Welcome back to our weekly look at tabletop roleplaying game, and accessories, crowdfunding projects roundup! Each week we'll be looking at a few campaigns currently running that have caught our eye. If you have anything you'd like us to cover, or questions about anything we talk about, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me directly.
[h=3]Ki Khanga: a Sword and Soul Role Playing Game by MVmedia LLC[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Sunday 30th October 2016; 14:59 UTC)
I was immediately interested in Ki Khanga when I first heard about it upon the campaigns launch as I really enjoy non-Western European themed settings – be they in science fiction, fantasy or any other genre. Being a Western European I know my culture pretty well – I grew up in a town famed for a decisive battle in the War of the Roses in 1471 and went on countless school visits to castles, Roman excavation sites, Stonehenge, and was taught about Arthur, Camelot, and a wealth of folklore and fairy tales. So I’m always interested to see non-Western European flavoured games be they Oriental, Arabian, South American, Australasian or in this case, African.
Ki Khanga is a new Sword and Soul (African-inspired epic and heroic fantasy) roleplaying game that uses regular playing cards to resolve conflicts and to achieve feats in a fun and dynamic way that keeps the action and drama moving.
Ki Khanga: The Sword and Soul RPG contains all the tools and guidance players need to don the roles of sword, spear and bow-wielding warriors; powerful Babalawo and Nana priests, who control the forces of nature; nangas, who cast powerful magic through their nkisi statues; and countless oher occupations, all creatable through a free form character creation system.
Taking many inspirations from oral history and literature, Ki Khanga gives players a unique experience, immersing them in a world of African folklore and culture. Add in some Sword and Sorcery excursions into the forests, desert, plains, rivers, seas and sprawling metropolises, along with ancient temples and powerful gods and demigods and you have Ki Khanga – classic tabletop roleplaying, with a fresh configuration of friends, fiends, foes and formidable dangers.
Written by two of the most popular authors if African-inspired fantasy – Milton Davis and Balogun Ojetade – the campaign funded in under 24 hours.
My only complaint about the campaign is they don’t currently offer a PDF-only pledge level (although PDFs of the game will be available after the game is released). I feel this is probably putting a number of people off backing it as many people have electronic gaming libraries these days and, depending on ‘overseas’ shipping rates for the physical rewards, the PDF only level can end up being the affordable option for many non-US backers. That said, I’m really pleased to see the campaign doing well and am looking forward to seeing the finished game.
[h=3]Demon Cults & Secret Societies: 5th Edition & Pathfinder RPG by Kobold Press[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Tuesday 1st November 2016; 01:00 UTC)
Demon Cults & Secret Societies is designed to fit easily into most fantasy settings and is ”rife with true villainy, fiendish plots, blackhearted new magic, detailed cultists and high priest!”
The first five parts of the Demon Cult series were commissioned to support the Southlands Kickstarter, and they are quite amazing. However, people asked if we could expand them, to provide more sample cultists at various CRs. Plus more new monsters and special cult-specific magic to give each cult of secret society unique tools that PCs have never seen before. Those expansions make an already playable set of villains into something even richer and more exciting.
Several of the original cults work best within tropical or subtropical cultures. We wanted to keep those in this volume (some of them, like the pseudo-Egyptian Emerald Order of Thoth-Hermes, work pretty much in any European context as well, if you know your History of Magick). However, we also wanted to add all-new cults based on Nordic themes and on a debauched underworld, and other wellsprings of vileness. This book will include runic cults, new demons, and various ways to sow bloody ruin in a traditional fantasy campaign well beyond the Southlands, in colder climates, rat-infested cities, and other locales.
The book will be over 120 pages (roughly 12 pages per cult) and in full colour.
[h=3]Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook 3rd Printing by Frog God Games[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Monday 7th November 2016; 04:00 UTC)
Frog God Games are reprinting the ENNIE-Award winning Swords & Wizardry RPG, the “retro-clone of the original 1974-1978 edition of the world’s most famous fantasy roleplaying game.”
This is more than just a straight reprint however. Whilst the text remains pretty much the same between editions (some minor adjustments to the gameplay examples) the book will have all new artwork and layout to help not only appeal to older gamers but also younger gamers and female gamers who may not have the same ‘nostalgia kick’ with a book that has the look of a 40+ year old game. Basically an edition to try and target the more mainstream roleplaying market and bring the game to a wider audience.
[h=3]Apocalypse the Risen RPG (Pathfinder Compatible) by Rusted Portal Games[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 3rd November 2016; 01:18 UTC)
Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible post-apocalyptic fantasy horror RPG based on Earth, twenty-five years after the fall of society in an event known as the Rise.
