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Evil Sagan posted:There are plenty of opportunities to play TRPGs and support awesome people. I recently mentioned Monsterhearts, but if that's not your bag, there's also other AW-derived games (and AW itself). Inverse World in particular is a great take on fantasy adventure that deviates significantly from the typical D&D fantasy elements that we all have seen plenty of. Alright, we all know about the pricks, the dicks, the people who act creepy around women, the guys who refuse to pay artists and freelancers, and other examples of people behaving badly. But what about the good ones? Evil Sagan's above post inspired me to start a thread about the good guys in the hobby both big and small. In a hobby where it's all too easy to find online examples of superdickery, we should highlight the folks who are trying to inclusive and all around not lovely in their business deals and fiction. I'll begin with a list of good publishers. Feel free to suggest recommendations of your own, and I'll add them to the list!  Posthuman Studios: These folks are leftist anarchists who wrote Eclipse Phase, a unique and original post-apocalyptic transhuman setting. If the anarchist label makes you wary, don't be; they don't follow the pop culture definition, but rather the original version which seeks to oppose oppressive hierarchies in all their forms, and as such make pains to reflect these values in their books and on their forums. Why they're good: They release all their books via Creative Commons, allowing you to legally read and share their work without buying it. They took a stand against MRAs making GBS threads up their forums, and go out of their way to encourage fans to modify and play around with their setting.  Paizo Publishing: Originally 3rd Party D&D publisher who handled Dragon magazine and Dungeon magazine, their RPG is now the spiritual successor to 3rd Edition. Why they're good: In spite of some earlier stumbles (*cough*Sczarni*cough*), and a lack of balance between martials and casters, Paizo makes strides to be fairly representative of people of varying ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities in their setting text and artwork. Notable for being the first major D20 product to have a transgender NPC who wasn't comic relief or for fetish material (Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, Book 1). Inclusiveness is a deliberate design goal in their setting, And one of their designers told off a homophobic fan, saying that their products aren't for him. Also while stripperific armor still exists, it is on a more even ratio to impractical/reasonable armor for women warriors in their artwork.  Green Ronin: True20. Mutants & Masterminds. 3rd Party D&D stuff. Why they're good: Blue Rose was notable in 2005 for not only drawing upon romantic fantasy, but creating a world where homosexuality and bisexuality were tolerated and socially acceptable. And that homophobes were not "misunderstood" but bigoted and intolerant. Got a lot of grief for it, not just from RPGPundit, but from people who felt that the message was too confrontational. Although there are more settings like this today, being "pro-gay" 10 years ago was a world of difference. Steve Kenson talks about the support he received from including a gay superhero in Mutants & Masterminds one year later, and how important such things are to include in games.  Buried Without Ceremony: Creators of Monsterhearts, an Apocalypse World hack. Why they're good: One of the few RPGs out there which manages to handle sexuality in a mature, non-creepy faction, going more for the drama and uncertainty of relationships and struggling with one's inner demons. Of course, players can still gently caress things up, but the text discourages this kind of stuff.  Funhaver Games: Dungeon World sourcebooks, card-based RPGs, Last Stand, other stuff too. Why they're good: Although I feel that he can be too cynical at times, Brandon Schmelz (one of the lead designers, aka Mikan/tablehop) is not only very aware of negative attitudes in the hobby, he goes out of his way to expose them to the light of day. He also chose to keep the Last Stand cover having a black mecha pilot, even when consultants/executives/whatever told him not ("It won't sell! You're trying to push a political agenda!"). Took over the doomed Nightfall setting in order to deliver the product to the people who paid for it, even though he had nothing to do with the scandal. Libertad! fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Jul 5, 2014 |
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Jul 4, 2014 19:57
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Good job! I'm sure Jenna Moran (Chuubo's, whose pdf came out today, and Nobilis) is a fantastic woman but I couldn't tell you why offhand, aside from the fact she writes great books.
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Jul 5, 2014 00:33
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I was also considering adding Onyx Path, Vampire division, although I do not know enough about them to give authoritative answers and links. I know that more than a few of their writers are feminist, and David Hill goes out of his way to include LGBT characters. If anybody has any more information and links, I'll add them to the list. I don't know if Funhaver Games is a one-person operation, but Mikan is very aware and very outspoken about negative elements in the hobby. Added him. Libertad! fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Jul 5, 2014 |
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Jul 5, 2014 01:33
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This is a cool idea, but everything you mention is a social issue, and I remember that a lot of the original discussion was about proper financial reimbursement for designers, artists, and other people involved. Are there any companies which have good employee economic records or really strong worker rights messages?
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Jul 5, 2014 02:41
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Countblanc posted:This is a cool idea, but everything you mention is a social issue, and I remember that a lot of the original discussion was about proper financial reimbursement for designers, artists, and other people involved. Are there any companies which have good employee economic records or really strong worker rights messages? My topic's intended to include both. Unfortunately economic records are not my area of expertise, so I stuck to what I know and will hopefully leave the rest to more experienced posters.
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Jul 5, 2014 03:25
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Libertad! posted:I was also considering adding Onyx Path, Vampire division, although I do not know enough about them to give authoritative answers and links. I know that more than a few of their writers are feminist, and David Hill goes out of his way to include LGBT characters. If anybody has any more information and links, I'll add them to the list. Onyx Path are well intentioned but, uh. They probably don't belong in here.
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Jul 5, 2014 03:51
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Loomer posted:Onyx Path are well intentioned but, uh. They probably don't belong in here. I'm well aware of the Exalted fiasco, and I believe that the team behind it is totally separate than the Vampire folks. Thus my reason for signifying the RPG in question.
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Jul 5, 2014 05:34
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Libertad! posted:I'm well aware of the Exalted fiasco, and I believe that the team behind it is totally separate than the Vampire folks. Thus my reason for signifying the RPG in question. No, trust me. It's not just Exalted that's a problem with what White Wolf turn out. A lot of weird and backwards poo poo gets put in their books even today, and while it's not malicious or even usually something they're aware of, they aren't a 'morally good' developer. They're neutral, like most developers. Maybe a little more inclined to try to be decent, but certainly not there yet.
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Jul 5, 2014 05:48
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