Choosing Which Roleplaying Games Survive A Real Disaster
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- CONTENT WARNING: Hurricane Helene images and story.
The main purpose of this video is to raise awareness of the ongoing restoration effort to Western North Carolina. Including my hometown which my family and I made the impossible decision to flee from.
[got the date wrong in the video: Sun Sep 29th*]
Here are links to donate to the ongoing effort:
Make a financial donation to the Manna FoodBank in Asheville:
donate.mannafo...
World Central Kitchen:
wck.org/?gad_s...
BeLoved Asheville:
belovedashevil...
Donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund to support Hurricane Helene victims:
pay.payitgov.c...
Hearts With Hands:
www.heartswith...
Adopt or foster a pet from the Humane Society of Charlotte to create space for incoming animals from storm-affected western North Carolina:
www.instagram....
Consider one of the various ways to support - whether it's donating supplies or delivering critical supplies as a volunteer pilot - through Operation Airdrop:
www.operation-...
Make a financial donation to United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, which will help with immediate and long-term relief for Helene victims in the western part of the state:
www.bpr.org/bp...
Samaritan's Purse:
www.samaritans...
Donate directly to the American Red Cross:
www.redcross.o...
An active map of resources for those within the area who have signal:
helenehelpashe...
Thanks for any support you can give during this unprecedented catastrophe.
Follow these creators, my top choices in games that I chose to bring along, for more TTRPG greatness:
@TheArcaneLibrary @Runehammer1 @QuestingBeast @yochaigal
Attention:
If you are planning on donating I tried to put the links in order of who is having the most impact on the area. I was getting some mixed news about Red Cross in particular. The organizations I put towards the top are ones I personally know have affected the lives of people that I know in Asheville. I'm doing my best to spread information in a informed way, but also do your own research before you make any donations. Thank you.
Glad to hear you and your family are doing okay, and I appreciate all the info on this situation.
Thanks Bob. I appreciate it. Hopefully your mountains weren't in the path, I was thinking the woods in your videos look similar to ours.
I’m so glad you and your family are safe. This is heartbreaking to see unfold… Thank you for making this video and for giving us all good leads on how we can help.
Thanks for listening (and for ShadowDark) 🖤
Hello from Ukraine! Understand your feelings. I wish you to be strong, you’ll get through it! Thank you for amazing content.
Thank you so much!
I realized I never posted a comment. I appreciate you sharing this with us, while I’ve lived through a few terrible natural disasters, this destruction and your coverage of it, brought tears to my eyes. I’m glad you had a safe place to go, I will donate what I can for those who are there, and hopefully to rebuild sooner than later. As far as games go, I think I would take things that are out of print like my OD&D box set and Outdoor Survival board game as well as my AD&D books. I have things that are technically “more valuable” but most can still be purchased new.
Thanks man, I really appreciate that. We were lucky.
Yeah that totally makes sense. If I had anything that collectable it would have been a top choice.
Thank you for the video, my wife and I spent last Valentine’s Day in and near Asheville, had no idea it was that bad. Hang in there and don’t lose heart
Thank you. I don't think many know just how bad it is. We will.
I'm in Greene County TN. We were hit heavily as well. My heart goes out to you and your home area.
Thank you ❤️🩹
Hopefully your town recovers quickly too.
Sorry to hear you even had to make these choices but glad your family are OK. Appreciate the coverage, helps understand the scope of this
Shoutout to the leaf-sailing spider photobomber at 06:22
Take care.
Thank you 💚
Haha, I'm glad someone noticed that. It was funny and I was running out of daylight so I just kept going.
I am glad you are ok, and the images are insane. We will be helping!
Thank you. Appreciate that 💚
If I could only grab one book, DnD Rules Cyclopedia and Gamma World. (Well that's 2). Hope you guys are able to survive out there. Thank you for raising awareness!
Thank you.
I'm in France and I don't know you, just watched one or two of your videos but I cry watching you, I deeply hope it will be okay for you and your family and all the people in this area
Merci.
We will recover. Our towns will be forever changed.
I'm from Durham and this is hard to process. Makes you feel helpless just watching.
It is hard to process. I see new problems daily. But take heart. The folk of Appalachia are stern and we will rebuild.
@@ElderGoblinGames 💪
God bless Dude! Stay strong.
Thanks, blessings to you and yours as well ❤️🩹
Great video! Glad you are all safe. It will be a while before Asheville feels like Asheville again
Glad you're safe too my friend. I hope we build it back even better. We will rise from the Ashes and become Phoenixville.
Petition to change the name.
