Independent TTRPG presses work toward equity in game design

As tabletop games continue to grow in popularity, it’s to be expected that more and more people try their hand at designing their own games. Marketplaces like itch.io, DriveThruRPG, and even Dungeon Master’s Guild allow for individual designers to showcase and promote their own works, but many are hampered by a lack of name recognition. It’s not easy to make a game, but it can be even more tough to sell it.

Large publishers are restricted to publishing content for major titles. Independent publishing houses, however, have greater freedom of choice. Across the tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) industry, small presses are promoting marginalized perspectives, niche games, and generally pushing the envelope of what’s viable.

Gauntlet Publishing is one of three publishing companies that support independent designers. Exalted Funeral and Possum Creek Games are two other. Unlike publicly-traded companies such as Hasbro, which publishes Dungeons & Dragons via its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, the indie scene is primarily focused on putting money into the hands of the creators, not shareholders. If the hundreds of millions of dollars in profit earned by Hasbro’s efforts are any indication, fans of the hobby have money to spend. The small presses also want their products to be seen.

Gauntlet Publishing was founded in 2016 and is an older publisher that champions independent voices. Codex Magazine began in 2016 and featured for years small games and modules as well as settings and lists within each issue. Codex Magazine was an opportunity for designers to experiment and receive a payment. The magazine also featured professionally illustrated and designed journals. Jason Cordova serves as editor-in chief. He works closely with the gaming community and brings innovative and adaptable video games to life.

Gauntlet Publishing, like many other publishers, uses Kickstarter for funding its projects. Trophy DarkJesse Ross wrote and raised more than $210,000 on crowdfunding platform. The game’s mechanics allow for an approachable grimdark, swords-and-sorcery fantasy where players often find their characters destroyed far before they reach the treasure embedded at the heart of each adventure (called an incursion). TrophyThe game was originally published in Codex. Every six months, the serial released a new themed incursion. Many guest authors contributed to many of these stories. By creating a tentpole game of its own, Gauntlet Publishing allowed marginalized authors the opportunity to write for a larger game without compromising on their visions or asking them to write for less than their idea’s worth.

Recently-incorporated Possum Creek Games is an indie darling led by writer/designer Jay Dragon and art director Ruby Lavin, best known for its critically-acclaimed Wanderhome. While Possum Creek started out as a way to publish Dragon’s writing under a more unified umbrella, the scope quickly expanded to help other authors, like Riley Rethal and M Veselak coming into the fold. Veselak’s Wickedness It was started last year. The three-person delicate game is spread over three soft-trade-sized volumes.

The tabletop community often views Kickstarter as an equalizer. Magpie Games’ recent and highly successful Kickstarter project is an example. It’s Avatar Legends – The Roleplaying GameCampaign raised over $9.5million earlier in the year. This is a new record for TTRPGs on this platform. Of course, Kickstarter can’t help everyone since it doesn’t allow residents of certain countries to use its service. Many independent presses are aware of this limitation. Possum Creek is one such press that has worked to make it possible for games by out-of–residency creators to be published on the major stage.

Image: Possum Creek

Jamila R. Nedjadi’s tenderly haunted ghost TTRPG, Our Haunt, is Possum Creek’s newest project. Nedjadi lives in the Philippines and is not allowed to reside outside the country of residency that Kickstarter permits. Possum Creek’s platform is used to support marginalized creators. This allows them to step up and create an equitable sector while still publishing outstanding, well-deserved work.

Another press, Exalted Funeral, is not just indie-focused. Exalted Funeral works with an extensive list of writers and maintains an online shopfront that allows for greater distribution of digital copies of indie-games. By selling larger (by indie standards) games like Mörk BorgAnd MothershipExalted Funeral has a large audience and can release unique Kickstarters. It also supports authors such as Anna Urbanek or momatoes.

ARCMomatoes wrote the post-apocalyptic adventure “The End of the World” It’s one of many Kickstarter projects by Exalted Funeral. The partnership allowed the author to access Kickstarter again, as momatoes live and work in the Philippines. Herbalist’s Primer This is just one example. This system-agnostic guide details the traditional folkloric uses of real plants, which makes it useful for fantasy game creators and real-world magicians. Exalted Funeral has surpassed the $814,000 mark on Kickstarter. This puts it on par with other well-known publishers.

Image from Exalted funeral

These presses all aim to be alternative publishers to the big-name gaming companies. They offer a variety of ethical choices for consumers and create economic opportunities for creators. Many of the people who were upset by the hostile working environments at Wizards of the Coast or Pathfinder publisher Paizo are now able to choose smaller and more agile companies with which they can spend their hard-earned money.

Gauntlet Press, Exalted Funeral and Possum Creek Games, all independent presses, are focused on authors and artists they collaborate with. They can retain ownership of the work. They are also able to keep money flowing through and into a growing number of game developers. The scene is becoming more diverse and must also be more fair. Small presses lead the charge towards creating a sustainable TTRPG community.