Why Who You Play With Matters

Introduction

In my last post, we explored how the languages we speak, and the way we seamlessly code-switch between them, shape the worlds we build at the tabletop. We looked at how English builds the fantasy, while Indonesian grounds the mechanics. But language is ultimately just a tool. The true heart of any tabletop roleplaying game is the person wielding it.

Look, there's no correct way to play TTRPGs. However you wish, it's correct. But, if your goal is to create the most compelling narrative, the most interesting story, then you need to have many different voices. Voices to shape up different parts of your story. You can't make up a fascinating story only by a singular person in TTRPG, let alone multiple similar voices. You have to expand your voices.

Historically, the mainstream TTRPG space has been heavily dominated by cisgender, heterosexual white men. When a table consists entirely of people with the exact same societal background, the narrative inevitably turns into an echo chamber. You all draw from the same pop culture tropes, the same historical assumptions, and the same lived experiences. The "Hero's Journey" usually looks the same: a destined protagonist uses violence to defeat the bad guy and restore the status quo. It is incredibly comfortable, but after a few campaigns, it becomes entirely predictable. It reminds me of pink slime in a way. If you keep referencing the same fantasy over and over, the magic is gone. I think habeeb's blog explains this point wonderfully.

Standpoint Theory

There is actually a formal sociological framework that explains why homogeneous tables tell repetitive stories, and it is called Standpoint Theory.

Developed in the late 20th century by scholars like Sandra Harding and Patricia Hill Collins, Standpoint Theory argues that knowledge is socially situated. People at the top of a social hierarchy usually only understand the world from the top down. Because the world is designed for them, they don't have to understand how the lower levels operate.

However, marginalized groups experience what sociologists call epistemic privilege. To survive in a world not built for them, minority individuals must intimately understand both their own culture and the rules of the dominant culture. They essentially see the whole chessboard, while the dominant group only sees their own pieces.

When you bring Standpoint Theory to a D&D or Pathfinder, it becomes a storytelling superpower. Players from minority backgrounds do not just bring "diversity", they bring a structurally wider, more complex understanding of how the world actually works.

What happens when you invite people who navigate the real world differently to your table?The fictional world instantly breaks out of its mold. This broader perspective manifests in gameplay in incredible ways:

• Reimagining Power and Rebellion: Marginalized players often have a deeper understanding of systemic oppression, corrupt bureaucracy, and policing. When faced with an evil fantasy empire, a traditional table might just try to assassinate the king to replace him with a "good" king. A diverse table is much more likely to try and dismantle the monarchy entirely, asking questions about supply chains, propaganda, and class solidarity.
• New Definitions of Heroism: Instead of the standard "lone wolf conquers the world" trope, marginalized players often lean into themes of community care, mutual aid, and found family. The goal shifts from conquering to surviving together. Take a look at Indonesia, we have a culture called "Gotong Royong", where essentially we support our neighbours, and work together in unity especially when solving a problem that needs solidarity (ex: freeing a tree debris in the middle of the street). This is very much prevalent in the villages rather than the city, but this culture is still very much alive in our nation.
• Decolonizing Fantasy: Different cultural lenses bring entirely new flavors of folklore, humor, and problem-solving to the table. It moves the game away from the tired, Eurocentric medieval tropes and introduces fresh, untethered creativity. Look at Indonesia's mythology. It's very multicultural, having so many roots. Each culture itself has so many unique cultural landmarks. So many variety of clothes, dances, rituals, languages, folkstory, and so, so, many more.

Bleed

In TTRPG academia, there is a concept called Bleed, the phenomenon where a player's real-life emotions bleed into their character, and the character's experiences bleed back into the player.

When we center minority voices in our games, the Bleed becomes a radical empathy engine. You get to step briefly into someone else's worldview, experiencing their triumphs and anxieties through the safety of dice and character sheets.

Centering the voices of marginalized players isn't about taking the spotlight away from the majority; it is about plugging in new lightbulbs so we can finally see the whole room. When we listen to the voices of those who experience the world differently than we do, we don't just become better storytellers. We build better worlds, both in the game and out of it.

Gameable Content

Before I put something on, I’d like to actually announce something. A few days ago, we had a discussion in the LFG server about the use of Indonesian in our scene. Our discussion led to me saying that if there were a system made in Indonesian, set in an Indonesian setting, and uses Indonesian as a canonical language, that would be a huge incentive for people to roleplay in Indonesian. Little did I know, I actually have made something like this.

I’m announcing this not just to tell people me and my good friend CAN (who also illustrated my Appendix N cover!!!)’s project, but also if I announce it to the world then I know I can ask random strangers to hold me accountable and actually motivate me to finish the system itself. Teehe.

But without further ado, I hereby announce: Anjaykarta! Ever want to experience what it's like to live in a fictionalized Jakarta where the government is oppressive and your only chance of paying debt is to crawl the entire city full of its people for a glimmer of hope?

Anjaykarta is a hack of electric bastionland, while combining the faction mechanics from blades in the dark. We’ve made around 30 unique jobs so far that are tied to the Jakartan background, while also working to flesh out factions that make Jakarta feel alive.

Below are a few snippets of the odd jobs we’ll be putting in the system. I’ll make a formal announcement to actually divulge the information so far, and ask for feedback in a few more days. In the meantime, enjoy!

