rpg
More Like This Please: Swordsfall and Welcome to Tikor
Swordsfall is an Afropunk Sci-Fantasy setting and future tabletop roleplaying game. It's a world where gods and spirits are real, where mortals can kill a god and the aftermath has world changing consequences.
The action takes place on the world of Tikor, which is heavily influenced by and pulled from the rich and diverse pre-colonial history of Africa. For those who would love to learn more about the world, there are pages upon pages of content on WorldAnvil discussing and detailing it, sometimes in the form of knowledge articles and other times through fiction. The world comes alive through the words and artwork. Currently, there are more than 100 posts and the creation of the lore is supported through the Swordsfall Patreon.
If you are interested in learning more and especially if, like me, you might need a bit more of a clear introduction to the world (it's not easy to read websites with a toddler about), you might be interested in the Welcome to Tikor Kickstarter. The project aims to provide a setting and art book about the world, get a bunch of amazing art produced for this project and future use in the role playing game, and be a springboard for exploration into the world.
Since the project is already at almost $28k, backers will likely get at least 3 pdfs: the setting and art book, a book detailing the 34 professions, the pantheon, and a comic about the pirate Nubia. The lore is from Brandon Dixon. In addition, there will be art from T'umo Mere and Sabina Lewis, and pins from Taylor Ruddle. If additional goals are met, we'll also get art from Jonah Lobe and an additional book, this time on the creatures of Tikor.
For me, this project is important not only because representation matters, but also to undo some of the harm done by colonialism. We need to see this art and explore this lore. With so many ways to support this project (the Kickstarter, the Patreon, and by reading and sharing content from World Anvil), perhaps we can bring more light to the world. I love what I have read and seen thus far, and can't wait to see more.
What are your pronouns?
Maybe you have seen them in someone’s social media profile. Or on a ribbon someone had attached to their badge at a recent convention. Displaying one’s pronouns is getting rather common and for good reason, it subtly reinforces that we might not want to always assume that we know a person’s gender just from what we (think we) perceive.
Why are so many folks doing it? Part of it is that if only trans folks make their pronouns clear, it subtly (or not so subtly) signals that they are different, because they are being asked to do something that cis folks don’t generally need to do. It also reinforces a general lack of care about pronouns and may even reinforce a belief that folks will always be able to tell gender by appearances.
And so folks of all genders (or no gender at all) began publishing their pronouns in their bios and wearing them proudly with ribbons.
This general acceptance (although by no means universal) got me thinking recently, however, as I was reading through an adventure. I was struck by how odd it felt to read "female human commoner" in regard to an NPC. Clearly this is not the first time I had come across such a phrase because it is a very common way to denote NPCs. But it made a thought start to scratch at the back of my brain and a few different thoughts started to form.
I can understand why the term female is used there, but it seems sort of clinical and makes my skin crawl. On one hand, pointing out gender is super important, especially for folks used to a society a defaults to men in many cases. On the other, it reminds me of TERFs and discussions of gender versus sex and other things that can have harmful implications, especially for folks who aren’t cis.
And this super reminds me of a time during the development of 5e when they were trying to figure out how to make it clear that the D&D world isn’t just full of white folks, without making it similarly clinical and about skin tones. What they decided to do was to make cultures of the D&D world have different skin tones and suggest through the cultural name what people looked like. This lead to the development of a world bible that demonstrated the differences between groups, including skin tone.
Which leads me to wonder if it wouldn’t help to put in pronouns, either in addition to or instead of gender. So human commoner (she/her). Or halfling rogue (they/them). Granted, pronouns aren’t the same as gender. For instance, some folks who are non-binary may still prefer pronouns that are often coded as gendered. But using a range of pronouns would reinforce the diversity of the world (which I would contend is the main use for using male/female). It would further normalize stating one’s pronouns. And it would also allow for a greater range of genders since we wouldn’t be limited to just female/male.
Also, if this post got you thinking about pronouns and, in particular, pronoun ribbons and you want to know more, I highly suggest visiting http://www.pronounribbons.org/.
Flip Through: Threadbare Stitchpunk RPG
Last Gen Con I also picked up a copy of Threadbare: Stitchpunk RPG. In it, you play "in a broken world populated by broken toys."
