Rain (They/Them)

My day job is as a tipped worker, and tips are starting to slow down with the winter season, so I wanna remind everyone that I’m a #freelancer! I work in #TTRPGs and #books!

And if you’re a marginalized person low on funding, I’d love to meet you halfway and figure something out. Cheers!

Yep! It’s super heavyhanded but this is a campaign that loves its heavyhanded names lol

Wren Nightingale! He was a backup for a particularly dangerous encounter I didn’t expect my last character to survive through.

It’s a whimsical campaign, hence the name. His concept started with the visual of an emo twink bard plucking at a lute, trapped in a bird cage floating through a void.

HDG is very not for me to begin with, but the way folks get up in arms when I point out the irresponsible approach to real world parallels of colonialism has irreperably soured me on that entire sphere.

It’s a little wild how people can’t enjoy something but also criticize it and recognize its flaws or problem points.

Game has a handful of downloads already, but it just sold its first copy. Earlier this year I got to experience playing a role in the development of something people will pay for, but the fact that anyone would CHOOSE to pay for a thing I made myself is still wild to me. Thank you!

Heretics All (Prototype) by Rain (linkstrikedev) A minimalist TTRPG based on Caltrop Core. Play as unholy rebels fighting against oppressive institutions.

I just published my first game - a prototype of a game I've been working on for a long time. I'm so excited to continue working on this; this is NOT a closed book, so it'd make me really happy if y'all checked it out. It's free too!

#ttrpg #ttrpgdev

linkstrikedev.itch.io/heretics-all...

look I'm one person trying to keep myself fed and housed & help people where and how I can, maybe don't expect me to single-handedly do a revolution

"can you believe this useless trans woman has a *job* making board games?!"

I’ve been reading The Afro-Indigenous History of The United States recently, and a key point of that book is that different forms of resistance can and should exist alongside each other. Further, it’s so silly to glorify violence in particular as the only path forward.

People in our space need to start listening to Asian people when they tell you why media and games like Obojima are orientalist. And I don’t just mean white people.

Because a lot of my fellow POC are just as guilty about gleefully supporting culturally appropriative media as white people.

Win!!!

Do you want to hear white opinions constantly? Cishet opinions? Neurotypical? Want to never hear a diverse thought in your life? Do you want to never see art which reflects the life of a marginalized human being?

Then AI is the tool for you. For me, that sounds like hell. Fuck off with that. 7/7

When ChatGPT tells you about Native American tribes, it sounds objective. It positions itself as an authority, and you might think a machine should be free from human bias.

The reality is that it's regurgitating white opinions to you constantly. That's what's represented most in its dataset. 6/7

People who visit curanderos rather than typical doctors are therefore excluded from being represented statistically, and this exclusion causes real harm. This is just one example of how AI is fundamentally unequipped to address the lived experiences of marginalized people. 5/7

Take curanderos, Mexican folk healers. This work stems from ancient tradition, but they still exist today. Why?

One reason is that Mexican communities tend to be poorer than white communities. This means less access to modern healthcare.

No curandero is including their patients in AI datasets. 4/7

A huge limit of statistics is its ability to represent a diverse array of human experiences. This is because of marginalization - the process through which minorities are excluded to the margins of society. These margins don't have room for AI bullshit due to a lack of resources. 3/7

AI is statistics, nothing less and nothing more. Well it's statistics that destroys our land, most of which was already stolen to begin with, but IN TERMS OF WHAT IT'S MEANT TO OFFER, it's just statistics. Statistics can be very useful, sure, but there's a limit to what statistics can do. 2/7

Someone who uses AI just followed me, so here's my #noAI rant, and it's an angle I don't see anyone else discuss. Thesis: AI is fundamentally opposed to #diversity. 1/7

Apparently I should plug the fact that I'm a #freelancer lol. I do sensitivity consultation, editing, and #TTRPGdev work!
- A variety of lived marginalized experience
- 10+ years of #creativewriting, incl. college experience
- 5 years of #gamedesign, incl. college experience

DMs open for inquiries!

Focus on dismantling arguments over personal attacks on character, and if you really mean to be a positive force, don’t stay on the offensive. Make some time for defense. Champion diversity, support the marginalized around you, the impoverished around you, lend time to your community. 4/4

A lot of rural America is defined by isolation and poverty. You can argue their elected representatives certainly don’t help, but you can see similar poverty in blue regions too. Attacks on signifiers of poverty is demeaning to more than your intended targets. 3/4

Living in worn-down homes or homes dealing with infestation is not a sign of poor moral character, it means a lack of resources and ability. Crooked teeth isn’t a sign of stupidity, it’s a lack of dentists. Illiteracy isn’t a sign of intolerance, it’s quickly vanishing education structure. 2/4

When pushing against the right, be careful of rhetoric that leans into attacking poverty. A lot of ‘dumb southerner’ tropes in particular have little to do with social justice and more to do with mocking a lack of resources like healthcare, education, and decent housing. Be wary, please. 1/4

Going live in an hour! Hope to see you there!
#TTRPG #nonprofit #diversity

I'M SO EXCITED

If you want to send an invite or wait till it's finished, I don't mind either way - feel free to send me an invite whenever!

I have a kickass idea for this. Do you have a community space like a discord server that's good for talking about the game jam?

Support Rain Novella Support Rain Novella

If you've been wondering where I've been: dealing with workplace harassment towards me, the ensuing fallout, and trying to land on my feet. It's a lot. If you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it. There's more details on my Ko-fi page. It's all bullshit. Thanks.

ko-fi.com/rainnovella/...

Please help out a great person if you can 🙏

'Link-strike' is the name of a mechanic in Final Fantasy XV where you can trigger combo attacks with your teammates.

I make games that inspire a dynamic sense of camraderie, and I'm also very influenced by RPG buildcraft/progression mechanics rather than full narrative-style games.