Lucian Kahn
Kahn's 40th birthday (2022)
Kahn's 40th birthday (2022)
OccupationGame designer, musician
GenreGames: indie role-playing games, tabletop role-playing games; music: queercore folk-punk
Notable worksgames: Visigoths vs. Mall Goths, Dead Friend, If I Were a Lich, Man; music: Schmekel

Lucian Kahn is an American role-playing game writer/designer and musician based in Brooklyn.[1][2] His work focuses on LGBT, Jewish, and subcultural themes, typically utilizing satire and farce. His games include Visigoths vs. Mall Goths and his music includes Schmekel.

Games

Writing and Design

Kahn wrote and designed the tabletop role-playing games Dead Friend: A Game of Necromancy,[3][4] Visigoths vs. Mall Goths,[5][6] and the boxed trilogy If I Were a Lich, Man.[7][8] All three games started out self-published as indie role-playing games, then were reprinted by Hit Point Press in 2023 after the Canadian publisher's kickstarter campaign for If I Were a Lich, Man raised $84,590 in two weeks.[9]

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths lets players play LGBTQ people in 1990s goth subculture[10] with a focus on bisexual people,[11] and uses both classic RPG and dating sim game mechanics.[12] The art is by Los Angeles artist Robin Eisenberg, and the game includes an adventure written by Jonaya Kemper.[13]

If I Were a Lich, Man and Kahn's thoughts about Jewish fantasy tropes were featured in a 2023 Jewish Telegraphic Agency article.[14] The trilogy's title game is about Jewish liches debating how to survive attack by paladins. The game reappropriates antisemitic tropes such as the use of tefillin as phylacteries to store a lich's soul. He sees his work as similar to tricksters fighting evil monarchs in Jewish folklore. Kahn "sees Jewish-coded monsters, and queer-coded villains, as figures of resistance."[14] He explained:

"Maybe somebody thinks they're insulting me or insulting Jews," he said. "My response is: I like vampires and liches and trolls and goblins and think they're much more interesting than bland white muscular humans running through the fields with a cross on their chest hacking at the same things with a sword over and over again."[14]

The second game in the trilogy, Same Bat Time, Same Bat Mitzvah, is about a guest who turns into a vampire at a Bat Mitzvah. In the third game, Grandma's Drinking Song, players collectively write a drinking song while acting out scenes based on Kahn's ancestors' true stories about working as bootleggers during Prohibition in New York City.[14] The trilogy was inspired by What We Do in the Shadows and Russian Doll.[7]

Jess Kung for Polygon named Dead Friend the best game they played in 2022.[15] Alex Roberts interviewed Kahn about designing Dead Friend as an episode of Backstory on One Shot Podcast Network.[4]

Kahn wrote the setting "Gaylords" for the Thirsty Sword Lesbians expansion Advanced Lovers & Lesbians (Evil Hat Productions).[16] It is about gay male warlords and was the first of 50 stretch goals unlocked for the Thirsty Sword Lesbians kickstarter, which raised a total of $298,568.[17][18][19]

Editorial

Kahn co-edited the LARP anthology Honey & Hot Wax (Pelgrane Press) with Sharang Biswas,[20] which includes work by nine designers, including Alex Roberts. Author Cecilia Tan called Honey & Hot Wax "a fabulous collection of 'let's pretend' games."[21] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kahn produced Hibernation Games, a collection of one-player journaling games by five designers including Jeeyon Shim, with themes of winter and solitude.[22]

Awards and Museum Exhibitions

If I Were a Lich, Man won the Indie Game Developer Network award for "Most Innovative" in 2020.[8] Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was part of the exhibition "Game Play: Between Fantasy and Realism" at the Museum of the Moving Image.[23] Honey & Hot Wax received 2 grants from the Effing Foundation.[24]

Honey & Hot Wax was nominated for an IndieCade award in 2020[25] and an Indie Game Developer Network award for "Game of the Year."[26] Visigoths vs. Mall Goths was nominated for the ENNIE Awards for "Best Writing" in 2020[27] and the Indie Game Developer Network award for "Best Setting" in 2021.[28] Dead Friend was nominated for an Indie Game Developer Network award for "Most Innovative" in 2019.[29] Kahn was on the production staff for the anthology You & I: Roleplaying Games For Two,[30] which was also nominated for an Indie Game Developer Network award for "Most Innovative" in 2019.[29]

