mechanics are designated open content.
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