Threadbare is Powered by the Apocalypse which means it's underlying system revolves around 2d6 +/- bonus or penalty. The result then fits into 1 of three categories:
- 10 or more
- You not only succeed but you succeed in the way you wanted.
- 7-9
- You succeed but a cost or complication gets added.
- 6 or less
- You do not succeed. Parts are damaged. You gain a hold that can be spent later.
It's not always clear from the description but there is a tilt towards failure in this system. Here's an image with the possible results ranging from a -2 penalty to a +2 bonus.
(If it's too hard to see or my color choices present a problem, you can view the spreadsheet here. I changed the spreadsheet to use different font choices in addition to color to help differentiate the groupings.)
With 2d6, there are 36 possible combinations of roles. Without any penalties or bonuses, you are expected to get 10 or more 6 out of 36 times. With a -2 penalty, you are expected to get a 10 or more just 1 out of 36 times and with a +2 bonus, you would still would likely only get it 15 out of 36 times. For the 6 or less category, those numbers are 15, 26, and 6, respectively.
I don't point this out to make a comment on whether it's good or bad, most of that depends on you, your group, and what type of play they want. But it does mean that how the game feels to an individual can depend on how risk averse they are and also how much control over their own story they want. While most games don't give complete control to a player, since there is failure, in powered by the Apocalypse games, success isn't binary and the mid-tier explicitly provides an opportunity for the game master to provide more input through the cost/complication element. Just know what you like and what you're getting into.
In addition to the game mechanics and game master tips, the book provides not only some adventure starters but also tutorials on how to build your own "broken toy." This part I particularly love, especially since some of the tutorials involves getting out your toolbox.
Overall, it looks like a fun game and I'm looking forward to exploring it more.
Flip through: Baby Bestiary
Today I flip through The Baby Bestiary from Metal Weave Games. I saw this while walking the floor at Gen Con last year and just had to have it.
For those who aren't interested in videos, the book is a system neutral supplement with information about baby fantasy creatures. It provides you with general details on the challenges of raising such creatures and then gets into detail for each race.
The races included are:
- Basilisk Lizardling
- Blink Puppy
- Bulette Billy
- Centaur Foal
- Cerberus Puppy
- Chimera Cub
- Cockatrice Chick
- Couatl Neonate
- Dragon Wyrmling
- Elementlets
- Eyelings, Dodomeki
- Gelatinous Cubelet
- Gnoll Cub
- Griffen Hatchling
- Hippocampus Fry
- Kirin Foal
- Kitsune Pup
- Kobold Kid
- Leviathan, Little
- Manticore Cub
- Mimicling
- Minotaur Calf
- Nightmare Colt
- Owlbear Cub
- Phase Kitten
- Phoenix Hatchling
- Rakshasa Kitten
- Rust Weevil
- Sphinx Kitten
- Titan Tyke
- Treant Sapling
- Wyvern Elver
- Aboleth Spawn
- Baku Calf
- Balrog Emberling
- Beithir Hatchling
- Bugbear Kid
- Djinayni
- Dragon Turtlette
- Elder Godspawn
- Enfield Pup
- Gargoyle Mouldling
- Harpy Child
- Hippogriff Foal
- Hound Archon Pup
- Hydra Snakelet
- Kraken Paralarvae
- Lightning Lizardling
- Lizardfolk Whelp
- Medusa Daughter
- Myconid Sporeling
- Naga Hatchling
- Ogre Magi Apprentice
- Orcling
- Otyugh Scrap
- Pegasus Foal
- Pertyon Hinulus
- Pseudodragon Wyrmling
- Purple Worm Violet
- Remorhaz Chrystid
- Satyr Foal
- Sea Lion Pup
- Shambling Tuffet
- Shrieker Button
- Simurgh Pup
- Tarasque Hatchling
- Tatzelwurm Kit
- Troglodyte Tadpole
- Troll Buddie
- Umberal Erebect Nymph
- Unicorn Foal
- Wolpertinger Kit
- Xornling
Each race has a two page spread, with one consisting of full page artwork with an example of the creature and the other page including information about that particular race. There are two standardized bits of information about each race: rearing difficulty and intelligence.
If you enjoyed this look at the product and would like to obtain it, the PDFs can be purchased from RPGNow (Volume 1 and Volume 2 - Affiliate links). If you are interested in print copies, it appears that they are currently out of print. However, they ran another Kickstarter earlier this year to fund a reprint. You can preorder from Backerkit.