Paid Protester / Rent-a-mob:

Background (Debt / Past)

• 10k: Your family is in massive debt. You were forced to pay it off by becoming a paid protester (rent-a-mob).
• 20k: Your friends all became paid protesters and you just got FOMO.
• 30k: You used to be an idealistic activist fighting for the people, but then you realized your skills could make you a lot more money.
• 40k: You are a drama-seeking extrovert. This is your ultimate playground to thrive in exciting, thrilling chaos.
• 50k: You are a member of a cult that is being exploited by certain political parties as a paid mob. They are your only family, so you blindly trust their choices.
• 60k: You are the nephew/niece of a Member of Parliament. Your parents are slightly disappointed in your career choice, but hey, at least you aren't unemployed anymore.

Working Conditions (HP / Starting Gear)

• 1 HP - Protest Banner: Ready to deliver your message on the streets without you having to actually strain your voice screaming. The important thing is that it looks like you participated.
• 2 HP - Megaphone: Amplify your voice! You are the loudest member leading the rally!
• 3 HP - Giant Party Flag: Its massive size draws all the attention when you are riding your motorcycle to the protest site.
• 4 HP - Molotov Cocktail: Maybe it is a bit extreme, but it feels great to vent your anger and get paid for it, right?
• 5 HP - Bot Master: You control a network of bot accounts ready to flood the internet with inflammatory comments!
• 6 HP - Riot Gear: After attending so many riots, you are a seasoned professional. You come fully equipped with a respirator, goggles, and a helmet.

Nanoinfluencer

Background (Debt / Past):

• 10k: Originally, you wanted to become a street busker, but your skin is simply too glowing to be sacrificed to the streets.
• 20k: You were the permanent "PDD" (Documentation & Publication) kid on every campus committee. After graduating and finding no one willing to hire you, you just kept documenting your life.
• 30k: You are a Marketing Communications grad with social media internship experience (all those portfolio pieces for big corporate gigs like Gramedia finally paid off). Content creation is your passion!
• 40k: Your family forced you to make free promotional content for their business. Then you realized you'd be better off just making content for yourself.
• 50k: You have experience working in a digital agency. You used to underestimate KOLs until you decided to try it yourself. Turns out it's not that easy, huh?
• 60k: You’re an extrovert who gets incredibly lonely working from home by yourself, so you started livestreaming to cope. Oops, now it's a full-time habit.

Working Conditions (Starting HP / Gear):

• 1 HP - Ring Light: You still live in a cramped, windowless kosan (boarding room), so you desperately need this portable divine light to survive.
• 2 HP - Tripod: You frequently shoot affiliate marketing videos in your bedroom. But why hasn't anyone bought anything from your links yet?
• 3 HP - Wireless Mic: Your circle of friends is full of influencers with absolute top-tier banter! Your everyday hangout sessions can easily become content as long as you're creative enough to milk it.
• 4 HP - Shampoo Ambassador: You've actually gotten good enough at this to be sponsored by a famous shampoo brand! Show off that blindingly glossy hair.
• 5 HP - Pro Max Phone: From product reviews to travel vlogs, absolutely everything is just so much easier with this phone.
• 6 HP - Drone: Can be used to record sweeping, beautiful scenery. Sadly, the view from your kosan is incredibly depressing. What are you even going to film?

Strava Jockey (Ghost-Runner)

Background (Debt / Past):

• 10k: When your undergrad thesis (skripsi) started getting too hard, you did the only thing you are actually good at. Running. Running from reality, running from your difficulties.
• 20k: You've been running for a long time and love showing off on social media. Being a jockey is just a side hustle; what actually consumes most of your time is curating the content to boost your ego.
• 30k: You have a dog that loves exercising with you. You just didn't want to leave it alone in that tiny kosan of yours.
• 40k: You briefly worked as a personal trainer, trying to put people on a strict four-day-a-week machine-heavy bulking routine. But for some reason, not many people wanted to be your client.
• 50k: You used to be a highly skilled, international-level athlete. Unfortunately, this country doesn't give a damn about the medals you brought home.
• 60k: Initially, you wanted to be a PE teacher, but no school would hire you because of your highly suspicious family background.

Working Conditions (Starting HP / Gear):

• 1 HP - Running Shoes: Even your most basic equipment is a hand-me-down from your older sibling. Every time you come home, you are constantly compared to them because they are doctors.
• 2 HP - Water Bottle: Every time you go out, you always refill your bottle at public dispensers. Not because you care about the environment, but because you literally can't afford to buy a gallon of water for your room.
• 3 HP - Activewear: Your athletic outfits make even the wealthy sosialita moms jealous. You are quite proud every time you head out for a run, and honestly, you are too lazy to change out of it when you're done.
• 4 HP - Headphones: You often feel incredibly lonely because you have to work without any coworkers. At least your music and podcasts can keep you company on the road.
• 5 HP - Smartwatch: Equipped with GPS to track your route and a heart rate monitor. You like to mess around and draw funny-shaped routes on the map just to flex on social media.
• 6 HP - Massage Gun: You have so many clients that running has literally become a 9-to-5 job for you. The second you get home, you have to do extreme self-care just so you can physically run again tomorrow.