I’ve talked before about the generosity of TTRPG community. It’s one of the things I love most about it, that we will lend a hand when needed. Big crisis or small, we’ll help as much as we can.
In a move tantamount to genocide, on February 22, 2022, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas declared the support of transgender youth “child abuse” and announced that families affirming their trans children would be investigated and prosecuted. While the outcry against this move was widespread, it was obvious that trans people and organizations in Texas were going to need support.
Enter Rue, who organized the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas charity bundle on Itch to bring much needed aid to the situation. I was lucky enough to get some time to talk with Rue about the bundle, their games, and what the TTRPG community can do to further support its transgender members.
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Brent: Rue! Thanks for taking the time to talk with me! For those not familiar with you and your work, could you tell the folks a bit about yourself?
Rue: My name is Rue (they/he), and I’m a mixed race, disabled, nonbinary content creator! I do game design work both as an independent entity and contract work for other publications such as Action Fiction and Gnome Made Games. I’m also a sensitivity consultant and tabletop streamer! I’m an admin over at Heroes Without Limits– the TTRPG space by and for disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent gamers!
B: How did you start playing tabletop games and what drew you into the hobby?
R: I started in high school! I’m a recovering theatre kid, and a handful of the theatre kids at my school also were into larping and tabletop games, so we hung out together! The DM at the time wouldn’t let my character’s goal for the campaign be ‘become a lich’ (I was a bit edgy at 15), so I was kinda miffed about that! But it was still fun!
B: I feel like recovering theatre kids would make up a surprising portion of the TTRPG community if we were ever polled. How long were you a player before you started GMing? What prompted the switch?
R: I played for a couple of years with that group before moving away to college! None of my early college friends were comfortable GMing, so I picked up GMing so that we could have a group (still theatre people, just theatre adults now!)
And I found that I really enjoyed GMing and worldbuilding, so I’m usually the first one to volunteer to run a game if someone talks about wanting to play in a new scenario!
B: What prompted the shift from playing to designing for the first time?
R: I’ve always loved building worlds- most of the games I have run at home are homebrewed, so I’ve been designing games for longer than I’ve been publishing them! But a few years ago I decided to start branching out into writing independent content, because there were games that I wanted to play that didn’t necessarily exist as I wanted them, so I decided to fill that niche for myself!
B: What inspires your design? Do your games share any themes or ideas in common?
R: Genuinely, above all I write games and mechanics that I want to play. It’s a little weird as a design philosophy, but I have a lot more fun and a lot more success writing things that I enjoy and are important to me! I’m also very big on roleplay and character over rolling dice, so a lot of my game design centers character experiences first.
B: In the wake of Governor Abbott’s unconscionable decision to essentially incite genocide against Transgender people in Texas, you organized the “TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas!” bundle on Itch. For those not familiar with how that works, could you touch briefly on the process and talk about the support you got from the creator community?
R: Itch has a ‘bundle’ function that allows creators to put their work together for a single selling price! So, when I saw what was happening in Texas, and was feeling kind of helpless about it, I turned to Mo and Jess of Huetopia, who had just arranged a bundle for Creator Day the month prior. With their guidance, I set up a google form for creators to submit their games, and left it up for the weekend. I was overwhelmed with the response- over 300 designers donating upwards of 490 products- along with our publishing partners offering options if you email them!
After the weekend, I input the games into itch’s bundle creation system- you copy the links into an input bar and it adds them. And then every creator has to approve the bundle before it can go live! This took about three days, as there were a lot of folx to reach out to across multiple platforms and timezones! Once we had all of the approvals, we went live on Wednesday, Mar 02 at approximately 8pm!
B: When I first looked at the bundle to write about it a few weeks ago, you were at 89% of your initial $25,000 goal. As I’m typing this question it’s now at $312,594! Were you surprised by the response? How does it feel that so many folks have supported this effort?
R: I’m gonna shock you even more I think and let you know that my initial goal was $1,000. I was going to be thrilled if we made it to $10,000 in the month. We broke the $1,000 goal in the first 45 minutes, and then broke $10,000 overnight while I was asleep! We’re now on our 7th stretch goal – trying for $420,000!
I was overwhelmed by the community response- I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve cried probably a dozen times over the last week and a half when I’ve seen just how much support we’re getting- and when I reached out to the charities to let them know we’d be donating this much! It’s really restored my faith in humanity- seeing how many people have come out in support of trans kids in Texas, and given above and beyond what we’re asking.