Apocalypse the Risen thrusts you into the role of a resolute survivor, forging through the ashes of humanity on an Earth besieged by demons and the dead – known as Risen. Twenty-five years after the collapse of society, humankind and their new allies now fight back, staggered and beaten but never broken.
Is it the survival of your Colony that drives you onward in the hunt for precious resources? Or perhaps hatred for the evils walking the Earth that fuels your righteous anger seeking redemption?
The four main races are Humans, Descended (Angels fallen to Earth), Lazarus (manifestations of souls escaped from Purgatory) and Progeny (the unholy conjugation of Demons and Humans) and there are nine classes for players to choose from (Arbiter, Conservator, Enforcer, Harbinger, Hound, Jackal, Maverick, Shepherd and Splicer).
This will be a full colour, heavily illustrated (including some stunning work by artist Raven Mimura), 400+ page hardcover.
[h=3]Monsters – A Soucebook for Chill Third Edition Horror RPG by Matthew McFarland[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Tuesday 1st November 2016; 02:59 UTC)
Monsters is a new sourcebook for the Chill 3rd Edition RPG in a similar vein to Chill 2nd Edition titles such as Vampires and Horrors of North America. The book has material for both players and Chill Masters and includes more history on SAVE, 10 new creatures of the Unknown, more detailed information on existing Chill creatures, more Edges and Drawbacks and new campaign-length cases that form a longer story arc.
The Eternal Society of the Silver Way – SAVE – protects humanity from the Unknown, but the Unknown tkes many forms. Sometimes, the Unknown comes in the form of a revenant, a human being tormented into becoming a supernatural creature after death. Sometimes envoys of SAVE take up arms against werewolves and other such shapeshifters.
Sometimes, though, the creatures they fight have nothing in common but their hatred for humanity and their hunger. Those creatures, SAVE simply calls “monsters”.
[h=3]Plight of the Tuatha Module Series: 5E Conversion by William Moomaw[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Wednesday 19th October 2016; 22:46 UTC)
The Imperiums Campaign Setting was originally published by Mor Games for Pathfinder and this campaign looks at brining you the setting for 5th Edition. The campaign us looking at converting 5 books worth of material, which is enough to take your characters from 2nd to 12th level.
Campaign Guide: Plight of the Tuatha
Volume 1: Feast Hall of Ash
Volume 2: Vasiley’s Woe
Volume 3: Dark Sails and Dark Words
Volume 4: Storm Over Tir Ydrial
The abnicent world of Aeliode is massive. Its lands have been indelibly svarred by generations of bloody conflicts. Kingdoms rose to power, empires shattered, all under the watchful eyes of the gods. This is the world in which the Plight of the Tuatha adventure series takes place. And only the most prepared are likely to survive the oncoming storm.
Each book will be full colour and contain new creatures, magic items, maps of the world of Aeliode and artwork featuring the people and places of the many cultures and kingdoms.
[h=3]The Folio #11 Adventures from the Emerald Serpent by Scott Taylor[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Friday 14th October 2016; 00:16 UTC)
Art of the Genre returns to The Nameless Realms for the Taux Trilogy (Folios #11-13) starting with Adventures from the Emerald Serpent. The trilogy is based upon a shared world anthology, Tales of the Emerald Serpent, they released a few years ago and will feature characters, places, plots and intrigue from the book (which you can also buy in some of the pledge levels).
“This first volume of the Taux Trilogy will take place in and around the events of Tales of the Emerald Serpent, your characters interacting with the various personalities of the infamous Black Gate District. Included as always will be a bevy of maps (both 3D & 2D), a setting gazetteer, adventure booklet, and of course removable cover for use as a DM Screen.”
Formerly the Tolmic City of Taux, this stand alone metropolis rests at the top of the Free Coast and once served as a way station between a dozen large nations all over the northern Halo Ocean. More than half a century before the current date, during the final days of the Five Year War that banished all the old gods from the world, the population of the city was destroyed by a necromantic surge of energy. The tale of that destruction is as follows:
Nearly a century ago in the Nameless Realms timeline a council of Moon Priests and a coven of Tome-Mages theorized that like the Afterglow Sea that resides beyond the Elemental Plane of Water, there should be another plane of existence behind each of the known Elemental Planes (Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Positive Radiance, and Negative Shadow). Because Taux sat so close to the ‘Ebon Swamp’ which is known to bubble up with Negative Elemental energy, they decided to dedicate a portion of their resources to discovering this ‘other plane’ from the secret subterranean conduits in Taux. Years passed, and the two Orders built a series of tunnels beneath the surface of Taux that could be used as a kind of elemental broadcasting station. Then, on a night corresponding with the closest proximity of the Negative Elemental Plane to the planetary sphere, they broke into a huge magical ceremony that would ‘ping’ beyond the Negative Elemental Plane, hoping to find another source of raw magical power there. The theory was that some reverb would come back that proved its existence and they could use that for further contact. Nine hours after the magical ping, just as the city woke in the predawn gloom for work, a nightmare scream struck the city with an apocalyptic wave. Every living thing within a hundred miles was obliterated; all souls flash-burned into stone of the landscape around it. Since that day the city and surrounding lands have been quiet, but the sould still remember, now trapped forever in the walls of their cursed city.
