Why Do Monsters Have Stat Blocks, Anyway? Designing Beyond Colonialism

• Fri Apr 5, 7:10 PM - 8:00 PM
• • Panel
• Rae Nedjadi, Connie Chang
• Panel
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• 0 of

Description:

What does it look like when we examine, deconstruct, and rebuild TTRPG mechanics that explore anti-colonial narratives?

Join Connie Chang and Rae Nedjadi as they interrogate core assumptions of colonialist game design regarding race-building, player incentives, mechanics, emergent gameplay, and the function of violence. We’ll discuss the challenges and opportunities of revolutionary game design, drawing on our years of experience building beyond colonialist design ideologies and the often difficult but rewarding work that goes into imagining better, richer worlds. It is our hope that we can contribute to ongoing conversations of anti-colonial design and offer tools for others interested in such an approach to their own tables and games.

This panel is not Colonialism 101. This panel assumes you have a fundamental understanding of colonialism and colonization, why these systems are harmful, and how they manifest in game design. This panel is intended for designers, facilitators, and players who are interested in incorporating noncolonial approaches to game design and worldbuilding in their own TTRPGs and at their own tables.

Panelists

Connie Chang (they/he/she) is a trans actual play Game Master and TTRPG designer weaving black-hearted apocalyptica with stories of queer grief, rage, monstrosity, and euphoria. They are the GM and Creative Director for Transplanar RPG, an ENNIE-nominated, all-transgender, people of color-led dark fantasy, multi-system TTRPG show telling stories set in an original noncolonial, antiorientalist multiverse. He is also the designer behind GODKILLER, a holypunk duet PbtA game for one player, the Godkiller, and one GM, God.

Rae Nedjadi (he/they) is a Filipino queer designer of the Himbo persuasion, and the creative force behind Sword Queen Games. Rae is best known for Apocalypse Keys, BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home, and Cozy Town. Rae is an active contributor to numerous tttrpg projects, and their work inherently centers queer and anti-colonial themes.

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