I think a lot of people feel helpless in the face of such overwhelming horrible actions- whether because we’re too far away, or not in a financial place to make a difference. But bundles like this let people donate games- or make an impact for as little as $5. Collective action brings people together and makes those seemingly small amounts turn into huge change for organizations.
B: You’re splitting the proceeds from the bundle between two organizations: Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) and Organización Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT). Can you tell us a bit about these two organizations and why you chose them?
R: TENT is a trans-focused education group working at a lot of different levels in Texas! They do projects as small scale as working in schools and local city councils, all the way up to corporate trainings and testifying in front of the legislation. TENT’s mission is to counteract the negative stereotypes, conspiracy theories, and misinformation about trans identity and make Texas a safer, more supportive space for trans folx in the process. They also offer emergency relief grants to trans people in need.
OLTT is a trans-led, trans-focused organization helping trans and gender nonconforming immigrants and people of color in Texas. They run shelters for trans people, provide meals and other important health needs, and offer legal assistance. Their on-site legal aids help trans people navigate name change paperwork, immigration status, and the healthcare system in order to establish a safe, healthy life where they can be themselves.
B: It’s no secret there is a portion of the TTRPG community that is unwelcoming to our marginalized members. With the caveat that you don’t speak for the Transgender community at large, how do you feel the TTRPG community can better support Trans gamers, GMs, and creators?
R: Making a space for us is super important- just like with any marginalized group. Support trans creators who are making trans media- don’t just praise cis gamers for including trans characters in their work. Make sure that you are supporting and celebrating trans people at the table- centering our experiences and letting us tell our stories- not having someone else tell them for us.
If you’re going to include trans characters in your work and you’re not trans- hire a trans sensitivity consultant. Pay trans folx for our work and give us credit in your publications- connections mean a lot in this space, and those publication credits can mean a world of difference.
B: And is there anyone doing that right in the TTRPG space? Any publishers, AP channels, or groups you want to highlight that are doing the work?
R: I can’t talk about trans folx in the TTRPG space without highlighting Transplanar RPG! They’re an all-trans, BIMPOC led AP channel, and along with their main cast, this past year they also hosted a series of trans BIMPOC one shots! I also have to give a shoutout to Avery Alder’s Belonging Outside Belonging engine, for being instrumental in creating games that let marginalized folx explore their identities in the space!
B: Coming back to TTRPGs, what games are currently catching your eye? What do you plan to play soon that has you excited?
R: I backed Coyote and Crow at the tier to get a copy both for myself and a local Indigenous organization, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it! When I saw the Kickstarter go live, I was so excited I messaged like 10 different people about it. Playing in an uncolonized world and getting to immerse myself in that space is going to bring me a lot of joy.
B: Are you mostly a player or a GM? What’s it like at the table with GM Rue?
R: Oh! I mentioned this earlier, but I’m a forever-GM at home (and about half and half for streamed games, depending on the channel I’m working with!). I actually find it easier to GM because I experience less character bleed- getting very invested in my PCs can exhaust me after an emotional session! But GMing lets me experience everyone else’s stories and have a hand in shaping them, which I find very satisfying.
I’m very much a ‘rule of cool’ GM to the point of ignoring the rules- sometimes of the games I wrote myself! If you have something your character wants to do that is amazing and either not covered in the rules, or discouraged in the rules, but it’s something important to you? I’m gonna let you do it. We’ll figure out the mechanics as we go.
B: Any upcoming projects you’re working on that you can talk about? What will we see next?
R: I’m currently working on a game for the Trans Fucking Rage Jam with quinn b. rodriguez that we’re super excited about, and should be coming quite soon! We’re also planning on hosting Goth Crab Jam this summer- a game jam centering goth crabs (whatever that means to you!). I’m a Big Bad Con Story Synth microgrant recipient- I’m working on a card-based game where you play as the Fates, playing out the life of a single individual! I’ve also got a couple of games in the works I can’t quite talk about yet- but those should be coming out this summer, and I’m thrilled to show them off!
B: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Rue! Where can folks find you and your work?
R: You can find me on Twitter as @IlanaNight13 and on itch as ilananight.itch.io! If you’re interested in hiring me for game design or sensitivity work, you can contact me via DM or email (ilananight@gmail.com), or take a look at my website: ilananight.carrd.co.
B: And the “TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas!” bundle goes for another three weeks. Do you want to guess at a final number?
R: I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that we cross that $420,000 threshold- I’d love to be able to give upwards of $200,000 to each of our charities! Blaze it for trans rights.
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You heard them, folks! Follow the links above and let’s blow that goal out of the water!