Today, Taux is once again a thriving port city, although instead of Tolimic Humans, it is populated from many cultures all over the Halo and beyond, each trying to make a profit on the mass of cargo that moves through the free city without taxation. Although still haunted by the spirits of the past, the current inhabitants try to quite the stone and live with strange whispers at night or the sounds of cries from rooms no one is currently in.
The base system for the series will be 1st Edition with 5th Edition stat blocks in grey.
[h=3]Dragonlock 2: Fantasy Village Terrain for 3D Printers by Tom Tullis[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Wednesday 12th October 2016; 03:59 UTC)
3D Printers are becoming more and more affordable and we’ve been seeing several crowdfunding campaigns offering templates for you to print off for use on your tabletop. Even if you don’t own a 3D printer at present many of these campaigns are worth backing if you think you will be buying one at some point as then you’ll have a whole range of things ready to print – many of which might not be available outside of the campaign and, if they are, certainly at a higher price than you could get them for by backing the campaign.
Dragonlock 2 has been an immense success since its launch. It’s raised over $120,000 (of a $500 goal) and still has 6 days to go (as of writing this). The bulk of the campaign offers a range of buildings and furnishings which all look great. In addition to these you can also get a range of add-ons such as a Windmill, Market, Sewers, Caverns and Ruins, as well as their original Dungeon set.
**********
If you like what we do here at EN World (the Forums, Columns, News, ENnies, etc) and would like to help support us to bring you MORE please consider supporting our Patreon. Even a single dollar helps Thanks!
**********
If you have a forthcoming Kickstarter, or see one that excites you, please feel free to drop me an email on angus.abranson@gmail.com You can follow me on Twitter @ Angus_A or on Facebook where I often post about gaming.
Until next week, have fun and happy gaming!
Angus Abranson
[h=3]Ki Khanga: a Sword and Soul Role Playing Game by MVmedia LLC[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Sunday 30th October 2016; 14:59 UTC)
I was immediately interested in Ki Khanga when I first heard about it upon the campaigns launch as I really enjoy non-Western European themed settings – be they in science fiction, fantasy or any other genre. Being a Western European I know my culture pretty well – I grew up in a town famed for a decisive battle in the War of the Roses in 1471 and went on countless school visits to castles, Roman excavation sites, Stonehenge, and was taught about Arthur, Camelot, and a wealth of folklore and fairy tales. So I’m always interested to see non-Western European flavoured games be they Oriental, Arabian, South American, Australasian or in this case, African.
Ki Khanga is a new Sword and Soul (African-inspired epic and heroic fantasy) roleplaying game that uses regular playing cards to resolve conflicts and to achieve feats in a fun and dynamic way that keeps the action and drama moving.
Ki Khanga: The Sword and Soul RPG contains all the tools and guidance players need to don the roles of sword, spear and bow-wielding warriors; powerful Babalawo and Nana priests, who control the forces of nature; nangas, who cast powerful magic through their nkisi statues; and countless oher occupations, all creatable through a free form character creation system.
Taking many inspirations from oral history and literature, Ki Khanga gives players a unique experience, immersing them in a world of African folklore and culture. Add in some Sword and Sorcery excursions into the forests, desert, plains, rivers, seas and sprawling metropolises, along with ancient temples and powerful gods and demigods and you have Ki Khanga – classic tabletop roleplaying, with a fresh configuration of friends, fiends, foes and formidable dangers.
Written by two of the most popular authors if African-inspired fantasy – Milton Davis and Balogun Ojetade – the campaign funded in under 24 hours.
My only complaint about the campaign is they don’t currently offer a PDF-only pledge level (although PDFs of the game will be available after the game is released). I feel this is probably putting a number of people off backing it as many people have electronic gaming libraries these days and, depending on ‘overseas’ shipping rates for the physical rewards, the PDF only level can end up being the affordable option for many non-US backers. That said, I’m really pleased to see the campaign doing well and am looking forward to seeing the finished game.
