Anodyne Direct 04: Community Amidst Horror

Hey.

Ian Yusem here, Hull Breach Vol. 1 guy. I hope you're doing ok, hanging in there. Maybe you aren't. But guess what? I have some hope for you.

There are amazing things happening in the roleplaying game community right now. Real community organizing is what we need, stat, and these people are making it happen for our little world. Let me convince you that humanity is salvageable.

Coming up: Rascal News, Mothership Month, Metatopia 2024, and the new Tabletop Game Designers Association.

This newsletter is on the longer side, but I promise every kernel of information is worth reading, particularly if you design or ever hope to design TTRPGs yourself. Buckle up.

HOT E-TIP! If you can't read this all in one sitting, mark the email as unread and come back later.

Rascal News is Saving Roleplaying Games

Two weeks ago, Rowan Zeoli of Rascal News (an independent tabletop news collective) published the single most significant and best piece of investigative reporting into indie roleplaying games, of all time.

If you haven't heard it, Rowan's piece covers a months-long investigation into allegedly exploitative (not my words) practices of TTRPG company World of Game Design. Link to the article below, but keep reading. I personally play a role in the piece's narrative, but I want to talk about what the article represents for us as a community more than its specific contents.

The fact that an organization like Rascal, capable of this level of investigative reporting and willing to go to bat for small creators, exists at all is a major force for good in the TTRPG world. They get people talking to each other about good business practices — who's safe or unsafe to work with.

Rascal News is a threat to any shady operation who thinks they can intrude into our hobby/industry unnoticed.

HARD PITCH FOR RASCAL NEWS!:

If you care about indie roleplaying games and the wellbeing of people who make them, you should be subscribed to Rascal News. Pay these good people so they can do more essential community-saving work in roleplay games.

The World of Game Design article is both a disturbing and fascinating read, like a car crash you can't look away from. It only costs a dollar to read if you aren't subscribed (which you should be). Read it.

LINK TO THE WOGD RASCAL ARTICLE:

Former World of Game Design Employees Claim Tabletop Company Exploits Workers and Clients

It’s a spicy one.

P.S. Rascal's reporting on this topic, and my own personal experience working with corporations large and small on Hull Breach Vol. 1, inspired me to write my own related article.

If you're a game designer, or just someone who likes to see how the sausage gets made, you may enjoy/learn from my recent blog post on navigating TTRPG business contracts and partnerships:

A Nest of Vipers: Navigating TTRPG Contracts and Partnerships

My article and Rascal's gives a little bit of insight as to why I haven't sent out a newsletter or blogged for over a year. Sorry about that, by the way. I'm back now.

Mothership Month is Important (Here's Why)

If you're getting this email, I'm going to assume you know what MOTHERSHIP MONTH is.

If you somehow don't: 21 rad new Mothership projects are currently crowdfunding on Backerkit. What you might not realize is just how significant and inspiring this is for us creators who rely on the strength of the community to make our art (and rent).

Also: I'll be talking about my brand new "reverse murder mystery" pamphlet Shadow of a Doubt below, so stick around.

Just look at all this art! Art attack!

In a world where other games' 3rd party publishers have had to fight tooth and nail just to continue making their craft without legal/financial imperilment (see the D&D OGL debacle), it's a breath of fresh air to see Tuesday Knight Games pour so much support into our community. MOTHERSHIP MONTH is the most significant embodiment of that support so far, and a striking success story of what a healthy 3rd party community can look like if nurtured.

On a personal level: Without Mothership, I might not have been able to feed myself these past few years.

RPG stuff is my full time job now, and that's pretty fucking cool.

What you're witnessing with MOTHERSHIP MONTH, the central organization and community fellowship raising all ships (like some sort of… rising tide), is perhaps the exact same thing happening for other people which happened to me. It's real infrastructure, it has a tangible impact on peoples' lives, and that's because it's so well-coordinated and successful. The swanky bespoke icons for each project, the 5-project-pledge bonus content ("supply drops"), all of this is a shot in the arm for the working game designer.

And it doesn't end at Mothership. Backerkit's scaffolding and the Mothership community's efforts are a blueprint other games communities can and will follow: whether 3rd party creators for another system, or designers working in a certain genre/style, or maybe even just a hodgepodge of likeminded zine scamps.