Thanks so much for making this video, along with the multiple links to donate! I will sincerely pray for you and your family and everyone in the area. I donated to MANNA Foodbank, they seem to have a high charity rating. Keep us updated on the best ways to help, maybe a safe location to have items from Amazon shipped to. Take care Friend
Thank you so much. It lightens my heart to know others care enough to donate. ❤️🩹
Good luck to you and your family. Great video.
Thank you 💚
Wishing you and your family the best in this crisis. Please be safe.
Thank you. We will.
Ive never seen anything this devastating from Nature. I hope the very best to all of the victims of this disaster!
Thank you. 💚
I'm in Florida, and took with me "Between the Skies", as I had just got it, and I wanted something very solo-friendly. We're safe and only had a foot of water damage, so the rest of my collection is mostly okay.
Good luck, and take care of yourself.
I'm not familiar with that one.
Glad to hear your safe. I have friends and family in FL and I know parts got hit hard too.
Thank you for your video and showing the raw emotion of the situation
I would grab...
- Into The Odd
- Index Card RPG: Master Edition
- Stars Without Number
- Worlds Without Number
- Scarlet Heroes
- Mythic Game Master Emulator Second Edition
- Genesys RPG
- Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine
Great list. I wish I had had room for my Into the Odd. It's a gorgeous book.
And thank you 💚
My sister and brother-in-law lived there for years, my heart breaks for all those suffering through this (or who did not survive it).
Same. Thank you
I own a game store in Abingdon, VA. The nearby town of Damascus was hit very hard by the storm. We're making what efforts we can muster to collect item donations, and soon monetary donations to local organizations.
That's awesome. Everyone affected needs all the help we can lend. Thanks for doing your part!
I'm glad your family is okay. This is the first video I've seen from you and I wish it was happier circumstances. I live in eastern Virginia and seeing how many people are stepping up to load up trucks with water, food, and other essentials has given me a little more faith in humanity.
Thank you. Me too (about my hope in humanity being restored). The generosity of people putting in the effort to help our community has floored me.
There is much to be hopeful and thankful for. The night is darkest just before the dawn.
wow man glad you are ok, my positive energies go out to everyone for a quick recovery to the communities. be safe. the strength it took for you too post this vid is un measurable. Your feelings are valid so never be afraid to share them with us, your extended community. My heart is hurting for you and everyone affected.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
OK, when there is some equilibrium for folks, is there a way we can set up games for folks who’ve been displaced? Especially kids. Just to give them a short time when they feel they can actually impact the story since the world around them has lost its mind.
That's a great question. I'll have to look into that.
Man I'm sorry you're going through this and my heart goes out to you and your family.
Thank you very much. My family has been lucky. It's the ones that are still there that I worry about.
I accidently posted this in the wrong spot the first time 🙄
Thank you for making the video, I used to live in NC and have donated. Honestly if I could dedicate a backpack I’d probably grab my original copies of the Arduin Grimoire, Top Secret 1E, Boot Hill 2E (just the core books for those two), Night of the Ninja, Gangbusters 3E, WEG Star Wars 1E, ICRPG 2E, & Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Edition. Add a bag of dice, a cube of d6s, 3x5 cards, a little notebook, a folding dice tray, & some pencils and we are good for years. I also have plenty of PDFs on my phone, laptop and ‘the cloud’.
Thank you for donating ❤️🩹
I don't recognize the first 5 of those games, but they seem like they are rare and definitely good choices.
That’s rough. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching.
A heartbreaking video to watch, but so glad to hear you and yours are doing okay. It's times like these that our hobby truly shines. Stay strong and venture forth brother.
Thanks dude 💪
Comment for the algorithm. One of my best friends and their family were also displaced. This is a really important video. No one is safe from natural disasters anymore. We all need to be ready to abandon our homes and know what we are able to bring with us. Blessings to you and yours hope you all are ok
Thank you 💚
This is similar in many way to what happened around Nashville in 2010. The devastation was pretty crazy then and the disaster is much more widespread for your area. Best wishes, hope the support pours in.
Thank you 💚
I am glad you and your family are ok. Sorry for your circumstances. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you 💚
Glad you and your family are safe. That's the most important part. Hang in there. Take deep breaths and put one foot in front of the other. Do the next thing that needs to be done and don't get overwhelmed with all of it all at once. Good luck. I will be praying for your family.
Thank you. Absolutely. You realize what's important in times like these.
Stay strong, brother. Glad you and yours are safe!
Thank you, I will 💚
Shit, man. As a recent resident of Greenville myself, I offer you, your family, and your community my deepest condolences. The closest I've been to Asheville has been the airport whenever my brother would fly in from Florida and is unable to fly to GSP.