Who makes maps and why it's important
Ebstorf Map
I recently came across this story, "Who Maps the World?" It discusses the importance of who makes the maps in terms of not only if maps are made or not but also what is added to the map. For instance, when we look at maps of the world, there's a bias towards creating and updating maps in areas with more wealth, referenced in the article as "the Starbucks test."
But there's also a bias towards places that are either considered to be genderless or masculine, such as the aforementioned Starbucks as well as sports arenas, strip clubs, and bars, and a dearth of tags and mapping of places that tend to be considered feminine, such as "childcare centers, health clinics, abortion clinics, and specialty clinics that deal with women’s health." For example,
In 2011, the OSM community rejected an appeal to add the “childcare” tag at all. It was finally approved in 2013, and in the time since, it’s been used more than 12,000 times.
Doctors have been tagged more than 80,000 times, while healthcare facilities that specialize in abortion have been tagged only 10; gynecology, near 1,500; midwife, 233, fertility clinics, none. Only one building has been tagged as a domestic violence facility, and 15 as a gender-based violence facility. That’s not because these facilities don’t exist—it’s because the men mapping them don’t know they do, or don’t care enough to notice.
The article also points out other types of data that tend to be part of maps worked on by women compared to other genders. They are more likely to point out safe and unsafe areas, know where certain types of services are available, such as health clinics, and even where children tend to play. In other words, maps worked on by women tend to have a different focus and, in some ways, a richer data set.
Wage Map by Florence Kelley
So why bring this up in a D&D blog? Well, maps are a common feature not only of individual adventures but also large world-building source books. While it's common to think of them as "unbiased," are they? If they do have bias, what bias might they have? Also, as we see a resurgence of "biased" texts, such as having entire supplements from the point of view of a particular character of the world, might it not make sense to have biased maps?
So here are some quick ideas using the article as a starting point:
- Have game world maps and/or directory of services be from a particular cartographer or editor and available as handouts to the players. The points of view of the characters can add richness to the world and suggest that there may be more for the players to uncover.
- When coming up with points of interest, consider what is of interest to various groups? This could be as simple as looking at the types of places discussed in the article as being more likely to be of interest to women. It also could mean thinking about what a giant would look for in terms of accommodations versus say a pixie.
- Using something like tracing paper or transparencies might help building layers.
- If the characters tend to be in the same locale, suggest that the characters could keep a map of important events that have happened to them in that area. This could be similar to the location building that is used in games such as Dresden Files RPG.
Interested in learning about some of the women who have shaped our view of the world? Here's a great starting point of women cartographers.
More Like This: The Hidden Halls of Hazakor
I recently backed the Kickstarter campaign, The Hidden Halls of Hazakor, and had the opportunity to interview the designer behind the adventure. I'm enjoying the previews thus far and wanted to share with all of you. At the moment, the campaign has 5 days to go and is almost 95% funded.
What is The Hidden Halls of Hazakor?
This is a starter adventure for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, covering a lot of the same “beginner Dungeon Master” ground as most starter adventures do. But it’s also written specifically with a focus on young beginner Dungeon Masters (an age-12-and-up kind of thing), with the intent of helping those young DMs not got overwhelmed by the experience of running their first games.
Why did you pick 5e D&D?
I went with D&D partly because it’s my go-to game for both work and play. But also partly because as a ruleset, I think 5e has a pretty solid foundation of being welcoming to new players. I love a lot of other games as much as I love 5e, but as part of the idea of doing an adventure to help get young DMs and young players into the game, one wants those DMs and players to then be able to easily keep going with the game. I find that fifth edition has a pretty optimal sense of being self-contained and approachable, and I think that makes it a good fit for younger players.
Why concentrate on writing an adventure for young DMs?
When I first wrote the adventure that has since morphed into “Hidden Halls of Hazakor,” I did it for the RPG club I was running at my daughters’ middle school a few years back. So at the time, it was a reaction to seeing kids in the club trying their hand at running games for the first time. I saw a lot of the same sorts of problems, and the same sorts of questions coming up — but I also saw pretty much every kid dealing with the same general anxiety about how running a game should feel, and how to keep the other players entertained, and what to do if things went off the rails. I remembered how those were all the same uncertainties I experienced when I ran my first D&D games, so I put the initial version of the adventure together quickly as a response to that. I wanted something that would be easy for a first-time DM to get a handle on, and that could incorporate advice for dealing with the broad range of issues that the young DMs in the club were dealing with.
