TRPG Bundle for Afghan Support offers dozens of indie RPGs for $20 to aid those targeted by the Taliban
Turn books into poetry, rob the British Museum and steam hams for charity.
A new charity bundle of indie tabletop RPGs aims to support those fleeing the Talbian in Afghanistan by offering dozens of games for just $20.
The TRPG Bundle for Afghan Support curated by Librarians and Leviathans on indie marketplace Itch.io includes more than 70 games from almost 40 different creators.
The games range from solo RPGs and rules for miniature wargames to hacks of and additions to existing RPGs such as Pathfinder, Honey Heist, and Lasers and Feelings.
Some of the highlights include Book Reprocessing Machine #5, a game by Jan Martin that sees players turning old books into poetry; soncka’s arena-battle miniatures game set in post-apocalyptic Scandinavia, Feverpit; Edaureen Muhamad Nor's tarot-based two-player game Tarot Telling For Two; and Alex Rinehart’s mediation on death in solo journaling RPG Today's Passing.
Other notable games in the bundle include Baheer Ghouse’s It Was Never Yours, a game that sees players robbing the British Museum in post-Brexit Britain (the “dark future” setting is left as 202X), and the designer’s single-page RPG Steamed Hams, a one-shot inspired by the Simpsons meme in which players come up with over-the-top solutions to escalating problems. (Such as ruining your roast.)
While the majority of games in the bundle are roleplaying games, the collection includes a print-and-play version of Last Faction Hero, a board game by RuneQuest publisher Chaosium set in the mythical world of the fantasy RPG. The debut issue of tabletop RPG magazine Wyrd Science also makes an appearance.
All proceeds from the bundle’s minimum pledge of $20 - a significant reduction on the games’ combined value of $267 - will go towards the phonecreditforafghans Justgiving campaign aiming to support those in Afghanistan targeted by the Taliban, including activists, lawyers and those who have worked with foreign organisations.
The crowdfunding campaign will provide phone credit, visas, safe travel and accommodation, and food, medicine and other essential supplies to individuals forced into hiding or to flee in wake of the group’s return to power in Afghanistan over the summer.
"Most of these families are in hiding and moving locations every few days to escape the Taliban,” the page explains. “They cannot go to the banks to get cash out, they cannot go shopping for food and other essentials, and they don't have money left to top up their phones. Without phone credit, they cannot access information about security threats or evacuation options and cannot maintain contact with family and friends in Afghanistan and abroad."
The TRPG Bundle for Afghan Support will run until the end of October.
Edit: The designer of Book Reprocessing Machine #5 is Jan Martin, not Luciella Elisabeth Scarlett. Scarlett is the host of TrashJam, the game jam for which the game was originally made. The text has been updated to reflect this.