Haves & Have Nots RPG Blog Carnival
This November, I'm thrilled to be hosting the RPG Blog Carnival! Here's how it works: By November 30th, write a post related to this month's theme, then share your work by posting a link in the comments of this blog. At the end of the month, I'll compile a creative showcase, highlighting all submissions with links back to your blogs.
Though I'm relatively new to the RPG blogging scene—and even newer to TTRPGs, having started in 2023—I think that hosting this event is a meaningful way for me to engage with the community and spark some creative work on topics I find valuable. I'm excited to connect with this vibrant constellation of creators and see the amazing content that emerges from this Carnival.
The theme I've chosen is "The Haves and Have Nots: Writing Social Classes in Fantasy Worlds." This prompt invites us to think critically and creatively about how we depict class dynamics and social stratification in our elf games. So, this prompt can include issues of class as well as forms of social oppression such as misogyny, racism, ableism, etc. Too often, portrayals of class and oppression in fantasy settings are one-dimensional, or they rely on grimdark tropes where the suffering of the masses serves only as set dressing for a bleak narrative. I think our games can gain depth and nuance by exploring these themes in a more critical way. Specifically, I'm interested in how we can incorporate themes of oppression in our games in a way that uplifts the oppressed. I'm eager to see how others approach this.
Prompts and Potential Paths of Exploration
- Prompt: How do the class structures in your game shape its politics, culture, and economy? Are these structures rigid or flexible?
- Potential Exploration: Consider how the ruling class maintains power, how wealth circulates in your fantasy world, and whether social mobility is possible. Dive into the day-to-day experiences of different social strata and how their interactions shape the broader society.
- Potential Exploration: Though you might already have a clear idea of how classes and their relations to one another function in your world, consider how you make these features interactive; how do plays interact with class and wealth in your world? How is it presented to them?
- Prompt: In a world where magic exists, is its use limited to certain classes or social groups? How does access to magic affect the social hierarchy?
- Potential Exploration: Consider whether magic is a democratizing force or a tool of the elite. Does the ruling class control magic schools, spells, or arcane knowledge? Are there magical “guilds” or organizations that reinforce the social order? Alternatively, follow the thread of magic being common among classes, or even being common amongst the toiling classes while looked down upon by the ruling classes.
- Prompt: How can you improve on how revolutions might be presented in your world?
- Potential Exploration: Revolutions are fundamentally mass-based processes. How do we make them interactive to players in ttrpgs without reducing them to the deeds of a band of heroes, while also ensuring a good player experience?
- Prompt: How is race and ethnicity presented in your world?
- Potential Exploration: How do you handle the existence of different fantasy ancestries in your world; is race present in your world, does it matter?
