Welcome back to our weekly look at tabletop roleplaying game, and accessories, crowdfunding roundup! Each week we’ll be looking at a few campaigns currently running that have caught our eye as well as occasionally speaking to some of the creators about their campaigns, or looking at some of the ‘behind the scenes’ business aspects of putting together, launching, operating and then delivering a crowdfunded project. 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]Era: Survival – Expansions into the Unknown by Shades of Vengeance[/h](Campaign Ends : Sunday 11th June 2017; 22:59 UTC)
Shades of Vengeance have run series of successful Kickstarters and have amassed quite an impressive catalogue of books over the last few years. Their latest campaign sees them return to Gaia, the world of Era: Survival which funded last year. Era: Survival is a post-apocalyptic world where multiple factions are fighting for survival in the ruins whilst the remnants of humanity struggle to survive in a hostile world full of danger.
The campaign starts off with three books (The Swarm, Infected Manual and Tales of the Outlands) looking to be funded, along with the Definitive Edition Rulebook for Era: Survival. Each stretch goal unlocks another book (in the same style their Era: The Consortium – A Universe of Expansions campaign worked which ended up seven new books for the series).
“ Era: Survival allows you to explore a post-apocalyptic world 100 years after a Cataclysm that spread Infection, turning most of the warm-blooded creatures on Gaia into Mutants and Shambling zombies.
The people of Gaia have fundamentally different views which have led Humanity to splinter into numerous factions. These factions have complicated interactions, some working in near-alliances and others being ready to shoot on sight! Each faction also has its own view on how to survive extinction: while some search for a cure or isolate themselves far from the main centres of population, others seek to harness the power of the Mutants to gain power, or believe that Infection is the best course for Humanity.
Most modern features of Gaia are known and mapped, but Salvagers still exist, searching the ruins of fallen cities for the supplies needed by towns... and some are even lucky enough to find ancient "Vaults" from before the Cataclysm containing treasure troves of supplies.
With the Infected overrunning more towns every day, it's becoming increasingly dangerous out there...”
The Swarm Source Book
The Swarm is like a force of nature - there is no point in being angry when you see a glow on the horizon: you simply run as if it were a storm.
Over the last 5 years, the Swarm have spread southwards from their City of Light in the northern polar region, systematically burning everything their path and changing anyone not Infected into more Drones for their army.
The Swarm Source Book lets you join the Swarm as one of their Specials:
· Command a squad of your own as one of the Ashen
· Access some of the most advanced technology on Gaia as an Artisan
· Control the minds of others through programming techniques as an Abcediary
· and much more!
The Swarm will tame Gaia. Everyone else has a simple choice: stand in their way, and die, or join them.
The Infected Manual
The Infected Manual collects strange stories from Runners and travellers of the mutations they have encountered.
Encounter brand new types of Infected Mutants and Shamblers in your travels, with new abilities! From glue-like saliva to multiple arms and acquisition of other Infected mutations, experience the denizens of Gaia as never before.
With a brand new random generation system, you could encounter anything around the next corner! Gaia has never been so uncertain..
Tales of the Outlands
Many strange things happen on Gaia and it is not surprising, therefore, that even more unusual tales come from beyond the edge of Human civilisation.
Tales of the Outlands: Legends from the edge of the World collects many of these stories and provides adventure seeds for enterprising groups that are brave enough to leave the cradle of Humanity.
What is out there is said to be amazing and incredible: vaults filled with wealth beyond imagining, mysterious creatures and, it is said, a cure for Infection.
Will you survive this new and dangerous region?
Other possible books included the multi-book Foundation Campaign and the Aqua Setting Guide.
A free Quickstart Guide is available to download for free.
[h=3]Sigil & Sign – Cthulhu Mythos RPG where you play the cultist by Dominic McDowall – Cubicle 7[/h](Campaign Ends : Monday 22nd May 2017; 16:00 UTC)
Cubicle 7 have teamed up with Mark Rein-Hagen’s Make Believe Games to bring us not only the core rules for Sigil & Sign but also the first four supplements. Created by C.A. Suleiman the game twists the usual concept of various Mythos roleplaying games by having the characters not being the investigators but actually taking on the role of an Outsider. Boasting a creative team that also includes Dennis Detwiller (Delta Green), Greg Stolze (Unknown Armies), Lucya Szachnowski (Strange Aeons), Jesse Heinig (Fallout), Malcolm Sheppard (Mummy: The Curse), and Tim Dedopulos (Cthulhu Lives!) the game has an amazing line-up of talent.
From Great Cthulhu to the King in Yellow, from the Crawling Chaos to the Black Goat, they are the Old Ones… and they are no myth. They were here on Earth long before the rise of civilized Man, and some – maybe even all, depending who you ask – never left at all. Something keeps the Old Ones’ interest tethered to our planet, and for those people who simply want to live their ordinary lives in peace, the baleful arms of such entities can only portend doom.
You are not one of those people.
As an Outsider, you are caught between two worlds: the mundane world of humankind and the dark and alien world of the Mythos.
You might have been truly human one, but no longer. Or perhaps you’ve never known what it means to be human, as many Outsiders are now some generations removed from their homo sapiens origins.