What are some of the areas you want to concentrate on for new DMs?
In a general sense, I wanted to front-load an adventure with as much of the information and tips that come from the experience of running games as I could. So much of being a good DM comes down to the experience of having run games. It’s very much a learn-by-doing scenario on many levels. And that’s daunting enough when you’re a teenager (as I was when I first started gaming) or even as an adult. But when you’re a kid of a certain age, it can be downright scary to suddenly find yourself in a position when you’re responsible for making sure four other people are having fun for three hours a week. And judging from my own experience, at least, that fear can get downright existential when you’re a kid coming from that feeling-like-an-outsider/not-really-that-confident mindset that draws a lot of us into gaming in the first place.
So “Hazakor” first and foremost tries to provide an adventure framework that’s relatively straightforward — a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl. Then as that adventure unfolds and things happen, the book explains to the young DM “Here’s how to think about what’s happening.” Talking about different ways to improvise comes up a lot, both in the performance sense of playing NPCs and the more esoteric sense of dealing with the players doing things that are unexpected. Because for a lot of DMs (first-time or otherwise), that remains the hardest thing to get a handle on. And that sense of how to deal with things changing in mid-game extends into a lot of the specific advice any DM can get or give, from thinking about how the environment can alter the conditions of combat, to how to deal with players intentionally trying to wreck the fun for other people, to how to deal with characters dying.
Halls of Hazakor Sketches
I love the artwork you've released so far for the game, but I may have noticed a theme with it. Want to talk about your philosophy behind the art?
Thank you, and you’re in good company. There’s been a ton of positive feedback about the project so far, and pretty much everyone who’s commented leads off by talking about how much they love Jackie Musto’s illustrations. The underlying idea for the art was first and foremost to provide the main entry point to making running a game feel accessible for a young DM, and to make the adventure feel as welcoming as possible. There’s a fair bit of humor in the adventure, and I approached Jackie initially on the basis of knowing that her style would really suit that tone. I wanted the characters to look young because I wanted young DMs and players to be able to feel a sense of connection to them. And I wanted them to represent a balanced mix of genders and a broad range of ethnicities and cultures because that’s what I want to see in the fantasy I play and read. And though I certainly expected that Jackie would be on board with that, I couldn’t have predicted how amazingly her art would bring all those different parameters to life.
I’m extremely privileged, both in a general socio-cultural sense and in the more specific sense of being a person who gets to work in tabletop games and in fantasy fiction for a living. And I’m finding that the older I get, the less patience I have with fantasy that refuses to break out of the faux-European-Medieval tropes that have driven the genre for way too long. Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t a lot of amazing non-Eurocentric fantasy out there, because that clearly isn’t the case. But I think that fantasy in general, and gaming in particular, has a real “fallback position” problem, wherein our first instinct as readers, as players, and as creators is to think about fantasy in terms of the fantasy we already know. And there’s an undeniable bit of a white-male feedback loop in the fantasy that many of us already know, and I’d really like to see that broken.
Where can people find out more about The Hidden Halls of Hazakor?
The Kickstarter campaign page has pretty much all the info on the project, its background, and the questions people have been asking about it. And for anybody who wants any more information, I’m on Facebook and Twitter pretty much anytime.
Game Journaling: Towns
One of the things I'm looking forward to with the gaming journal is the ability to plan my campaign anywhere and anytime, something that is particularly important with a little one. A key part of planning for me has to do with locations, particularly towns.
Here's an example spread for town planning. For the town map, I printed Dyson Logo's New Cresthill map onto a shipping label (Avery 8168) and placed it into my gaming journal. I then figured out a few key elements to be filled out at a future date (when I have some time) and an area for an index. I also colored in the map with some colored pencils.
Example Town
Some notes for future iterations:
- I tried both watercolors and alcohol markers on a duplicate of the map but neither worked great. The paper soaks up the wakly to move watercolors around and it seemed to be really thirsty when it came to alcohol markers and it was often causing them to run dry for a moment with any extended coloring.
- If I want the effect of alcohol markers, I think I would print these on marker paper, color them in, and then use an adhesive such as the Tombow Adhesive Tape Runner.