Talks

Kahn spoke on the game designer panel "Playing with Identity: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Queer Power Self-Definition" at Flame Con 2019, discussing the impacts of queer identity on game design and play.[31]

Music

Kahn was the singer, songwriter and electric guitar player for the Brooklyn queercore punk band Schmekel,[32] which explored his identity as a gay, Jewish, trans man through comedy. Hugh Ryan for The New York Times compared Kahn's songwriting to gay punk band Pansy Division and Jewish singer/songwriter and satirist Tom Lehrer.[33] According to the Jewish Music Research Centre at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Kahn wrote the lyrics and punk chord progressions on the guitar for songs like "I'm Sorry, It's Yom Kippur," then electronic keyboard player Ricky Riot altered the chord progressions to make them sound cantorial.[34] Eddy Portnoy wrote that Schmekel was an unsurprising development in Jewish culture because there was evidence of transgender people in the shtetls of early 20th century Europe, and connected the band to "Queer Yiddishkeit."[35] In describing his performances with Schmekel, Kahn said, "Comedy is sacred to me, which is a pretty Jewish sentiment, isn't it?"[36]

Kahn appears as the lead singer of Schmekel in the Tales of the City novel The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin, being flirted with by the character Amos.[37] Kahn was interviewed with Schmekel in Original Plumbing magazine.[38]

Works

Game Design Credits

Title Publisher Credits Date Ref.
If I Were a Lich, Man Hit Point Press Designer 2023 [39][40]
Visigoths vs. Mall Goths Hit Point Press Designer 2020, 2023 [41][42][43]
Dead Friend: A Game of Necromancy Hit Point Press Designer 2018, 2023 [44][45]
Advanced Lovers & Lesbians (anthology) Evil Hat Productions Scenario Writer 2022 [46]
Hibernation Games (anthology) self-published (Zinequest 3) Editor, Designer 2021 [22]
Critical Care Zentensivist Studios Character Writer 2021 [47]

[48]

Honey & Hot Wax (anthology) Pelgrane Press Editor, Designer 2020 [20]
Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall (scenario book) Wet Ink Games / Game and a Curry Scenario Writer 2020 [49]
You & I: Roleplaying Games For Two Ginger Goat Production Staff 2018 [50]

Songwriting Credits

Song Title Album Date
Genderqueer Love Song The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
Gay Shame The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
You're Not The Only Bear I Fisted The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
The Binding of Isaac The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
FTM at the DMV The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
Homotaschen The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
Dumpster Dive The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
New Men With Old Man Names The Whale That Ate Jonah 2013
I'm Sorry, It's Yom Kippur Queers On Rye 2011
Shark Attack Queers On Rye 2011
I'll Be Your Maccabee Queers On Rye 2011
Pharoah / Moses Slash Queers On Rye 2011
Super Transsexual Bros. Queers On Rye 2011

