Asians Represent!

Tadhana Joy, a Filipino American TTRPG writer, fiction author, poet, and Actual Play performer, joins Asians Represent to talk about Barkadan: City of Noise and Plenty, a survival horror and high fantasy tabletop RPG inspired by the culture of the Philippines and the Filipino-American experience. Instead of creating a direct fantasy interpretation of Filipino folklore and mythology, Tadhana built Barkadan from her own family's real history. Their family's stories and experiences became the city's gods, demons, and antagonists. We dig into why she made that choice, how co-creator Jesse's Legacy and Saga system uses a mechanic called "swing" to build shared narratives, and how reputation and community mechanics tie every player's story together. Connect with Tadhana at: TadhanaJoy.com Learn more about Barkadan: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jessetwilliam/barkadan-a-filipino-inspired-ttrpg-setting *//SUPPORT* Help us produce new and exclusive content! Join us on Patreon for exclusive audio and series! https://www.patreon.com/aznsrepresent *//SPONSOR* Adventure Dice is your Canadian source for RPG dice, role-playing game accessories, and other tabletop gaming goodies. Head to adventuredice.ca and use code AZNSREPRESENT for 10% off your entire order! Check out WANDERING BLADES, a wuxia tabletop RPG of hyper-violent melodrama, at wanderingblades.com *//FOLLOW* Website: *aznsrepresent.carrd.co* Blue Sky: *@aznsrepresent* Discord server: *https://discord.gg/8dVxuT85* Podcast Back Catalog: https://pod.link/1429004408 *//CONTACT* If you have questions about this episode’s themes, suggestions, or anything else related to Asians Represent, get in touch with us at aznsrepresent.com

Daniel and Drew are fresh off Quon Con - an impromptu week-longer gathering of gamer friends in Toronto that stood in for the usual Asians Represent gathering around Breakout Con! This episode is one giant battle report covering the entire week, which included a group hobby day painting Warhammer/building gunpla/knitting, a visit to the Aga Khan Museum's Game On! exhibition, and the main event...a massive 8,000 point 2v2 game of Warhammer 40K that Daniel spent a full year painting his army to field! 📢 Two episodes will be dropping this week: this one, and an interview later in the week with the designer of Barkadan, a survival horror TTRPG setting currently on Kickstarter. No Dice, No Problem is the hobby spin-off of the Asians Represent podcast (hosted on the same feed!) where Daniel and Drew hold themselves accountable to their tabletop gaming hobbies while catching up on nerdy news and community mail! //SPONSOR  Fans of Asians Represent and No Dice, No Problem can head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠adventuredice.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off the entire store with code AZNSREPRESENT! //FOLLOW  Website | aznsrepresent.com  Bluesky | @aznsrepresent  YouTube | ⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aznsrepresent⁠⁠⁠ Follow Daniel @danielhkwan and Drew @DrewQuon on Bluesky //CONTACT  If you have questions about this episode’s themes, suggestions, or anything else related to Asians Represent, get in touch with us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aznsrepresent.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ //MUSIC Honey Bee by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠

Daniel and Drew are back and there's a lot to catch up on! Daniel opens up about losing his grandfather this month. From there, the boys look ahead to July and the upcoming Asians Represent episode on BattleTech's Capellan Confederation and why it's a fascinating (and challenging) subject. In Battle Report, Daniel recaps a packed month of hobbying - Anime North, lunch with Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood, and a lot of model kits and TCG events! Drew, meanwhile, has been diving into Riftbound and navigating the new 11th Edition of Warhammer 40K. He also shared a story about a particularly...fragrant night at Miniature Market. For mail time, the guys tackled a deceptively deep question - how do you keep a gaming group going? Daniel breaks down five skills: consistency, candor, initiative, mutual effort, and making people feel seen. Drew shared some hard lessons from friendships that faded, and why short-term conflict is always better than long-term rot. A personal update on Daniel's family and the month off BattleTech episode preview: Capellan Confederation and yellow peril Book giveaway: a signed copy of Race and Monstrosity in Dungeons & Dragons by Chris LeCluyse Battle Report: Anime North, Ed Greenwood, Gundam Card Game locals, Warhammer 40K 11th Edition Riftbound impressions and the unofficial online client GW's quiet crackdown on Tabletop Simulator mods How to keep a gaming group alive: five skills every player needs Drew's DBT-informed take on conflict, communication, and friendship Patron Q&A *We are working on conducting a follow up interview with Dr. LeCluyse on race and monstrosity in D&D, so drop any questions you have about the topic in the #show-discussions channel in our Discord server! //SPONSOR  Fans of Asians Represent and No Dice, No Problem can head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠adventuredice.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off the entire store with code AZNSREPRESENT! //FOLLOW  Website | aznsrepresent.com  Bluesky | @aznsrepresent  YouTube | ⁠⁠youtube.com/@aznsrepresent⁠⁠ Follow Daniel @danielhkwan and Drew @DrewQuon on Bluesky //CONTACT  If you have questions about this episode’s themes, suggestions, or anything else related to Asians Represent, get in touch with us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aznsrepresent.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ //MUSIC Honey Bee by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠

Daniel and Drew are reunited after a month apart! On this episode of NDNP, Drew talked about his first year of grad school while Daniel returns from a nearly four-week trip through Malta, Lisbon, and London! The guys also celebrated their 6-year gamerversary as friends! For Battle Report, Drew recapped his co-op progress through the Halo series (in narrative order) while Daniel shared his experience playing the solo TTRPG "Spine" by the sea in Malta and his latest Pokémon TCG pre-release efforts! Recap of Asians Represent Episode 111 — an interview with Dr. Chris LeCluyse on race and monstrosity in D&D Daniel's bucket list visit to Warhammer World A report on Malta's tabletop gaming scene and Daniel's favourite (and not so favourite) hobby shops in London Drew's upcoming visit to Toronto (surprise!) *We are working on conducting a follow up interview with Dr. LeCluyse on race and monstrosity in D&D, so drop any questions you have about the topic in the #show-discussions channel in our Discord server! //SPONSOR  Fans of Asians Represent and No Dice, No Problem can head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠adventuredice.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off the entire store with code AZNSREPRESENT! //FOLLOW  Website | aznsrepresent.com  Bluesky | @aznsrepresent  YouTube | ⁠youtube.com/@aznsrepresent⁠ Follow Daniel @danielhkwan and Drew @DrewQuon on Bluesky //CONTACT  If you have questions about this episode’s themes, suggestions, or anything else related to Asians Represent, get in touch with us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aznsrepresent.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ //MUSIC Honey Bee by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Where do orcs really come from? In this episode of the Asians Represent! podcast, Daniel and Drew sit down with Dr. Christopher LeCluyse, a professor of literature, media, and writing at Westminster University to discuss his new book, Race & Monstrosity in Dungeons & Dragons. Chris' work traces how depictions of “monstrous races” in the game are rooted in more than 2,000 years of history and how these influences continue to shape how race functions in the game. From ancient Greek descriptions of headless monsters to J.R.R. Tolkien's hierarchy of fantasy beings, this episode maps a clear picture of how real-world racial stereotypes became embedded in the DNA of fantasy gaming. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions of racism, colonialism, violence, and the portrayal of monstrous races in fantasy media. In this episode, we cover: How Tolkien and Gygax "inherited", rather than invented, racial frameworks The parallel between the drow "evil black matriarchy" trope and the concurrent rise of the "welfare queen" stereotypes in American politics How race and power are manifested in early AD&D rules How 5th edition D&D's revised rules represent real progress, and where that work is still incomplete Alternative design approaches that deconstruct essentialism and gives players narrative agency over their ancestry Check out Race & Monstrosity in Dungeons & Dragons when it comes out next month - https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/race-and-monstrosity-in-dungeons-dragons/. If your local book store doesn't have it, ask them to order it! //SUPPORT Help us produce new and exclusive content! Join us on Patreon for exclusive audio and series! https://www.patreon.com/aznsrepresent //SPONSOR Adventure Dice is your Canadian source for RPG dice, role-playing game accessories, and other tabletop gaming goodies. Head to adventuredice.ca and use code AZNSREPRESENT for 10% off your entire order! Check out WANDERING BLADES, a wuxia tabletop RPG of hyper-violent melodrama, at wanderingblades.com //FOLLOW Website: *aznsrepresent.carrd.co* Blue Sky: *@aznsrepresent* Discord server: *https://discord.gg/8dVxuT85* Podcast Back Catalog: https://pod.link/1429004408 //CONTACT If you have questions about this episode’s themes, suggestions, or anything else related to Asians Represent, get in touch with us at aznsrepresent.com //MUSIC Euphoria by PAVALON