- Adding a lot of maps will cause the journal to get wider in that area. I might try to change up where I put the maps so the top of journal doesn't get wider than the bottom or put two maps on one page and use the facing page for the notes.
- Putting maps in the journal without any information would be a great way to seed future brainstorming sessions.
Some sources for maps:
Game Journaling: Character Sheets for D&D 5e and BubbleGumshoe
In my last post, I talked about the basics of bullet journals and the utility of the concept when it comes to gaming. I even showed examples of how to layout helper charts for running a BubbleGumshoe game. This time, let's explore how we can use any dot grid journal for keeping character sheets.
Just a quick reminder, I use the Rhodia Webnotebook. Each journal manufacturer may have different page measurements as well as placement and spacing on the page.
D&D 5e
One challenge I want to set for myself soon is to make a bunch of characters. I want to make a portfolio of these, so keeping them in a gaming journal makes a ton of sense. If I didn't have a separate journal for gaming, I'd be tempted to keep them in my primary bullet journal because I would have it handy whenever I wanted (no more "where did I put that sheet?" as I look at a pile of at least dozens of sheets).
For the first one, especially since it's meant to be an example, I largely just reworked the character sheet presented in the back of the player's handbook.
D&D Character Sheet Stats
D&D Character Sheet Character Info
D&D Character Sheet Spellcasting
Supplies Used:
- Watercolors (Van Gogh student set)
- Sakura Pigma Micron pens (.005, .01, .02, .05)
- Copic Multiliner in Cool Gray
- White Gelly Pen
- Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen
- Prismacolor Color Pencils
- Scotch Washi Tape
- Tombow Adhesive Tape Runner
One key is that the washi tape on the right hand side can make it super easy to find your character sheet in the future and gives you an additional opportunity to customize for your character.
Of course, this is just the basic character sheet. One of the benefits of the dot journal is that you can customize however you wish. For instance, I might rework this to do the spell casting sheet as the second page if I had a spell caster. I also would come up with trackers for various character classes, such as anything that is limited to a certain number of times between rests or tracking consumables.
After I shared my work in progress, my friend, Chelsea Kerr, rushed to create a version of her own. Here's her version.
D&D Character Sheet by Chelsea
You can find Chelsea online on Twitter @chelseachan.
BubbleGumshoe Character Sheet
After I made the D&D character sheet, I had a cute (to me at least) idea for how to do a BubbleGumshoe character sheet. I thought about some of the items that a high schooler might have in their backpack. (I couldn't find a plain old ballpoint pen in my bag of tricks, but it would have been a great addition).
BubbleGumshoe Character Sheet
BubbleGumshoe Character Sheet Secrets
Supplies Used:
- Highlighters
- Small colored notepaper
- Sakura Pigma Micron pens
- Sharpie Art pens (from the set of 12)
Where to get inspiration
If you're looking for more inspiration on how to draw your character sheet, here are some great resources:
- Dyson Logos has links to download a bunch of interesting character sheets as well as his hand drawn 5e version.
- I found another 5e character sheet drawn in a dot grid journal. They also made class specific versions.
If you create your own, feel free to share them with me via Twitter, Instagram, or via the contact form on this site.
Note:
Character art:
D&D: "Half-Elf Paladin" © 2012 Brian Patterson, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://www.prismaticart.com/collection/half-elf-paladin
BubbleGumshoe: From example character sheet available on Evil Hat's website. https://www.evilhat.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Sleuth-Amanda-Ba...
Game Journaling: BubbleGumshoe
In an earlier post, I talked about the ways in which I was incorporating gaming elements into my bullet journal. In this post, I'd like to start looking at ways to integrating journaling into your gaming. This first post will show an obvious use case, putting some of the charts recommended by the game BubbleGumshoe into a journal (whether it's your normal bullet journal or a separate gaming journal).
The Journal
First, a bit about bullet journals. The system was created by Ryder Carroll. The predominant format for the journals are dot-pages, which are like the grid pages typically used by gamers for drawing maps, but only the intersections are visible, not the lines. I use the Rhodia black webnotebook (Amazon Affiliate Link) but Leuchtturm1917 and Moleskine are two other popular brands. A nice thing I like about the dot grid is that it makes it easy to do layout without being too distracting.
