Andy Lingua
First of all I want to thank EverAfterPrint for sending us a review copy of 35 Queer NPCs. It is a manual for D&D5e that collects various NPCs close to LGBTQ+ themes to easily introduce into your campaigns.
The project was born through a successful Kickstarter campaign, following which it expanded its contents. Now, however, it is available at the price of 15 euros in the digital copy on the official store and on DriveThruRPG; the physical copy can instead be purchased only on the official store at the price of 28 euros.
The Purposes of the Manual
I find it interesting to understand the circumstances of the genesis of a similar manual and I admit that the answers I found in the first pages satisfied and positively impressed me. 35 Queer NPCs wants to provide ready-to-use characters that are very different from those that risk becoming boring fantasy adventure stereotypes. The grumpy dwarf blacksmith is cool but, after meeting a dozen of them, the feeling of déjà-vu easily turns into annoyance.
Starting from these premises, 35 Queer NPCs introduces peculiar and well-characterized characters, all close to LGBTQ+ themes (which we will discuss in detail later in this review). I really appreciated the method used; in fact, the authors present these themes in a clear and gentle way, taking those who are not fully aware of them by the hand. I think this is a really good approach, which makes you want to get to know the contents and use them to create worlds in which the characters you meet have a modern and engaging depth.
The one element I felt was missing was an explanation of the gender identities and sexual orientations presented. Such an inclusive manual would have further benefited from this insight, but I also understand that it is information that can also be found in many other ways.
Review of the Characters Introduced in 35 Queer NPCs
The manual introduces 35 characters ready to be inserted on the fly in any session. It’s hard not to find the right one, considering their originality and variety. They belong to the main species of the fifth edition of the world’s most famous tabletop RPG; they also have very different levels of power, making the book useful for any group of players. In fact, we can find a common jeweller but also a formidable paladin; the search is also facilitated by the presence of two indexes: one by name and one by occupation.
Each character is defined by a name, a label (relating to sexual orientation or gender identity), an iconic phrase, a description, advice on how to play them, ideas on how to insert them into the plot, the stat block and a beautiful dedicated illustration. The presence of extra content for some of them was also much appreciated; for example, a shopkeeper and an innkeeper also have a presentation of their business and the products offered. The information is plentiful, but never repetitive or excessively verbose. The statistics are linked to the contents of the basic manual; they don’t add too many novelties, but they guarantee an adequate balance.
If you use them all, you don’t have to worry that the manual will lose its usefulness. In fact, there is also a series of random tables which, with a roll of 4d10, create an original character on the fly. Obviously using this method you don’t have the same depth, nor the same originality (and you also have to give up the mechanical part); after all, however, it is a compromise to be accepted, since this is not the focus of the manual.
Conclusions of the Review of 35 Queer NPCs
Brave fighters with kind hearts, moved by the awareness of having found themselves, simple citizens who have poured into their work the energies they have no interest in channelling into the sexual sphere, nobles as interested in their own business as in learning about life experiences different from their own. The variety proposed by the contents of this manual pleasantly surprised me and I will certainly take inspiration from it for my next adventures. Without wanting to spoil too much on the individual characters of 35 Queer NPCs, we have come to the last considerations of this review.
However, I still want to highlight the quality of the aesthetics of the about 110 pages of this manual. The layout is classic and on two columns; a parchment-coloured background and a simple font make the book well-readable. The real added value, however, are the illustrations, all of a high-quality level and all extremely thematic; this manual was born with the idea of giving space to diversity and each image further emphasizes and enhances this aspect; this applies both to the images dedicated to each NPC presented, and to the full-page ones containing larger scenes.
In conclusion, I recommend this manual to anyone who wants deep and interesting characters ready to use. Those who are already familiar with queer issues will feel “at home” and understood; others will have an excellent tool to approach these themes in a simple, intelligent and interesting way!