While I was also affected by Hurricane Helene, it pales in comparison, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate. I could've easily been in your same situation where I'd have to leave behind the vast majority of my TTRPG collection (Knave 2e would be one of the exceptions for me as well).
Thank you. Any good gaming shops in Greenville? I'm there for a minute.
Glad to hear you and yours are safe! I'm still here in the AVL area and appreciate you bringing attention to this! I know I'm a random internet stranger, but when you come back to the area give a shout and I'll buy y'all a meal or lend a hand if you need it. Stay safe mate!
Brother if you are still there and going through it, it's I who should be buying you a meal. Stay strong. Maybe we can roll dice together or share a drink soon.
@@ElderGoblinGames Another Asheville local here--I can't tell you how surprised and delighted I am to find your channel! If nothing else, out of disaster comes community--neighbors reaching out to one another for support, strangers offering a kind word or a bottle of water... these are the ways we get through this mess, and come out stronger for it. So thank you for shedding some light on the ongoing struggle: may your platform help to boost the signal and encourage folks to pay closer attention. I hope that you and your family stay safely evacuated for as long as you need to, and if you're looking for a fellow indie TTPRG enthusiast to shake some dice with (wait, he held up Shadowdark and Knave AND ICRPG!? I thought I was the only one!) or just to bounce ideas off of, hit me up. Take care of yourselves!
@@throawobbler Hope y'all are safe and staying strong 💪 it brings me to tears and encourages me every time I hear stories like this of everyone banding together and lifting each other up. I wish I could do even more. Let's grab a coffee or a beer when this is all over and talk about Knave or something. ❤️🩹
Glad you made it to safety with your family. As someone who once had all their earthly possessions reduced to the contents of a single suitcase this really stirred up some feelings. Thank you for telling your story.
Thank you. It's not a great feeling, but a very real one. I hope I can return soon, and that there will be books waiting for me.
Bless you brö glad you and yours are safe.
🖖💚🛡️
Hope this helps
Thank you. I won't turn down donations during a time when I don't have a job, but I do hope folks are giving to the organizations as well. Either way thank you.
I remember years ago pre covid and attending a convention and going to a panel about disaster preparidness. And among all the survival, prepping first aid tslk at one point a panelist got on to the idea of asking thr audiance to consider prepping physical collections against disaster and mis fortune
I will definitely have that after this.
Thank you for your candidness.
Thank you. I've never seen much use being any other way.
My apologies I’m coming to this video late. My heart goes out to you and your family and all of those affected by this disaster. I only discovered your channel because of the Shadowdark video with your parents, but I was unaware of the circumstances.
I know it might seem dumb to mention this, but since I live in a disaster prone state myself, I have had this same thought about what RPG would make my disaster kit . I get why you made this video.
Thank you for the links to where I can help .
Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear I'm not the only weirdo who reached for my TTRPGs when things hit the fan 😅
Bedankt
Thank you!
Hey man, I’m in Greenville Sc I hope you are doing ok. Keep up surviving and keep a good head
My family and I are safe. Thank you. We love Greenville.
glad you were able to make it to safety, also around the area but managed to dodge the worst of it. The friends from ttrpgs have been a great support during this time, and seeing communities coming together to help each other out! as for games to take with me, 1. BREAK!!, 2. .Dungeon remastered, 3. Songbirds, 4. Shadowdark, 5. ICRPG master edition
Thank you. We have some great communities that surround us, especially here in Appalachia.
Those are some great choices.
A man of great taste. Best of luck to you and your family.
Thank you and thank you.
I'm very glad you and yours are safe and sound. Growing up in the Pennsylvania Appalachian mountains I know first hand how angry the creeks and rivers can be... and yes there are other survival supplies that are important bur so is your mental and emotional well being. If that us aided by a ttrpg book then pack it without regret.
That's a good point. I'd be pretty bummed if I didn't have at least some portion of my favorite hobby. Thanks for the kind words.
Be strong out there my friend. Thank you for the update.
Thank you, I will 💪
Super glad to know you're ok- and I feel a lot of your pain. Thanks so much not just for the content, but for letting us know so much about the situation.
It's the least I can do for those (including friends) who are still in it.
And thank you 💚
Stay safe brother. Thank you for sharing whats going onb
Thank you. 💚
I don't know what to say. That's horrible 😢 glad you keep up the good work and that you and your family and pets are now in safety.
Thank you ❤️🩹
The unique horror of floods has loomed large in my mind ever since reading one of my all time favorite adventures: Patrick Stuart’s “Deep Carbon Observatory”.
