Characters work magic by learning sign language in the Underisles TTRPG

Rich Oxenham was working at Action on Hearing Loss to assist deaf and hard of hearing people in the United Kingdom while spending his spare time running a Dungeons & Dragons group for local teens. When one of the players suggested Oxenham make his own game, he started thinking about how he could build learning sign language into the design of a tabletop role-playing game.

“I loved learning sign language and it’s obviously a really important skill to learn community-wise,” Oxenham told Polygon in a video interview. “I linked up with my colleagues and friends at the charity who were deaf, and we got all the material together and launched a Kickstarter.”

The July 2020 campaign for Inspirisles hit its goal in less than 10 hours, collecting £31,000, 30 times Oxenham’s modest goal of £1,000. The plan had originally been to direct players to the National Deaf Children’s Society to learn signing, but the extra funding allowed them to create their own art and sign language sheets. It also proved there was enough demand for the concept to allow Oxenham and his wife Kathryn, who serves as the principal writer, to keep working on it. Their second book, Overisles, raised £183,000 and was released in 2023. The trilogy will conclude with Underisles, which hits Kickstarter on July 15.

The game is set in a fantasy version of the British Isles, and the characters are Pendragons, descendants of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. They must fulfill an ancient oath by fighting disbelief, which is sapping magic from the world. Helping others builds belief and heals the World Tree, while violence spreads disbelief.

“I think of it like The NeverEnding Story, the classic idea that the world is collapsing,” Oxenham said.

Inspirisles introduces the base setting and mechanics, while Overisles is set on floating islands that players need to stop from sinking and hitting the mainland. Underisle will be a dungeon crawl, where players go spelunking to rescue miners who accidentally released a dormant threat. All three books will be available to purchase in the new Kickstarter, and a digital version of the core game rules is included with any pledge so you can start playing right away.

Characters solve puzzles and overcome challenges by learning Shaping, a type of elemental magic known only to dragons, which is represented by British and American sign language.

“If you start at level one, you kind of finger spell ‘fire’ for the element of fire,” Oxenham said. “As you move up levels, you do the actual sign for ‘fire’ and then you start putting sentences together. The other players will use their elements in collaboration with you to pass the test, and by the end of it, you’re having a mini conversation.”

Oxenham worked with professional deaf tutors to figure out how to intuitively integrate language learning into the RPG. Inspirisles has been used in many schools and won the American Library Association’s game award in 2024 alongside Kids on Bikes.

“In some cases, it’s [the kids’] first introduction to deaf culture or any deaf people,” Oxenham said. “The game’s really built to be a healthy introduction and then encourage people to take a professional course.”

Each of the new campaigns has expanded on the sign language education, starting with basics like the alphabet, numbers, and greetings. Players can also pick up a Shaping deck, a set of flashcards that can make it easier to learn at the gaming table. The stretch goals for the latest campaign include a teaching pack developed with the help of deaf consultants to give educators the basics of how to run roleplaying games.

“This is made for all ages and it’s really easy to pick up,” Oxenham said. “It’s a really good alternative for families to be playing.”