Social Justice
Commentary
Some weeks ago, the makers of the Game of Thrones TV series, Benioff and Weiss, announced their next project. Titled Confederate, it will feature an alternate-history US where the South won the Civil War and slavery is still legal. In response, many social justice advocates … read more »
Roleplaying
Roleplaying games have their roots in wargaming, where each character was little more than a machine for killing goblins and gaining loot. It’s no surprise that many GMs still see their campaigns as a one-way street. The GM says how it’s gonna be, and the players … read more »
Commentary
Most storytellers know not to use blatant stereotypes these days, and yet queerphobia persists. To prevent these toxic messages from creeping into our work, we have to search for queerphobic tropes and remove them from our stories. Read more »
Analysis
Beyond dramatic climaxes and character arcs, many stories have a message to deliver. This message might be a statement on human nature, a cautionary tale about environmental damage, a call for social justice, or anything else you can imagine. Sometimes a message isn’t even intentional, … read more »
Podcast
Hitpoints and wound penalties cover a PC’s physical health, but what about their mental health? That’s what we’re talking about this week, to the cringe worthy “random insanity” of Call of Cthulhu, to the superb therapy rules of Eclipse Phase. We discuss the benefits that … read more »
Worldbuilding
While the fantasy genre is rapidly growing beyond the limitations of medieval Europe, it is still historical almost by definition. Sometimes fantasy stories are literally set in our own world’s history, and sometimes they use history as inspiration. Either way, authors spend a lot of … read more »
Roleplaying
Most GMs understand their responsibility to facilitate a fun story for their players, but there’s another side of the job that isn’t so obvious. In addition to planning a great speech for the main villain, the GM must ensure that their players do not abuse … read more »
Analysis
Here on Mythcreants, we talk a lot about how bad stories could be improved, but good stories often leave room for improvement as well. That’s why Nick sent us this question. Have you considered doing an article along the lines of “X Changes that Would … read more »
Commentary
If you write ableist stories, you are contributing to the systemic oppression of people with disabilities or diseases. Of course, you probably don’t mean to make their lives worse, but good intentions won’t erase the damage your story does. It’s up to all of us to … read more »
Storytelling
Sometimes a trope starts off fine but is overused until it eventually becomes a cliche. That is not what we’re talking about today. Instead, we’ll focus on tropes that are bad to begin with but continue to be used for various reasons. These tropes will … read more »