We should celebrate MOTHERSHIP MONTH not just as a cool event for fans of the system, but also as a promising development for community-led organizing efforts in RPGs generally.

NEW PAMPHLET ALERT: Shadow of a Doubt

Speaking of that supply drop, here's the scoop on my BRAND NEW PAMPHLET SCENARIO just announced yesterday (wow!) Shadow of a Doubt, included with your purchase of 5 or more MOTHERSHIP MONTHS:

It's a reverse murder mystery.

What does that mean? It means that the Crew are the killers, and they choose their victim. It’s the Crew's job not to get caught (and find a way to live with themselves when the deed is done).

It's ethical dilemma horror meets Colombo meets Twin Peaks, set on a tense 3-day space elevator ride.

Playtest space elevator map I made in SketchUp.

I wanted to design something that challenges players to plan and pull off the "perfect murder," and interrogate what it means to be a bounty hunter — to take the life of a stranger. A trolley problem of Mothership proportions, if you will.

The cool part is that the scenario doubles as a weird shore leave "bottle episode" if players choose not to kill. It's full of weird NPCs (potential victims, potential friends) with hooks that can lead you further down the rabbit hole of your Mothership campaign. With Terminal Delays and Cryonambulism, it completes my TKG-published "something weird/terrible happens to your Crew while traveling" trilogy.

Shadow of a Doubt is surreal, dreamlike, full of tension, and a lot of fun — particularly with a murderously-inclined group.

SIDE NOTE: My Mothership Month recommendations!

If you're agog at the sheer count and quality of the offerings available in MOTHERSHIP MONTH, I highlighted a few via a reddit post on launch day (though all 21 projects look awesome in their own right). Click through above if you're interested, maybe I can persuade you to hit that magic 5-count for Shadow of a Doubt.

Metatopia: A Convention for What Ails You

Last weekend, I attended a tabletop convention that changed my life.

It restored my faith in humanity (if I ever had any), opened my mind to creative heights of game design not yet glimpsed, and it gifted me many new and dear friends. I write this, several days later, still pumping with dopamine from the experience. From the dark, twisted husk of my horror-loving heart, I tell you it was magical.

[Curious what I brought to Metatopia for playtesting? You'll have to wait for a future newsletter for the full reveal, but here's a sneak peek:]

I won't speak at length of my experiences at the con (a post on that could fill a book), but let me please pitch you on Metatopia:

Metatopia Elevator Pitch!

This is a tabletop game design convention (RPGs, board games, LARPS, etc.), specifically for game designers to test their "alpha builds" and speak to other designers about their craft. In that sense, it was a smashing success. I received better playtesting feedback, more useful production tips, and experienced the most powerful design revelations I've ever had in RPGs.

But Metatopia is more than just a game design tool, it's a community. A haven.

First off, the organizers. I don't know how they pulled it off so beautifully, but the good people at Double Exposure Inc. cultivated the perfect atmosphere of compassion and accommodation. That was mirrored in the attendees themselves, a kinder cohort I have never before encountered. There was indie RPG royalty in attendance (e.g. the Apocalypse World Bakers), but every single person I encountered — including many non game designers — was friendly, interesting, and worth meeting.

If you're reading this, and a game designer, and able to make Metatopia 2025 — I hope, nay, demand, to see you there.

More on the convention and Double Exposure Inc. here (they run other cons too!):

Metatopia 2024 website
Double Exposure homepage

The Tabletop Game Designers Association is the Way Forward

I saved this one for last because it's the most niche in interest (unlike the others, only game designers can participate), but it's also the most important.

By the end of my pitch, I hope to convince all game designer readers to open a new tab and immediately join this organization, if able. It's not a union, but it's the closest thing we currently have.

WHAT IS THE TTGDA?

The Tabletop Game Designers Association (TTGDA) is a trade association encompassing all tabletop games: board games, roleplaying games, you name it. Its membership is exclusively open to game designers, and for the benefit of game designers.