[h=3]Demon Cults & Secret Societies: 5th Edition & Pathfinder RPG by Kobold Press[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Tuesday 1st November 2016; 01:00 UTC)
Demon Cults & Secret Societies is designed to fit easily into most fantasy settings and is ”rife with true villainy, fiendish plots, blackhearted new magic, detailed cultists and high priest!”
The first five parts of the Demon Cult series were commissioned to support the Southlands Kickstarter, and they are quite amazing. However, people asked if we could expand them, to provide more sample cultists at various CRs. Plus more new monsters and special cult-specific magic to give each cult of secret society unique tools that PCs have never seen before. Those expansions make an already playable set of villains into something even richer and more exciting.
Several of the original cults work best within tropical or subtropical cultures. We wanted to keep those in this volume (some of them, like the pseudo-Egyptian Emerald Order of Thoth-Hermes, work pretty much in any European context as well, if you know your History of Magick). However, we also wanted to add all-new cults based on Nordic themes and on a debauched underworld, and other wellsprings of vileness. This book will include runic cults, new demons, and various ways to sow bloody ruin in a traditional fantasy campaign well beyond the Southlands, in colder climates, rat-infested cities, and other locales.
The book will be over 120 pages (roughly 12 pages per cult) and in full colour.
[h=3]Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook 3rd Printing by Frog God Games[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Monday 7th November 2016; 04:00 UTC)
Frog God Games are reprinting the ENNIE-Award winning Swords & Wizardry RPG, the “retro-clone of the original 1974-1978 edition of the world’s most famous fantasy roleplaying game.”
This is more than just a straight reprint however. Whilst the text remains pretty much the same between editions (some minor adjustments to the gameplay examples) the book will have all new artwork and layout to help not only appeal to older gamers but also younger gamers and female gamers who may not have the same ‘nostalgia kick’ with a book that has the look of a 40+ year old game. Basically an edition to try and target the more mainstream roleplaying market and bring the game to a wider audience.
[h=3]Apocalypse the Risen RPG (Pathfinder Compatible) by Rusted Portal Games[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 3rd November 2016; 01:18 UTC)
Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible post-apocalyptic fantasy horror RPG based on Earth, twenty-five years after the fall of society in an event known as the Rise.
Apocalypse the Risen thrusts you into the role of a resolute survivor, forging through the ashes of humanity on an Earth besieged by demons and the dead – known as Risen. Twenty-five years after the collapse of society, humankind and their new allies now fight back, staggered and beaten but never broken.
Is it the survival of your Colony that drives you onward in the hunt for precious resources? Or perhaps hatred for the evils walking the Earth that fuels your righteous anger seeking redemption?
The four main races are Humans, Descended (Angels fallen to Earth), Lazarus (manifestations of souls escaped from Purgatory) and Progeny (the unholy conjugation of Demons and Humans) and there are nine classes for players to choose from (Arbiter, Conservator, Enforcer, Harbinger, Hound, Jackal, Maverick, Shepherd and Splicer).
This will be a full colour, heavily illustrated (including some stunning work by artist Raven Mimura), 400+ page hardcover.
[h=3]Monsters – A Soucebook for Chill Third Edition Horror RPG by Matthew McFarland[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Tuesday 1st November 2016; 02:59 UTC)
Monsters is a new sourcebook for the Chill 3rd Edition RPG in a similar vein to Chill 2nd Edition titles such as Vampires and Horrors of North America. The book has material for both players and Chill Masters and includes more history on SAVE, 10 new creatures of the Unknown, more detailed information on existing Chill creatures, more Edges and Drawbacks and new campaign-length cases that form a longer story arc.
The Eternal Society of the Silver Way – SAVE – protects humanity from the Unknown, but the Unknown tkes many forms. Sometimes, the Unknown comes in the form of a revenant, a human being tormented into becoming a supernatural creature after death. Sometimes envoys of SAVE take up arms against werewolves and other such shapeshifters.
Sometimes, though, the creatures they fight have nothing in common but their hatred for humanity and their hunger. Those creatures, SAVE simply calls “monsters”.
[h=3]Plight of the Tuatha Module Series: 5E Conversion by William Moomaw[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Wednesday 19th October 2016; 22:46 UTC)
The Imperiums Campaign Setting was originally published by Mor Games for Pathfinder and this campaign looks at brining you the setting for 5th Edition. The campaign us looking at converting 5 books worth of material, which is enough to take your characters from 2nd to 12th level.
