Thirst, swords, and lesbians

April Walsh’s day job is as a civil liberties attorney for a nonprofit organization, but she also has a passion for game design and queer stories. Thus, along with a diverse team of authors, Thirsty Sword Lesbians was designed, the table top roleplaying game that centralizes queer storytelling and uplifts marginalized people’s experiences.

Throughout the episode, April covers a variety of topics relating to Thirsty Sword Lesbians:

• The Kickstarter description talks about TSL characters fundamentally craving affection, which is almost unheard of in role playing games. April expands on how that decision was reached and how it plays out in the actual game.

• Fundamental roadblocks in portraying queer or nontraditional relationships in games.

• The combat aspect of the game, which employs tactics like wit and flirtation to provide more robust options as opposed to sole physical conflict.

• Playing characters in the game who aren’t lesbians, as well as reactions that some have given to having the word “lesbians” in the title of the game.

• TSL’s team of writers and consultants.

• Next steps for TSL and reception and backlash to the Kickstarter.

Find out everything else there is to know about Thirsty Sword Lesbians at swordlesbians.com, and follow April on Twitter to learn more about her and her work.