Sunday 13 May 2018

RPG and podcasts and diversity!

Several month ago I played in a short one off RPG game called Unfamiliar Heroes - a homebrew RPG system written by Fay Onyx of podcast and blog Written Alchemy. Fay focuses on creating stories fantasy and games with greater diversity. Zer skill isn't just in putting in different faces when it comes to describing characters but considering how their individual differences may impact and help shape those stories. Our game of Unfamiliar Heroes, with Fay GMing, brought together three players with disabilities, chronic illness or neurodivergance. Additionally we created characters that had their own disabilities or access needs and these played an important role in the story. We were encouraged to consider not just what issues the characters may face but how in this magical fantasy world we might manage those issues without erasing them.

The game has been split into several episodes, the first of which are already up, introducing the characters. You can find the series at Written Alchemy, and my episode introducing Taragon Songsteel the orc bard is here.

Our adventure was dubbed The Owlbear Reintroduction Program

ink sketch of an Owlbear 

I also had a part in a short play for the podcast Monsters Out Of The Closet. MOOTC bills itself as a LGBT+ horror fiction podcast and that sums it up pretty well. Each episode has a loose theme with one or two short performances of horror fiction. There is a consistent thread of LGBT+ representation throughout the series be it in plot or characters.
I appeared in Episode 7 - Haunt in the piece Lossless by Taara Rangan.

It was a new experience for me and something I hope I get the chance to repeat!

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