In addition to the choice of journal, a key element of the bullet journal system is numbering all of the pages and creating an index. Here for each topic, you list the pages the topic appears on. This helps you not only quickly find the information in your journal but also is incredibly agile. Did you create an NPC a month ago and realize you don't have enough room to add notes related to the NPC's appearance in last night's session? Create a new page and just add the page number to the index.
BubbleGumshoe
BubbleGumshoe is an RPG that adapts the Gumshoe ruleset to the genre of teenagers solving mysteries. Think Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Veronica Mars, and the like. The book presents a few charts to help the GM run the game and they seemed obvious elements to add to a gaming journal.
Sleuth Ability Matrix
BubbleGumshoe - Sleuth Ability Matrix
Knowing which sleuths have which skills can be important for the GM to keep the game going since sleuths who show up to the scene with a clue and have the correct investigative ability get the clue without rolling or spending. Additionally, an ability matrix can be useful for the group to understand if they have enough abilities covered and that the spotlight can be divided between all sleuths.
For this chart, I used Sakura Pigma Micron pens including a brush pen (for the black colored in areas). The white text was done with a white gel pen and the light coloring for rows was done with Prismacolor color pencils.
Supporting Cast Checklist
BubbleGumshoe - Supporting Cast Checklist
Another example is the supporting cast checklist which is intended to help the Game Master ensure that they are spreading around the spotlight when it comes to NPCs in the game. Here I did this as one page, but it is a bit space constrained given that choice. It would be easy to convert it to a multi-page spread and give more area for notes.
For this chart, I again used the Sakura Pigma Micron pens and Prismacolor color pencils.
These are just two examples of how a journal could be used for the game and there are many other elements to incorporate.
Visit to Capital City
Last week we were in Washington D.C. for our first vacation as a family. One of the things that struck me about the city is just how many groups have offices of various types within the city. Obviously the various lawmakers, government officials, and their staff need to have face time within the city, but I did not realize the diversity and extent of such offices until I visited.
Embassies
Let's start with a rather obvious one. Our hotel was in an area known as Embassy Row. It was interesting seeing all the various embassies, especially comparing their relative sizes. A fair number had sculptures outside, sometimes commemorating famous immigrants or just celebrating their culture.
The presence (or not) of an embassy can suggest a fair bit of how relations are between the powers. What is the size of the embassy? Is the building old or new? Do they house all of their staff (possibly due to safety) or do they allow their staff to live, work, and play among the capital's residents? May diplomats and other foreign staff bring their children?
Labor and Trade Unions
Another common occupant type I saw were unions. Laws often have various effects on labor and trade, both planned and unplanned. Groups often form to protect and advocate for their interests and just as with foreign powers, it helps to have your own space to do so. Not only does the space give your group a place to meet and work, it could also house permanent staff and/or provide temporary housing to visitors who are members of your union. The building itself can also be a form of advertisement for the group. Which unions have permanent space in the city? Did they decorate their facade? If so, how?
Social and Civic Groups
I found it rather interesting that the Daughters of the American Revolution has a large building facing The Ellipse. On each street I visited, it seemed like I found yet another social or civic group. One whose building caught my eye is called "Defenders of Wildlife."
What social and/or civic groups might have representation? What do their buildings look like?
Statues, Memorials, and Monuments
Everywhere we walked we came across another statue, memorial, and/or monument. Many were either former civil government officials or military leaders. Some were relatively small; a stone bench with some nice plants and a small plaque. Other times they were large, such as the Jefferson memorial. What statues, memorials, and/or monuments might exist? Who built them? What people and/or events do they commemorate? How do other groups feel about them? Are there groups that consistently aren't the subject of such commemoration?
Museums
Washington, D.C. is home to an abundance of museums. Part of this is due to the natural accumulation of governments of artifacts (think the Tower of London), but a large part is due to a conscious decision to build important collections and make them available to everyone (Smithsonian museums are free for instance). Museums can hold all sorts of items and which subjects are catered to as well as their proximity to common traffic tells us a fair bit about parts of that culture. Which collections exist? Whose life is enshrined in the exhibits? Which communities are often left out?
There's more that I experienced on my vacation than I can do justice in this blog post. But inspiration for your setting can come from anywhere, including something as simple as your family vacation.
Send feedback using the contact form or through twitter, @sarahdarkmagic.