In brief, TTGDA exists to protect its members — from legal danger, to contractual exportation, to mere lack of community and professional contacts (and beyond). Through funding from member-paid dues, they offer a wealth of resources and services to help support game designers at any step in their career.

Here's a link to the TTGDA website for full information, but I encourage you to read my orientation before getting stuck in.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

So, so many reasons. But let's start with some notable members — to give you a sense of who in the tabletop world believes in this initiative.

First off, the executive board members (the head of the spear and I believe group founders):

• Elizabeth Hargrave (Wingspan)

• Sen-Foong Lim (Mind MGMT)

• Geoff Engelstein (The Expanse Board Game)

All industry titans in their own right, and an EXTREMELY reassuring cadre of steady hands at the helm. These people, this organization — they're as legit as it gets. But let's continue with the rank and file membership:

• Richard Garfield (Magic: The FUCKING Gathering)*

• Jason Morningstar (Fiasco)

• Rob Daviau (Pandemic Legacy)

• Cole Wehrle (Root)

• Me!

*I believe that's the preferred title. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Garfield.

While there's definitely a stronger board game contingent among the big names here, I think that will change with time. Maybe this post will convince some RPG people... One can hope.

Ok, not convinced yet? Read on for the biggest sells:

WHAT CAN TTGDA DO FOR YOU?

A lot. A lot a lot. I'll try to keep this brief:

Designer Resources

Expertly compiled game design tools, from playtesting, to graphic design, to licensing.

Contractual Safety Net

Model contracts, an attorney contact list, IP education, dispute mediation, and biggest of all, free contract review services for members! These people have your back.

Some of the events in that Rascal article might not have happened if those involved were TTGDA members.

TTGDA means business.

Industry Advocacy

TTGDA is not afraid to throw its weight around, notably securing recognition of designers as authors on Barnes & Noble’s website (previously they weren't even credited)!

Just think of what they could do for roleplaying games: pro-human-made and other creator friendly policies (better deals?) on platforms like DriveThruRPG, Kickstarter, etc.

Community

Members have access to the institutional knowledge of the seasoned TTGDA leadership and constituency, in the form of online seminars, convention meetups, a members-only Discord server, and more.

Want to check in about others' experience with a publisher, fulfillment company, or other potential business partner? I can think of no better group to ask than TTGDA.

Upcoming Programming

Some things I heard discussed at the TTGDA convention panel I attended at Metatopia as “currently in the works”:

• Mentorship programs

• Scholarships/funding opportunities

• Public-facing transparent organization finances

• Elections for both the Association's executive and advisory boards

• Probably other things I forgot to take notes on!

Pie In The Sky Stuff

There was a question at said panel regarding TTGDA brokering advantageous health insurance plans for (US) members.

While it sounded like that may be logistically and financially improbable, the fact that it's in consideration AT ALL speaks to the kind of power an organization like this can wield. The good it can do in our lives.

Is This a Union?

As a truly inspiring and genuine union man I met at Metatopia (shoutout to Web, a real one) told me [paraphrased]:

“This may not be a union yet, but it's a big step on the way to unionization.”

The fact that TTGDA cropped up earlier this year feels very relevant given unionization and worker's rights seems under imminent threat in the US, and perhaps globally.

My battle-worn TTGDA info card I carried throughout the convention.

DID I CONVINCE YOU?

If I didn't, tell me why. I want to work on my pitch.

If I did, JOIN, JOIN, JOIN! Link to pay your dues and become a card carrying* member here:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN TTGDA!

Again a link to the TTGDA website homepage if you need more information. And be sure to request access to the Discord by emailing TTGDA if you sign up! I’ll see you there.

*To my knowledge they don't have membership ID cards (yet), but they will someday if I have anything to say about it.

Hope Delivered?

That's it for this edition of the Anodyne Direct. I realize this was a little light on news relating specifically to my own projects, but I promise I have some incredibly exciting things in the works (and you all will be the first to hear about them). I just felt all this stuff was important and, well, newsworthy.

Did you like this post? Do you feel a little ember of hope kindling inside you after reading? Let me know either way. I'm still trying to figure out what this newsletter should be, and I need that feedback from you all.

Stay safe. Stay strong. Get organized.

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Signing off,

Ian Yusem