Visigoths vs. Mall Goths
| A Tabletop Roleplaying Game & Dating Sim | |
|---|---|
| File:Visigoths vs. Mall Goths paperback mockup.png Visigoths vs. Mall Goths paperback book, exterior and interior | |
| Designers | Lucian Kahn |
| Illustrators | Robin Eisenberg, Vee Hendro, Lluis Abadias Garcia, Olivia Fields, Jackson Tegu |
| Publishers | Hit Point Press |
| Publication | 2020, 2023 |
| Genres | tabletop role-playing game, urban fantasy, comedy, romance |
| Players | 4-6 plus GM |
| Age range | teens and up |
| Skills | Role-playing, improvisation |
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] It was nominated for the ENNIE Awards and the Indie Game Developer Network awards.
Gameplay
[edit | edit source]Players make characters in competing teams of two-three Visigoths and two-three 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]
Design influences
[edit | edit source]According to the book, Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was influenced by the videogames EarthBound, Dragon Age: Origins, Monster Prom, and The Sims 3, and the tabletop roleplaying games Montsegur 1244, Witch: The Road to Lindesfarne, Shooting the Moon, Masks: A New Generation, and Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition.[6]
Reception
[edit | edit source]Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was nominated for the ENNIE Awards for "Best Writing" in 2020[7] and the Indie Game Developer Network award for "Best Setting" in 2021.[8] It was in the exhibition "Game Play: Between Fantasy and Realism" at Museum of the Moving Image.[9]
Kieron Gillen endorsed the game.[10][11] Justin Joyce for Polygon recommended it as a game to try from Indie Press Revolution.[12] Banana Chan for Dicebreaker called it one of the best games of 2020.[13] Linda Codega for Gizmodo recommended it as a queer game to play for Pride Month.[14] Trin Garritano, Games Digital Outreach Lead at Kickstarter, named it their favorite project of 2019.[15] 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.[16][17] One Shot Podcast Network's show Character Creation Cast also aired a two-part episode about Visigoths vs. Mall Goths.[18]
Publication history
[edit | edit source]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.[19] It continued to be distributed in softcover and PDF form through Indie Press Revolution, Itch.io, and DriveThruRPG.[12] A PDF version of the game was included in bundles on Itch.io to raise funds for various charitable causes, including abortion funds in the south and midwest of the US[20] and funds for Ukrainians impacted by the Russian invasion.[21]
In March 2023, Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was republished in softcover and PDF form by indie publisher Hit Point Press after their Kickstarter for Kahn's game If I Were a Lich, Man raised $84,590 from 2,049 backers.[22]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).