"Swords cross, hearts race, and a duel can end in a kiss."
Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a Powered by the Apocalypse game by April Kit Walsh about queer heroes who fight oppression with blades and feelings. Nine playbooks each centre on an emotional conflict, from the Beast to the Trickster. Fights are as much flirtation as violence, enemies can be redeemed or romanced, and Strings and Conditions track who holds sway over whom. Setting-agnostic, it ships with a dozen sample settings and won the Nebula Award for game writing plus two gold ENNIEs.
No fixed world. The book offers about a dozen ready settings — cyberpunk Neon City 2099, the steamfunk poets of Les Violettes Dangereuses, the laser-sword Starcross Galaxy — plus a worldbuilding worksheet for any place where swords cross and hearts race.
2d6 + stat moves
Roll 2d6 and add Daring, Grace, Heart, Wit or Spirit. A 10+ is a full success, 7-9 succeeds with a cost or complication, and 6 or less lets the GM make a move.
Strings
Strings measure emotional leverage over another character. Gain them through moves like Entice or Figure Out a Person, then spend them to tempt someone into action or shift a roll.
Conditions instead of hit points
Harm lands as feelings: Angry, Frightened, Guilty, Hopeless, Insecure. Each one penalises certain moves until you clear it through Emotional Support or by acting out in a suitably destructive way.
Playbooks built on inner conflict
Beast, Chosen, Devoted, Infamous, Nature Witch, Scoundrel, Seeker, Spooky Witch and Trickster each revolve around one emotional tension, with unique moves that drag that struggle into every scene.
Open in Session Zero to let every player vote and see the results.