Creators bundle nearly 500 tabletop RPGs for $5 to support trans rights in Texas
The Itch.io hosted bundle has already raised over double its initial goal for two Texas organisations.
Designers within the tabletop RPG community have banded together to raise funds for trans children and families affected by recent declarations by the Texas executive branch. The TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas bundle gathers 493 games, adventures and supplements for $5 (£3.74), and all proceeds will be split between two organisations offering legal action and direct aid within the state.
The bundle is hosted by indie designer Rue in partnership with games and merch publisher Hit Points Press with an initial goal of raising $5,000. As of time of publication, the ticker had crossed the $11,000 mark after only hours being live - the bundle will remain available throughout all of March.
All funds raised through sale of the bundle will go to educational and legal advocacy group Transgender Education Network of Texas and Organización Latina de Trans en Texas, a non-profit providing direct aid to trans Texans in the form of housing and food but also directly supporting immigrants and the Latine population facing risks of discrimination, imprisonment and deportation.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a legal directive on Feb. 22nd ordering the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate cases of gender affirming care - primarily puberty blockers and hormone treatment - to Texan youths, describing it as “abusive gender-transitioning procedures”. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared the treatments, which he wrongly identified as “sex change procedures”, as child abuse under Texas law in a Feb. 21st letter.
Legal experts and dissenting public officials said this order seeks to punish the parents of trans children for supporting them, empowering DFPS to separate families and cut off necessary medical care to Texan teens and children. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against Governor Abott and the DFPS on March 1st, directly challenging the order and characterising it as "lawless and dangerous."
“Trans children are extremely vulnerable, and the actions of the Texas government will put them and any supportive loved ones in danger,” Rue writes in the bundle’s description. “Providing funds to trans advocacy groups and support networks helps keep trans folx afloat in Texas.”
The bundle contains work from 1,148 contributors and runs the gamut of genre and form. John Harper’s Agon, a game of mythopoetic roleplay where names are literally power, is included alongside the all-ages Inspirisles, which features a magic system powered by sign language and designed to promote deaf awareness.
Possum Creek Game’s breakout hit Wanderhome can be found within the hundreds of available titles, as well. The pastoral fantasy RPG centres post-war stories where anthropomorphic travellers seek to understand their place in a world that is learning to live with the scars of the past. Those looking to read about tabletop RPGs will be interested in the first two issues of Wyrd Science magazine and its collections of criticism, reviews and exploration of the scene’s most interesting games.
The TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas bundle can be found on its Itch.io page, which includes links to the two organisations benefiting from the funds alongside more information about the collaborators.