The tabletop roleplaying game industry relies heavily on contract labour, commissioning freelance writers, illustrators, and cartographers who work without employment protections, paid sick leave, or institutional healthcare safety nets. When medical emergencies or sudden publisher contractions strike, individuals often face catastrophic financial disruption with few formal avenues for assistance. The RPG Creators Relief Fund (RCRF) operates as an emergency charitable safety net specifically designed to bridge those crises, offering rapid vetting and direct micro-grants to tabletop creators facing immediate hardship.
Maintaining an emergency charity in a niche hobby requires constant balance between processing urgent claims and maintaining sufficient financial reserves. RCRF President Hal Greenberg, who previously spoke to Geek Native about indie development as a partner at Samurai Sheepdog, and Treasurer Connor Bates sat down to discuss grant processing, digital bundle revenue, the financial pressures facing indie publishers, and why personal medical challenges reinforce the charity’s core mission.
RPG Creators Relief Fund interview
How has the volume and nature of emergency grant applications shifted over the past two years as the roleplaying games industry faces post-pandemic crowdfunding corrections and broader economic squeezes?
The nature hasn’t changed but the frequency has been petering off a bit. We had a glut around COVID times.
In what ways has the recent consolidation of digital storefronts and shifting distributor margins directly affected the financial resilience of the freelance creators reaching out to the RCRF?
If there has been an impact on the people we help by the change in the market, they have not mentioned it. We did get some people to apply after the Paizo downsizing.
The RCRF allocates approximately 90% of funds directly to grants; how does the Board of Applicants vet urgent claims objectively while maintaining the speed required for emergency relief?
We try to turn around the applications as fast as possible via email with the board and if I see a lull, I try to kick it in gear. We try to respond within one week of application. And the 10% is for fees and needs for the charity, every single member from President to people on one of the other boards is 100% voluntary, no money goes to any salaries.
How do you calibrate the financial threshold of an emergency grant to ensure it provides meaningful relief to a creator in crisis without depleting the fund’s operational reserves?
Well, anytime we get a request I check against our reserves and then we see what the person actually needs to help them get by. Usually by asking some more questions. Otherwise, we sometimes have to make the hard decision of only doing a lesser amount due to our lack of funds.
Because recipient confidentiality is vital to protect creators’ professional standing, you cannot use case studies for marketing; how do you overcome the challenge of fundraising without public-facing survivor stories?
We have had some of the people we help voluntarily step forward to give testimonials. I am not sure the lack is our issue with fundraising, it is our niche part of the industry and our lack of pushes for fundraising, which we are slowly working on with the addition of Sherri to the team.
Given that tabletop roleplaying games increasingly demand high-end graphic design and full-colour art, how sustainable is the hobby’s economic model for the visual artists and freelance writers producing that material?
As a person who does their own publishing, most of the money we make goes to paying the artists and we largely have to use stock art. I have been trying to use more custom pieces to pay artists, but our budget is limited. Thankfully, I have a day job and do not need to rely on the money from this publishing or it would never pencil out. This is spot on with Samurai Sheepdog’s current status as well.
In past discussions on industry safety nets, including your conversation on EN World’s RPG Evolution series with Michael Tresca, you highlighted that roleplaying game creators often work without any formal institutional safety net. What structural responsibility do major publishers bear towards the freelance pool they depend upon?
I do a lion’s-share of the work for my company but the other writers and people who review and comment are instrumental in making it so much better. I don’t use EN World though. At this time I am not working much if at all in writing or creating anything for the RPG space; this is currently being done by the wonderful Kevin Glusing, the current President of Samurai Sheepdog.
Digital charity bundles on platforms like DriveThruRPG have historically served as a core funding mechanism; how is buyer fatigue in the bundle ecosystem altering your approach to steady, monthly individual donations?
We recently just got a nice donation from the most recent DriveThruRPG bundle, like $1,300 which is the most we’ve gotten in a while.
You have balanced active game design at Samurai Sheepdog with running a crisis charity; how do you protect your own creative energy from the emotional toll of reviewing emergency hardship applications?
I have not been active in writing or designing much in the RPG world; a few people have inquired but then nothing arises from that. At Samurai Sheepdog, Kevin is really active and running that show, so I can be here, so there has not been an issue with that. When I am working on something creative, the two worlds for me do not collide. One I take on practically and one takes me away to a far off place and lets me go someplace else, so it really does not impact either side. I also am a reefer; I have a few saltwater aquariums, so when life gets me dragging I can focus on those little worlds and get away for a bit.
For creators reading this who might hesitate to ask for help, or for designers seeking to leave the hobby in better health than they found it, what concrete steps should the community take right now to support the RCRF’s mission?
I am having an issue where the RCRF could help me if I qualified. I am in need of a spinal fusion, and it looks like it will be sometime next year, so I am having many issues, but that honestly makes me want to go harder into the charity. I have a full-time job and insurance; all freelancers do not. Most companies hire with per-piece contracts, not as full-time employees. Even artists and cartographers at Wizards of the Coast and Magic: The Gathering are under contract, not salary with benefits. I put myself in their shoes, and as I endure more pain all I can think about is what if this pain, my pain management doctors, and my surgeons were not being paid with insurance and copay, just out of pocket. That is what drives us.
Thanks, Hal, Connor!
Community support remains the fund’s operational lifeline, especially as digital storefront options diversify across the hobby. Digital roleplaying games storefront RPG Trader is currently running an active fundraising initiative for the organisation with the RCRF Charity Bundle, pooling titles to channel direct aid to creators in crisis. Supporting these collections or contributing directly ensures the charity has sufficient reserves to respond to the next urgent medical or financial plea from the freelance community.
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