When Dungeons and Dragons first became popular, it had its roots in European fantasy. As a result, the tabletop games of the era hardly ever left that part of the world. Tolkien was the name of the game, while other regions were seen as "mysterious lands of afar." At best, they were treated as cool curiosities. At worst, they perpetuated harmful stereotypes that hindered understanding of different cultures.
Fortunately, the tabletop scene of today has changed. The industry is more diverse than ever before. Even big IPs such as Pathfinder have hired writers from diverse backgrounds to create their historically inspired fantasy realms. But the best settings always come courtesy of indie TTRPGs. Zairoo: The Pan-African Fantasy Role Playing Game is one such game.
Zairoo takes place in a steampunk world inspired by Africa, each region boasting unique cultures and terrain. After Keteku, the Discordant ripped open reality, untold horrors poured out of the gaping wound. Now, the players must survive this world-rending war, but fortunately, they are plenty heroic.
Unlike traditional DnD classes, Zairoo utilizes African naming conventions for its adventurers. From the shield-bashing Fasimba to the bright light of healing by the Oloye, these unique classes are wonderfully flavorful.
As for the system itself, it's narratively driven through d6 dice and five main stats. Grit, Vision, Soul, Vibe and Flow dictate how well you perform certain actions. Fans of World of Darkness will find this style of play quite familiar. There's also the Harmony and Discord stats, which measure how close to chaos each player's heart is.
The game's development is led by Molombo Thilia Thillot III, a Congolese-American law school grad with a deep love of Pan-African culture, alongside other talented black creatives.
The Kickstarter for Zairoo has rocketed past its $30,000 goal and currently sits at just over $88,000. Great to hear, because there are so many worlds out there left to explore. I hope creatives who want to represent their culture are inspired by these successes.
Want to talk shop about cool indie TTRPGs? The Wargamer Discord has plenty of tabletop aficionados. If you want some non-Eurocentric awesomness, check out my interview with the creators of Gubat Banwa.