by Alenka Figa | Dec 24, 2019 | Tabletop Games
We’ve all been there. You’re playing D&D—or Pathfinder, or the TTRPG of your choosing—and you’ve got to come up with an NPC on the fly. Maybe you’re a DM and you’re coming up with them constantly, or you’re a player making up some long lost cousin or friend to go along with a successful knowledge check. Whatever the reason, you’re brainstorming as fast as you can, and a personality and funny quirks are forming fast in your head… when you realize you can’t think of a name! Bob? Tim? Hmysstsesh? What the heck do you name your freaking NPC!
In these most difficult of times, many of us turn to an old friend: the online name generator. While there are many options out in the vastness of the internet, it’s my greatest pleasure to introduce you to the worst (and thus, best) fantasy name generator ever. Friends, GMs and fellow players, meet the utterly generically named Fantasy Name Generator! (more…)
Alenka Figa is a queer librarian obsessed with D&D podcasts that have solid queer rep. She frequently tweets about them @alenkafiga. Catch her reviews of zines and indie comics over at Women Write About Comics.
by Alenka Figa | Jun 4, 2019 | Features, Interviews, Tabletop Games
What do you do when you can’t find representation in your favorite hobby? You make your own. And that’s just what the women and queer people behind the veritable flood of Dungeons & Dragons Actual Play Podcasts did. You don’t have to look very far to find hilarious and talented people saying, “We’re here, we’re queer, and we’d like to roll to fall in love,” carving out space in the stereotypically white and straight male-dominated space of Dungeons & Dragons. From the family-friendly content of D20 Dames to the raunchy hilarity of Dungeons, Dice, & Everything Nice (DD&EN) to the emotional story arcs of The Broadswords, there are D&D podcasts for everyone, and the underlying message of them is the same: Dungeons & Dragons—and tabletop gaming—is for everybody.
To introduce you to the beautiful world of woman- and nonbinary-helmed, queer D&D podcasts, Alenka and Kate—two D&D podcast-obsessed fangirls—interviewed each other about why we love ‘em. (more…)
Kaitlyn Lyons is a flailing Chicago queer fueled mostly by iced coffee. She won’t shut up about comics or her Pathfinder games and is an unrepentant fangirl of all things Elf-y. She tweets about this and more at @ArrowShootyKate.
by Alenka Figa | Oct 25, 2018 | Reviews, Roundtables, Tabletop Games
At Sidequest, we love games. We love games so much that when we’re not playing games, we’re probably watching or listening to people playing games. But which people? And what games? We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite actual-play tabletop podcasts and tabletop-related let’s plays for your perusal, and please, let us know your favorites in the comments! (more…)
Alenka Figa is a queer librarian obsessed with D&D podcasts that have solid queer rep. She frequently tweets about them @alenkafiga. Catch her reviews of zines and indie comics over at Women Write About Comics.
by Alenka Figa | Oct 30, 2016 | Features
A couple years ago, I was fortunate enough to land a volunteer service position at a social justice focused school. Rather than being taboo topics as they would be at other schools, we talked openly with our students about issues of racism, homophobia, and environmental justice and encouraged them to complete projects about the injustices that affected their lives. Adults and young people alike come alive when they find a way to fight against the oppression in their lives, and nothing is more exciting than enabling them to do so. This kind of empowerment is the impetus behind Rise Up: The Game of People and Power; a board game currently being funded on kickstarter.
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Alenka Figa is a queer librarian obsessed with D&D podcasts that have solid queer rep. She frequently tweets about them @alenkafiga. Catch her reviews of zines and indie comics over at Women Write About Comics.
by Alenka Figa | Jul 15, 2016 | Features
Neopets, put simply, is a virtual pet website. In practice it is a whole universe. It was launched in 1999 and bought out by Viacom in 2005. Players of all ages registered for accounts, adopted their virtual pets, and entered the world of Neopia. The website allowed for layers of play — not only could you clothe, feed, and care for your pet, but you could travel the world, play flash games, read lore, and so much more. Unsurprisingly, many of the WWAC gamers were, and some still are, Neopets lovers.
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Alenka Figa is a queer librarian obsessed with D&D podcasts that have solid queer rep. She frequently tweets about them @alenkafiga. Catch her reviews of zines and indie comics over at Women Write About Comics.
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