References

  1. ↑ Hugh Ryan (25 November 2011). "Schmekel, a Band Born as a Laugh". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2022-12-15). "The best tabletop RPGs we played in 2022". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  3. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2022-12-15). "The best tabletop RPGs we played in 2022". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  4. 1 2 Roberts, Alex (2019-07-23). "Backstory 88. Lucian Kahn". The One Shot Podcast Network. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  5. ↑ Joyce, Justin (2021-06-02). "The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  6. ↑ D'Amato, James (2020-05-11). "355. Visigoths VS Mall Goths Part 1". The One Shot Podcast. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  7. 1 2 "What We Do in the Shadows and Russian Doll inspired this trio of comedic Jewish RPGs". Dicebreaker. 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  8. 1 2 "Previous Award Winners". Indie Game Developer Network. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  9. ↑ "Pre-order If I Were a Lich, Man: 3 Jewish Games by Lucian Kahn on BackerKit". BackerKit. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  10. ↑ "Fables Around the Table: Tainted Love - Project Derailed". 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  11. ↑ Gailloreto, Coleman (2021-06-19). "LGBTQ+ Themed Tabletop Roleplaying Games". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  12. ↑ "Queer Games Bundle strives to earn a living wage for marginalized artists in the tabletop RPG space". Dicebreaker. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  13. ↑ Grace, Lindsay, ed. (2021). Black Game Studies: An Introduction to the Games, Game Makers and Scholarship of the African Diaspora. Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press. p. 48.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Eanet, Lindsay (2023-05-12). "With goblins, spellcasters and holiday heroes, board game makers are imagining new Jewish worlds". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  15. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2022-12-15). "The best tabletop RPGs we played in 2022". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  16. ↑ "Advanced Lovers & Lesbians". Evil Hat Productions. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  17. ↑ "299 - Thirsty Sword Lesbians with April Walsh". Multiamory. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  18. ↑ Valens, Ana (2020-10-14). "'Thirsty Sword Lesbians' role-playing game blows past Kickstarter goals". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Grace; Dithrich, Carolin (2021-10-19). "Chivalry Is Undead: Kink, Sword Lesbians, and The Locked Tomb". Tor.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  20. 1 2 Biswas, Sharang; Kahn, Lucian, eds. (2020). Honey & Hot Wax. Pelgrane Press.
  21. ↑ "Honey and Hot Wax". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  22. 1 2 "Hibernation Games bundle delivers five journalling RPGs to help weather the cold". Dicebreaker. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  23. ↑ "Game Play: Visigoths vs. Mall Goths". Museum of the Moving Image. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Grants Awarded". The Effing Foundation for Sex-Positivity. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  25. ↑ McAloon, Alissa (2020-09-24). "50 standout indie games nominated in this year's IndieCade Awards". Game Developer. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  26. ↑ "Indie Game Developer Network announces 2021 award nominees". Dicebreaker. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  27. ↑ "2020 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards". Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  28. ↑ "Indie Game Developer Network announces 2021 award nominees". Dicebreaker. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  29. 1 2 "Indie Groundbreakers Awards — Indie Game Developer Network". 2019-12-07. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  30. ↑ "You & I: Roleplaying Games For Two". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  31. ↑ Sendaula, Stephanie. "Highlights from Flame Con 2019". Library Journal. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  32. ↑ Croland, Michael. Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk. Connecticut: Praeger, 2016. pp. iv, x, xx, xxvii, 6-7, 17, 64-67, 141, 143-145, 159, 180.
  33. ↑ Hugh Ryan (25 November 2011). "Schmekel, a Band Born as a Laugh". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  34. ↑ Adelman, Eliahu (October 1, 2013). "I'm Sorry, It's Yom Kippur: Atonement through Punk (and Traditional Jewish Music)". Jewish Music Research Centre - Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  35. ↑ "Transgender Jews May Be Nothing New". The Forward. 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  36. ↑ "Schmekel in the Shtetl | Shtetl Montreal". shtetlmontreal.com. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  37. ↑ Maupin, Armistead. The Days of Anna Madrigal. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. pp. 84-85.
  38. ↑ "Original Plumbing #9: The Entertainment Issue". Original Plumbing. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  39. ↑ "What We do in the Shadows and Russian Doll inspired this trio of comedic Jewish RPGS". 23 February 2023.
  40. ↑ "Previous Award Winners".
  41. ↑ "The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon". Polygon. 2 June 2021.
  42. ↑ "355. Visigoths VS Mall Goths Part 1". 11 May 2020.
  43. ↑ "2020 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards".
  44. ↑ "The best tabletop RPGS we played in 2022". Polygon. 15 December 2022.
  45. ↑ "88. Lucian Kahn". 23 July 2019.
  46. ↑ "Advanced Lovers & Lesbians".
  47. ↑ "Critical Care simulates the hospital ICU in a new board game". 23 September 2021.
  48. ↑ "Team".
  49. ↑ Chan, Banana. Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall. Haunted Tales. Wet Ink Games, 2021. pp. 124
  50. ↑ "OneBookShelf".
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