Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Kit Walsh is a table top role playing game (TTRPG) guide aimed at anyone who has been dying to play sapphic, sword wielding heroines.
For those who are fans of Dungeons and Dragons or watch Critical Role but find the lack of good sapphic table top games sad then this one is for you.
Based on the system Power by The Apocalypse this game uses playbooks for character creation and dice rolls to dictate the story. This gives the system versatility in the kinds of stories you can tell and encourages you to do pretty much any genre you want.
But, if you are not already familiar with the system for Power by The Apocalypse then you will get a little lost with just this guide.
How Thirsty Sword Lesbians Works
Essentially the game system works like this. Your Gaymaster or GM (which is THE BEST riff on game master) will put together a rough idea of a world and what the players want to accomplish. A lot of this takes place through conversations between everyone who will be playing the game. There is even a nice step by step guide to this process in Thirsty Sword Lesbians.
During game planning each player chooses a type of character to play from the guides called playbooks. These tell you what skills characters are good or bad at, what relationships they have with the other players and how they interact with the world. For example, they could be famous and have groupies or they could be a loner who watches from the shadows, too afraid to cause trouble.
These playbooks are essentially the guides that dictate the mechanics of your character but you can choose to play them however you want to. Maybe the famous character is full of bluster when she is in front of a crowd but really insecure when she is by herself or the loner has a lot of deep feelings and thoughts that they would love to express but haven’t found anyone who gets them yet.
When you are ready to play your GM narrates a scenario and the players role play their character’s reactions. When the characters try to accomplish something the GM will ask them to roll two six-sided dice to determine the outcome. Each character has certain strengths and weaknesses and those will be added or subtracted from the dice rolls.
If a player rolls below a 6 they fail. If they roll a 7 to 9 then they succeed but there is a price to pay or a complication. If they roll a 10 or more they have an epic success and things look great.
The GM takes the information from the roll and what the character is trying to do and then narrates the outcome and the game continues.
The way you portray the characters and the way they interact with their fellow player characters and the world the DM creates is the game. There are mechanics for hurting people, trying to understand people and even mechanics on how to get closer to people.
Pros
The game guide is very dedicated to creating safe spaces for all sapphic and queer people. Non-binary and trans inclusion is discussed in detail along with template conversations you can have at your game table. I really like that.
I love the kinds of characters you can play and the ideas for game scenarios discussed in the book.
There are some hilarious and adorable nuggets in the guide, as you can see from the excerpt, and it’s a fun read that made me chuckle.
Also, let’s spend a moment loving on the title. I mean how perfectly awesome to be a Thirsty Sword Lesbian?!
Cons
It’s not an overly complicated system for a beginner GM but Thirsty Sword Lesbians doesn’t explain the basics of how to play in a way that makes it easy to get started. The details are spread throughout the book in a manner that I didn’t find easy to use. I had to look up game mechanics from other sources before I felt comfortable enough playing.
The book could used a good editor to create a better flow for users and expanded explanations of mechanics as well as a better quick start guide.
I would have also liked it if the digital content that you get when you buy the book includes the playbooks as separate pdfs instead of one large pdf with all the playbooks in it. It would make it much easier for each character to have one playbook dedicated to them as apposed to having to scroll up and down to find the one that is theirs.
The Conclusion
When I saw Thirsty Sword Lesbians I was totally on board. A role playing game where I get to create mischief as a sapphic character. PLUS game mechanics for FLIRTING!!! Yes Please!!!
I knew it was based on a game system that I was unfamiliar with but felt like a game guide would have all the information I needed to get started from scratch. It tries to do that but just misses the mark for me.
Although it was hard to get started, once I did get the hang of it I enjoyed tremendously. Sadly the difficulty in getting started is going to be a barrier to entry for a lot of players and it will mean that the game isn’t nearly as popular as it could be.
I love the idea behind this TTRPG and I love many of the details and elements that went into making this a super rainbow friendly game.
If you are up for taking the time to really learn the mechanics and put in the work then this is definitely a fun addition to your role playing repertoire.
Excerpt from Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Kit Walsh
Flirts and Zingers
You do not have to be witty or good at flirting in real life to play a character with those skills or to emulate those things through role-play. The keys are collaboration and communication.
If you’re not sure what kind of romantic approach would be welcome with another character, you can simply ask the player, gossip about them in character, or try to Figure Them Out using the game mechanics.
This isn’t a game where the payers are at odds, even if character may be in conflict at times. Generally, you’ll want the other players to know enough about your character to know how to approach them. You might drop hints or tell them outright. This kind of communication can take some of the guesswork out of flirting–which is not to day that guessing wrong can’t be a ton of fun.
The same applies when you’re trying to come up with a verbal barb that will sting the other characterL if you know what they care about, what their sensitivities are, it’ll be easier to get under their skin with your comment.
If you really want your character to have a brilliant, spontaneous retort, and nothing springs to mind, you can always call on the wisdom of the group of players put together.
Finally, not every character in Thirsty Sword Lesbians is good with words. Shy and awkward sword lesbians find love, too.
A Few Flirting Ideas
(only some of these are good ideas in real life)
- Show interest in their sword
- Offer to share food or drink
- Invite them closer
- Meet their eyes, then blush and look away
- Meet their eyes with fiery gaze
- Pretend to be married to each other as part of a cover story
note: this list goes on with some adorable tropes and ideas. I just wanted to give you a taste of what’s in the guide
Get It Online
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Bits and Bobs
AISN number: 1613171978
Publisher: Evil Hat Productions
If you love fantasy and want to read about it too then this is one of my faves
Note: No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