If you wrote an adventure/module about surviving a flood, from the perspective of someone who experienced a devastating flood firsthand, I would absolutely buy it! You could use it as a way to raise awareness, and include links to fundraising efforts in the text, and/or advice on personal safety/preventative steps that can make a big difference in safety.
That's a really interesting idea! As soon as I figure out how to write a good adventure and do layout lol. But I really like that.
I live in the Biltmore Village area of Asheville. I’m still here and will remain here. Still no power or water service. I hope you come back we can get together and play some TTRPG’s.
Stay strong. There are so many pitching in to help. The strength of the Appalachian community is shining through the gloom. If you haven't seen it yet, there are some great resources online. Maps of how to get to supplies (though I know not everyone has reception). I will add the link that I know of at the very bottom of the description of this video.
I hope that we do get to game together.
If I could, just one time, warp the algorithm to suit my purposes, it'd be to ensure that more people would see this.
That was my hope. I don't think many are aware of how dire this situation is. I'm seeing new problems and new needs daily.
Thank you for spreading the word and I’m glad you’re okay.
For the algorithm, my bag would be:
Urban Shadows
Mörk Borg
Pathfinder 1e core rulebook (just for the memories)
Vampire the Masquerade core rules
Blades in the Dark
Thanks for listening.
Great list. I regret not bringing Blades in the Dark
@@ElderGoblinGames If you need a copy lmk and I can always send mine your way!
That's very generous of you.
Good choice of books! Wishing you the best.
Choosing was HARD. Thank you.
Awesome Video!
Hope You and your Family are well!!
We are with family and that's all we can ask for right now. Thanks.
My friend and coworker and his family live in NC, he said it was pretty serious there and a number of his neighbors had their houses leveled by the trees around their homes being felled onto their home. Im glad your family is physically ok and safe and I hope you and your family are able to heal for this huge disaster. Stay safe!
Also, please dont apologize for being emotional or crying. This is a serious disaster that you and your family have gone through.
Also also my survival bag:
Alien TTRPG
Handful of D6 dice to use with Alien TTRPG
Laminated pre-generated Alien TTRPG Character sheets (yes I laminated mine so I can reuse them)
Dune TTRPG
2 D20s
Thank you 💚
I’m in Greenville, SC. For western NC, this is worse than Katrina.
Agreed. We passed through Greenville before we found a place that both had gas and were taking credit cards and not just cash.
hold fast jorb!!!!
🛡️💚
Good to hear you and yours are ok.
Thank you 💚
books I would save: original deities and demigods and original fiend folio. Shadowdark. Stygian library. Cy_borg. Unfortunately I would have to sacrifice the rest of the space for my rare and signed x men comics. Love to you and your family and all the people dealing with this catastrophe
I'm jealous of that fiend folio. That would make my list too if I owned it.
Good list. I'd love to try Cy_borg.
Stay safe my man.
Now ttrpg go bag:
Fiasco
Dread
Knave
Cosmic Encounter
and the one large one
Over The Edge.
That's a good list. Lots of diverse mechanics.
@@ElderGoblinGames really looking forward to the discworld game coming soon. The mechanics seem cool too.
Happy you and your immediate family are safe. Your lives and imaginations are the only necessary ingredient for TTRPGs. As for which I would choose it would definitely be Shadowdark and I was thinking that one alone, until you pull out Crown and Skull after which I thought "Yeah that one too".
Thank you. Well said. They were both the highest on my list.
All the best to you in these hard times!
Knaves, Cairn, Mörk Borg agreed for small ones
I'd just add Black Sword Hack and LotFP
Medium ones: ICPRG is a no-brainer (I have both 2E and Collector's Edition), I'd add Into the Odd because I love it so much and my favorite of all: Vaults of Vaarn Deluxe Edition
I'd add Pirate Borg as well, Maze of the Blue Medusa and Whitehack 4E because it's also a journal for me
Big ones: I agree with Shadowdark (I have Premium Edition which is really awesome but bigger) and Crown & Skull (I have Gold Edition which is even more beautiful!)
I'd add Electric Bastionland and The Monster Overhaul to these
Thank you 💚
I would love to have Electric or Mystic Bastion Land one day.
I'm glad you and your family are OK. I wish this was used to implement some climate action legislation in the US, but I know it won't :(
I think in case of emergency I would grab different flavours of games. I would for sure grab my Spanish discontinued games: Eirendor (simplified 5e) and Crónicas del Ocaso (simplified PF2). Those would be really difficult to find again, and cover both lightweight and crunchy fantasy. Mausritter, because I absolutely love the theme. Fate Accelerated, because it's tiny and good for any kinds of genres. And then something different, like Primal Quest (the spanish edition includes several adventures, which is a big plus) or Legend of the Five Rings 3e (I have lots of great memories of that game).
