"Real life is not a playground. So let's talk about how you can create conflict without recreating real life tropes." @cypheroftyr The panel is on! 
People of color exist in the world. They don't need a reason to be in your setting, and "historical" is not an excuse. "We've always been here." -@ceejaytalking
"and we have boats. I don't know about you but I like to travel and leave my house once in a while." @cypheroftyr
"and we have boats. I don't know about you but I like to travel and leave my house once in a while." @cypheroftyr
"Why can't we just start with 'the refugees are people!' Why did you have to go through a whole story arc to realize they're not all thieves?" @dirtbagboyfren on the ways that stories which try to be progressive reduce people to props.
"If I walk into a store and there's nobody who looks like me, nobody working there and nobody featured in the products that you sell, I leave." @cypheroftyr
"You can have the best of intentions and still make somebody feel isolated." @ceejaytalking
"You can have the best of intentions and still make somebody feel isolated." @ceejaytalking
"There's a tendency to equate dark with evil, especially in fantasy worlds. Dark skin, dark blood... And justifying that through in-world lore doesn't make it better." @dirtbagboyfren You made up your fantasy tradition, and you can change it!
"If it's not your culture, please don't use it as salad dressing in your world." Don't exotize people's hair or put feathers in it so you can gesture at diversity without doing the work. @dirtbagboyfren
"Adventures can have disabilities. 'You can't adventure without a leg!' Watch me. I have a horse." @cypheroftyr
When you're running an official adventure that falls back on the "uncivilized" trope, what do you do?
"Research. Bring your own research in and change that presentation." @cypheroftyr
"And if you feel uncomfortable with it, trust your gut." @dirtbagboyfren
"Research. Bring your own research in and change that presentation." @cypheroftyr
"And if you feel uncomfortable with it, trust your gut." @dirtbagboyfren
Tip for RPG creators from @cypheroftyr: Hire sensitivity readers. Pay them. Ask people from the backgrounds you're trying to represent to check your content for pitfalls and stereotypes BEFORE you publish content that will make your players and GMs uncomfortable. 😬
When a player makes a character from a 'disadvantaged' background, how do you prevent that character from becoming an analog for racism?
Establish the difference, says @cypheroftyr. "You may encounter people who treat you differently, but this is not the same experience."
Establish the difference, says @cypheroftyr. "You may encounter people who treat you differently, but this is not the same experience."
"Throw entire sections out if you're playing a game that makes your players uncomfortable. Keep what sticks with them." @dirtbagboyfren
"Sit down with your group and map out the types of characters you have and the world you're gonna play in. Catch these things before you start." @ceejaytalking
Live that Session 0 life!
But it's never too late to press pause and have a conversation. "Session 1.5 works too."
Live that Session 0 life!
But it's never too late to press pause and have a conversation. "Session 1.5 works too."
Taking about how to market yourself and find work as a writer, sensitivity reader, and more: "Don't say amateur. Don't say aspiring. I will come find you." @cypheroftyr believes in you, creators: don't undermine your experience and expertise!
"Once you publish something, it's out of your hands. People will make of it what they make of it." @dirtbagboyfren Lay good groundwork for your world, and good luck! We're wrapping up this panel and we hope you keep the conversation going. ✌️
