Hi ya'll so for the month of November I'm trying to use the platform I have for us to give thanks for some of those that really fight to make our community better. This post is all about some of my favorite Non-Profits trying to do just that for us.

DOTS RPG

This org is amazing and working really hard to make sure that the resources and TTRPGs we love are accessible to all. They tirelessly fight to make sure no vision impairment can stop someone from loving and playing together with friends. I was very lucky to get a chance to ask them a few questions, I hope you all go check them out. I know from now on I'm packing a set or two of brail dice for any visuall impaired players I may have join my table at events.

DOTS was started in large part to help a particular gamer, D, be able to play games. Can you tell us a little bit more about him?

D was an amazing force of good in the world. He was a game master that couldn’t get enough of different systems and titles, wanting to try everything. Being blind, he had to have his sighted players and friends read the rulebooks to him. What amazed everyone was his ability to memorize countless books down to the individual page numbers. He was quite often telling sighted players where to find the information they needed in their books! D was a wonderful, kind, excited individual who loved to spread laughter wherever he went. He unfortunately passed away in January 2018 and didn’t get a chance to enjoy what DOTS has become. We continue on in his memory, changing the world for the better one gamer at a time.

I know that the DOTS RPG Project started off in order to provide gamers who are visually impaired with what they needed to join in and enjoy the game at the table. How has that mission grown and changed over time?

As we moved from a private project between friends into the public eye, the amount of people asking for help with their individual disabilities was overwhelming. It was heartbreaking to see so many reaching out just to be heard, hoping there was something we were doing to make their game experience easier. We didn’t know much about other disabilities, but we’re taking the time to learn and educate ourselves on things so we can help as many people as possible.

Is there anything that you wish more people knew about your organization? Is there anything you wish more people knew about the issues of accessibility in TTRPGs you and others are trying to solve?

Accessibility issues in the world of TTRPGs is something many people are not aware of, as simple as they may be. A blind or visually impaired person does not have access to a majority of published books which is something that doesn’t cross people’s minds often. Without a braille book or computerized version, they need a sighted person to read the books to them. Things like a fully optimized PDF can enable anyone with a screen reader to have full access to the entire title. That could be possible just by a few changes and save as settings depending on the program the publisher is developing in. Often the largest problems have easy fixes, but not everyone is aware of them.

Currently, you help create braille rulebooks and gaming aids like dice or HP trackers. What are some other areas or aides that you’d like to create but need help either resource-wise or volunteer wise?

We’re always in need of assistance, because we couldn’t and shouldn’t do this alone. There are many different things we’re working on that have the opportunity for volunteers to get involved; from our braille transcriptions to image description writing, product design and 3D modeling, even down to just helping us spread the word. If someone wants to be involved but their disabilities make it hard for them, sharing their knowledge, input, and life experiences is just as important. We want to learn from members of the community what kinds of things they need so we can help in a more personalized way.

If you could collaborate with any company or organization to get your message out, or to get products out there, who would it be?

We’ve been incredibly lucky at the type of response we’ve gotten from the TTRPG community as a whole. There has been so much support from average gamers as well as industry professionals and celebrities! So many people have reached out to work with us from big name publishers yet to be announced to other non profit organizations like RPG Research, Game to Grow, Take This, Able Gamers, and various schools and other programs. The disabled community has come out in support as well, with plans being put in place for a partnership with National Braille Press and other disability focused organizations. Even with all of the friends we’ve made along the way this last year and a half, there’s always room for more! Whenever someone takes the time out of their day to say “hey, this is important, how can I help?” it’s just a dream come true. Accessibility should not be a second thought, but we are making great progress in a short amount of time so it can become something at the front of everyone’s mind.

What is your favorite example of the way you’ve seen your organization’s work make a difference?

Countless stories have been shared with us of individuals using our braille dice, being able to roll their own dice for the first time in their entire life without having someone else tell them the result. These stories are both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. We’re thrilled to be able to make this happen, but it’s unfortunate it’s taken so long. Something that always sticks out in our mind lately is our interactions with Astrolago Press. They published a 5e supplement, Faerie Fire in 2018. We reached out to them to work on transcribing the book, and began to treat it like any of our other partnerships. What we didn’t expect, however, was for the writers and artists behind Faerie Fire to incorporate a blind individual as a writer in their newest supplement Witch+Craft. It was something so very simple, but it brought most of us to tears. Knowing these books are going out to all of their backers and future customers with artwork of a blind individual in a book, especially as a writer, was something we never imagined. It’s going to be seen as normal now to these people using this book, and it’s one step further in the direction of making accessibility normal. If we didn’t contact them last year, if they lost our email, if we never began working on Faerie Fire, they may never have even thought to include artwork for a blind character.

ASL for RPG

Another org I love because they are fighting to make sure that those who are hard of hearing or deaf can still enjoy playing at the table. As someone who is hard of hearing there is always the thought in the back of my mind about if my hearing loss gets worse what that means for the things I love. TTRPGs, music, even just talking to friends late into the night. But thanks to the hard work that ASL for RPG and the hard work Mysty Vander is putting in at least one of those isn't such a big point of worry for me anymore. I look forward to being able to continue to play the games I love and have already been giving the opportunity to welcome another hard of hearing person to the table and sign with them using some of this orgs shorthand.

Now I wasn't able to get ahold of them for questions but if that changes I'll be more then happy to update this post with those. Until then please check them out, watch some of their videos, and think about incorporating some of them at your game table even if its just a home game.

Take This

An often taboo subject to talk about, mental health, is something that we have started talking more about today. But not alot of places talk about how to improve it or what can be done to work on your own mental health. Often times in TTRPGs we escape into a world our DMs create in order to often work through (or work out) things that are going on. Many of my friends have found out who they are through games. They become comfortable with who they really are enough to take that knowledge outside of the game and away from the table into the real world.

This group gathers the resources of everyone at the table to use but they also take active steps to make sure our community is mentally healthy. They advocate, they educate, and they do nothing but work hard for us. Take This even provides educational resources so that not only can you educate yourself but you can become an advocate for education in your own gaming community. But even more amazing is they work in the community they are trying to help the biggest of which is through their one-shot "Gardens of Fog". You take on helping someone out with their own mental issues, you become empowered as you learn how to handle it. The adventure lets you explore and talk about some very heavy subjects in a meaningful way. Honestly please go pick it up!

It is now that time in the post while I say goodbye but before I do I want to really make sure that you don't just read this post and walk away. We all need to be involved in making our community better. The responsibility for improvement is on us. These orgs can't do it all on there on so here are a few ways to do more than read about them:

• Touch base with them on Twitter (@ASLforRPG, @DOTSrpg, @TakeThisOrg) and ask how you can help.
• Spread the word and share the news!
• Be an advocate for accessibility in your gaming communities both local and online.
• Join newsletters and follow them on social media to keep up to date on all the work they are doing.

With that little rambling over with, I’m JustKay your regular DM Dalliance on the web and I’ll see you next post.