Campaign Guide: Plight of the Tuatha
Volume 1: Feast Hall of Ash
Volume 2: Vasiley’s Woe
Volume 3: Dark Sails and Dark Words
Volume 4: Storm Over Tir Ydrial
The abnicent world of Aeliode is massive. Its lands have been indelibly svarred by generations of bloody conflicts. Kingdoms rose to power, empires shattered, all under the watchful eyes of the gods. This is the world in which the Plight of the Tuatha adventure series takes place. And only the most prepared are likely to survive the oncoming storm.
Each book will be full colour and contain new creatures, magic items, maps of the world of Aeliode and artwork featuring the people and places of the many cultures and kingdoms.
[h=3]The Folio #11 Adventures from the Emerald Serpent by Scott Taylor[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Friday 14th October 2016; 00:16 UTC)
Art of the Genre returns to The Nameless Realms for the Taux Trilogy (Folios #11-13) starting with Adventures from the Emerald Serpent. The trilogy is based upon a shared world anthology, Tales of the Emerald Serpent, they released a few years ago and will feature characters, places, plots and intrigue from the book (which you can also buy in some of the pledge levels).
“This first volume of the Taux Trilogy will take place in and around the events of Tales of the Emerald Serpent, your characters interacting with the various personalities of the infamous Black Gate District. Included as always will be a bevy of maps (both 3D & 2D), a setting gazetteer, adventure booklet, and of course removable cover for use as a DM Screen.”
Formerly the Tolmic City of Taux, this stand alone metropolis rests at the top of the Free Coast and once served as a way station between a dozen large nations all over the northern Halo Ocean. More than half a century before the current date, during the final days of the Five Year War that banished all the old gods from the world, the population of the city was destroyed by a necromantic surge of energy. The tale of that destruction is as follows:
Nearly a century ago in the Nameless Realms timeline a council of Moon Priests and a coven of Tome-Mages theorized that like the Afterglow Sea that resides beyond the Elemental Plane of Water, there should be another plane of existence behind each of the known Elemental Planes (Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Positive Radiance, and Negative Shadow). Because Taux sat so close to the ‘Ebon Swamp’ which is known to bubble up with Negative Elemental energy, they decided to dedicate a portion of their resources to discovering this ‘other plane’ from the secret subterranean conduits in Taux. Years passed, and the two Orders built a series of tunnels beneath the surface of Taux that could be used as a kind of elemental broadcasting station. Then, on a night corresponding with the closest proximity of the Negative Elemental Plane to the planetary sphere, they broke into a huge magical ceremony that would ‘ping’ beyond the Negative Elemental Plane, hoping to find another source of raw magical power there. The theory was that some reverb would come back that proved its existence and they could use that for further contact. Nine hours after the magical ping, just as the city woke in the predawn gloom for work, a nightmare scream struck the city with an apocalyptic wave. Every living thing within a hundred miles was obliterated; all souls flash-burned into stone of the landscape around it. Since that day the city and surrounding lands have been quiet, but the sould still remember, now trapped forever in the walls of their cursed city.
Today, Taux is once again a thriving port city, although instead of Tolimic Humans, it is populated from many cultures all over the Halo and beyond, each trying to make a profit on the mass of cargo that moves through the free city without taxation. Although still haunted by the spirits of the past, the current inhabitants try to quite the stone and live with strange whispers at night or the sounds of cries from rooms no one is currently in.
The base system for the series will be 1st Edition with 5th Edition stat blocks in grey.
[h=3]Dragonlock 2: Fantasy Village Terrain for 3D Printers by Tom Tullis[/h]
(Campaign Ends : Wednesday 12th October 2016; 03:59 UTC)
3D Printers are becoming more and more affordable and we’ve been seeing several crowdfunding campaigns offering templates for you to print off for use on your tabletop. Even if you don’t own a 3D printer at present many of these campaigns are worth backing if you think you will be buying one at some point as then you’ll have a whole range of things ready to print – many of which might not be available outside of the campaign and, if they are, certainly at a higher price than you could get them for by backing the campaign.
Dragonlock 2 has been an immense success since its launch. It’s raised over $120,000 (of a $500 goal) and still has 6 days to go (as of writing this). The bulk of the campaign offers a range of buildings and furnishings which all look great. In addition to these you can also get a range of add-ons such as a Windmill, Market, Sewers, Caverns and Ruins, as well as their original Dungeon set.
**********
If you like what we do here at EN World (the Forums, Columns, News, ENnies, etc) and would like to help support us to bring you MORE please consider supporting our Patreon. Even a single dollar helps Thanks!
**********
If you have a forthcoming Kickstarter, or see one that excites you, please feel free to drop me an email on angus.abranson@gmail.com You can follow me on Twitter @ Angus_A or on Facebook where I often post about gaming.
Until next week, have fun and happy gaming!
Angus Abranson
