Science & Sorcery

We successfully ran three online tabletop role-playing Twitch streams (actual-plays) featuring science communicators and members of the actual-play community. Each game highlighted players and game masters from one of the devolved nations, Scotland, England, and Wales. Our streams were open to all, promoted on social media ahead of time, and the recordings continue to be available to watch on our YouTube channel. At present, each recording has received between 30 and 65 views.

The funding provided by Pride in STEM allowed us to pay our performers for their time, including a higher rate for our game masters. The amount of time and effort required to write an original TTRPG actual-play is significant and at present many actual-play groups rely on the goodwill of the game masters. Being able to financially compensate our performers was incredibly important to us, as we were asking them to share their lived experiences as members of the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities. This sort of labour should not be expected to be done for free, and we hope that our Pride in STEM series of actual-plays can set an example for the wider community. 

The first actual-play, Jellyfish Jive, featured a cast of all-Scottish performers playing a game of Orbital Blues by SoulMuppet Publishing. This game explored found families, environmental protection, and the ways in which science can be used for nefarious purposes particularly with regard to the treatment of animals for testing. Veins of Resistance, our second stream, featured an all-English, all-POC cast playing Paint the Town Red by SoulMuppet Publishing. The game focussed on a group of vampires living in Sheffield and explored themes of collective action and attacks made against subsets of the population, and the role science can play in this. Our final actual-play, The Red Dragon’s Blessing, featured an all-Welsh cast playing Thirsty Sword Lesbians by Evil Hat Publishing. This stream explored the relationships between individuals in an academic setting and the tensions which arise in such environments.

We wanted to evaluate both the audience and performer experience of watching or partaking in our streams. We created two surveys, one for viewers and one for performers, which we advertised through our Discord channel. We received six responses to our surveys, two from viewers and four from cast members. The viewer responses were for the shows “Veins of Resistance” and “The Red Dragon’s Blessing”. Responses were overall positive, with appreciation shown for the social justice aspects of the shows. However, it was noted that “The Red Dragon’s Blessing” was lighter on the science, and the viewer would have liked to see more in future broadcasts. There were two cast member responses for “Jellyfish Jive” and one each for the other two shows. Cast members highlighted how rewarding the experience of playing games which uplifted LGBTQ+ voices was, and how the experience makes them more likely to consider similar endeavours in future TTRPG shows. The cast enjoyed the potential to engage with difficult scientific topics, like the misuse of science, and social justice themes in a ‘low stakes’ environment that did not impact real life.