Visigoths vs. Mall Goths

Urban fantasy tabletop role-playing game
978-1-7782211-9-4

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths is an urban fantasy tabletop role-playing game with LGBTQ dating sim elements by Lucian Kahn, with art by Robin Eisenberg.[1] The ancient Visigoths have time traveled to 1990s Los Angeles and are battling mall goths for control of the mall.[2] The game's tone is silly and the setting has many puns. The game was inspired by 1990s movies The Craft, Empire Records, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Clueless.[2][3]

Gameplay

Players make characters in competing teams of 2-3 Visigoths and 2-3 Mall Goths. Conflicts are resolved by opposed rolls with two six-sided dice plus character class bonuses. Players can use embarrassing traits to offer a teammate a bonus. Characters are not physically hurt in combat but receive hurt feelings they can heal through dialogue.[4]

Adventures

Jonaya Kemper wrote the adventure "The Little Mx. Scare-All Pageant.”[5]

Reception

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was featured as a four-part series on One Shot Podcast Network's flagship actual play podcast hosted by James D'Amato, author of Simon & Schuster's "Ultimate RPG" books.[6][7] One Shot Podcast Network's show Character Creation Cast also aired a two-part episode about Visigoths vs. Mall Goths.[8] The game was nominated for the ENNIE Awards for "Best Writing" in 2020[9] and the Indie Game Developer Network award for "Best Setting" in 2021.[10] It was in the exhibition "Game Play: Between Fantasy and Realism" at Museum of the Moving Image.[11] Kieron Gillen endorsed it.[12][13] Justin Joyce for Polygon recommended it as a game to try from Indie Press Revolution.[14] Banana Chan for Dicebreaker called it one of the best games of 2020.[15] Linda Codega for Gizmodo recommended it as a queer game to play for Pride Month.[16] Trin Garritano, Games Digital Outreach Lead at Kickstarter, named it their favorite project of 2019.[17]

Publication History

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was originally self-published in hardcover, softcover, and PDF form through a Kickstarter campaign in October 2019 that met its initial goal in 24 hours and raised a total of $21,393 from 751 backers.[18] It continued to be distributed in softcover and PDF form through Indie Press Revolution, Itch.io, and DriveThruRPG.[14] In 2022, it was part of Itch.io's Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds.[19] In March 2023, Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was republished in softcover and PDF form by indie publisher Hit Point Press as an add-on after their Kickstarter for Kahn's game If I Were a Lich, Man raised $84,590 from 2,049 backers.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Queer Games Bundle strives to earn a living wage for marginalized artists in the tabletop RPG space". Dicebreaker. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  2. ^ a b Gailloreto, Coleman (2021-06-19). "LGBTQ+ Themed Tabletop Roleplaying Games". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  3. ^ "Pre-order If I Were a Lich, Man: 3 Jewish Games by Lucian Kahn on BackerKit". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  4. ^ "Scratching That Itch: Visigoths Vs. Mall Goths – Waltorious Writes About Games". Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  5. ^ Grace, Lindsay (2021). Black Game Studies: An Introduction to the Games, Game Makers and Scholarship of the African Diaspora. Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press. p. 48.
  6. ^ "Visigoths vs Mall Goths Archives". The One Shot Podcast. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  7. ^ The Ultimate RPG Guide Boxed Set. 2021-12-28. ISBN 978-1-5072-1834-1.
  8. ^ Cast, Character Creation (2020-02-03). "Series 24.1 – Visigoths vs Mall Goths with Lucian Kahn [Designer] (Creation)". The One Shot Podcast. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  9. ^ "2020 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards". Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  10. ^ "Indie Game Developer Network announces 2021 award nominees". Dicebreaker. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  11. ^ "Game Play: Visigoths vs. Mall Goths". Museum of the Moving Image. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "Visigoths vs Mall Goths :: Game Books :: IPR". www.indiepressrevolution.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  13. ^ kierongillen. "Another Way To Breathe". Tumblr. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  14. ^ a b Joyce, Justin (2021-06-02). "The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  15. ^ "Games of the Year 2020: Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall co-creator Banana Chan". Dicebreaker. 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  16. ^ "26 Tabletop Roleplaying Games by Queer Game Designers". Gizmodo. 2022-06-16. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  17. ^ "Visigoths vs Mall Goths :: Game Books :: IPR". www.indiepressrevolution.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  18. ^ "Track Visigoths vs Mall Goths (game & weird 90s mall setting)'s Kickstarter campaign on BackerTracker". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  19. ^ Writer, Alex Meehan Senior Staff (2022-07-04). "Wanderhome and Visigoths & Mall Goths featured in bundle for abortion funds". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  20. ^ "Pre-order If I Were a Lich, Man: 3 Jewish Games by Lucian Kahn on BackerKit". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-04-06.