Wouldn't that be something?
That's an excellent list. I'm regretting not grabbing Mausritter, but at least I have Cairn.
Watched to the end and yes, showing the truth on the ground is important. My best wishes to you, your community and your families.
My survival pack woudl be the "One Book" options I can run on no notice with minimal gear. Monster of the Week, Savage Worlds, EZd6, ICRPG, Shadowdark, Pirate Borg, Crown and Skull and lastly, for GM self care, Notorious. Because taking time to just roll and write and send myself on advanture far far away, might be what I need to recharge and come back fresh to the needs of the day.
Thank you 💚
Savage Worlds and EZD6 were games I really didn't want to leave behind. But I'm hoping they'll still be there when I get back. Whenever that is.
I hope everything works out!
Thank you 💚
Whoa... You have these thought experiments and such all the time, but you never think it'll actually happen. Good luck to you and your community.
As for my backpack, I have a lot of books that are damn near irreplaceable for logistical or sentimental reasons, so narrowing it down to a backpack is really difficult.
Ironsworn, and Ironsworn: Starforged
Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number
My copy of the Original AD&D Spelljammer box set
My copies of Werewolf and Changeling from when I was a teenager
Mothership 1E and a handful of zines for it
And that's probably it...
Thanks. There were some books I really didn't want to leave and hope to return to.
That's a good list. There are some beefy tomes in there. I have a hardback of WWN. It definitely wouldn't have fit that bag.
@@ElderGoblinGames Guess I've got a big backpack. XD
Good luck, man
Thank you. We have been lucky.
Eight games, and almost all of them were slightly different takes on classic fantasy adventuring lol, true OSR gamer! Sounds like my game shelf honestly. In an actual disaster situation, I would probably do the same and just try to save my top favorite games even if they were very similar or occupied the same niche. In a theoretical island scenario (i.e. your collection will never again grow past this short list), I would probably bring a more diverse sampling of my collection that better represented a swathe of different settings and gaming styles. Maybe:
1. Electric Bastionland (favorite core system)
2. Spire (awesome setting but also framework to run other stuff with the Resistance system)
3. Magical Industrial Revolution (just for the setting and tables)
4. The Sprawl (cyberpunk PBTA)
5. Mothership (mainly for the tables, and running stuff in a modern setting with the d100 system)
6. Invisible Sun (just "The Key" book, essentially the PHB, for surreal games focused more on mystery and social stuff)
7. Veins of the Earth (for the setting)
8. Deep Carbon Observatory (because I'd run this adventure 1000 times)
You're absolutely right lol I need to diversify a bit. I picked up mothership post Helene, so it would definitely make the list now. That's a great list! I really want to get my hands on mythic bastionland.
@@ElderGoblinGames don’t know if you backed the Mythic Bastionland Kickstarter or have been following some of the updates on Chris’ blog, but that book is going to be BEAUTIFUL.
glad you are safe
💚🧌
Nothing tells that you love your wife like that you didn't ditch her for Mausritter.
I picked up Mausritter twice. But then I ended up with Cairn. It was smaller.
My wife insisted we could make room for the games. She's one of a kind.
Just a bunch of d6, pen and paper 🎲
The simple way. That's my pockets only version 😅❤️🩹
@@ElderGoblinGames Just be careful how you store that pencil 😅
❤
💚
Only one? It would have to be a system I could use to run everything with very little prep or materials. So, either a D6 system or a % system.
My gut tells me the Basic Roleplaying rules from Chaosium
A goodly choice!
@ thanks
Made a donation to support the overall mission to assist folks. Please ping me if I can do anything for you and your family. Love and blessings to you and yours my brother. ❤️🙏🇺🇸
Donating is plenty enough help! Thank you so much.
Obviously take RPGs to stay sane! Sorry man :(
All my island games would be the most complex ones. Battletech + MechWarrior. Pathfinder. Ad&D. Zweihander etc.
I've only played Pathfinder and AD&D of those. I opted out of anything too large and erred on the side of rules light as most of the people I'll be staying with aren't gamers.
Best of luck getting back to some sense of normalcy.
Thanks. Normalcy will come, though it will arrive by its own prerogative.
It’s all terrible - very little more to say except that I’m so glad your family made it out safely - Appalachia is full of strong, resilient people, but even if they can, they shouldn’t have to fight against catastrophe 🫂
Thank you. We were the lucky ones.
It's true. You technically don't need any of these things to play, especially if you're good at internalizing those things. There's some things I retain very well, other things I don't. I kept the books for the things I don't.
This was so very beautifully put. Thanks for sharing.