Unspeakable: Sign & Sigil challenges Narrator and player alike to inhabit the protagonists of that secret world, people whose personas, conflicts, themes, views, and philosophies might well stand in start contrast to those held by the players depicting them. You’ll face stark choices and challenges as you attempt to navigate your way through the twin minefields of mundane human existence and cult life.
You might be a true loyalist, a member of what your people call the Oathbound. You might serve in an active capacity, and be called upon to perform strange tasks or investigate even stranger places, all in the pursuit of the greater glory of your otherwordly patron.
Your character might instead be one of the Outcaste, a group of Outsiders who forsake the suffocating structure of their central cult to follow their own path in the dire service of their Old One.
Whatever your personal, spiritual, or philosophical bent, you are an Outsider, and with that inescapable reality comes the dark Primogeniture of the Mythos. With it comes being marked of the Great Sigils: Change, Chaos, Darkness, Death, Madness, Ruin, or Silence.
To be an Outsider is to be burdened with difference and with increasingly horrid Aberration. But it also signifies that you are truly gifted of the Old Ones and of their eldritch power, capable of wielding some small portion of that power, able to call upon unearthly Bequests and perform rituals so dark that none dares conduct them in the light.
Rivalries run deep, and the cults often work at cross purposes with one another, so the capacity for mystery, intrigue, and explosive violence waits around every corner.
Come… the Convergence is upon you. There is no time to lose.
And your god is waiting.
The core game comes in a deluxe slip case consisting of a full colour Core Setting book (which will be atleast 272 pages), and a Play Kit (rule book, Axiom System cards, dice and tokens).
The four supplements also available are The Madness of Providence (scenario), The Oathbound Hall (a who’s who), Houses of the Unholy (detailed workings of the cults), and Sigil & Sign Player’s Guide (new rules and play advice).
[h=3]The Book of Contemporary Magical Things by Stygian Fox Publishing[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 25th May 2017; 17:37 UTC)
The Book of Contemporary Magical Things is a collection of mundane items imbued with magical power that can be used in any contemporary horror or fantasy roleplaying guide. It’s a 100 pages of modern items of varying power levels from the slight and seemingly harmless to a handful of artifacts of great power, so dangerous that no mortal should possess them.
The sections of the books detail the items in rising magnitude of power – from the small time parlour trips seen in Mina to the possibly earth shattering powers of the artifacts found in Cosmica. Each section is entirely systemless so you can alter them to fit in with your rules and setting with minimal effort. Each entry comprises of an image of the item, its benefits, dangers and current location.
[h=3]Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks – The Ultimate GM’s Guide by LoreSmyth[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 25th May 2017; 06:52 UTC)
What Adventurer worth his, or her, name doesn’t like a tavern? A place of gossip and rumour, to find intel on the neighbourhood, to hire a guide or recruit a new member to the team or, of course, the place since time immemorable to start your latest quest…
Well, the good news is that LoreSmyth’s latest kickstarter provides a wealth of new content and options to turn those boring tavern visits into memorable, exciting events with their 80-page Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks – “a definitive guide to taverns, creating them and bringing them to life.” What’s more is that it’s systemless so fully compatible for any game!
The book contains eight richly detailed inns – at 5 pages each – complete with a history, notable NPCs and unique food and drinks. Chronicled by famous adventurer Quilla Bladesong, in these pages you will discover famous places such as The North Call Inn, Fizzlenozzle’s Hall of Wonders and The King’s Coin. Each includes a number of secrets and rumors to provide story hooks for many new adventures. Each tavern is written so that it can easily be dropped into your existing campaign world and become a place your players love returning to, time and again!
If you love creating your own wonderful places, Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks provides you a wealth of inspiration and options, there are complete sections full to the brim with generation tables, lists and ideas to create and populate your taverns. They range from the types of drinks to be served, the variable exotic dishes, memorable features and even a list of 100 More Story Hooks for your Taverns.
[h=3]Ruma: Dawn of Empire RPG by Martin Greening[/h](Campaign Ends : Wednesday 7th June 2017; 02:30 UTC)
Powered by the ever popular Apocalypse Engine Martin Greening takes us back to an alternate Roman Empire where magic and mythology are real in Ruma: Dawn of Empire.
Since the fall of Hellas, the burgeoning Ruman Empire is the center of civilization. But the young empireis beset on all sides by adversaries, from the expanding forests of Kell and their heinous druids and unnatural creatures, to the undying lands of Aegypt and their hordes of constructs led by immortal generals.
The setting is rich in suggestions, but there is ample opportunity for each group playing Ruma to make the world their own. In fact, the game encourages this by providing a general framework of the world, but leaves much of the detail up to you. Want to change up the pantheon? Go for it. Have the Rumans discovered the Americas? Awesome.
Players take on roles of troops of specialists in the Ruman forces, gathered together by generals or senators into a cohort tasked with investigating or overcoming mysterious and dangerous obstacles hindering the Empire’s expansion. Dome will be full citizens, trained warriors or learned magi, while others may be slave gladiators or foreign skirmishers who aide the legions in their conquests.
The rulebook will be a digest sized hardcover of around 128 pages.
You can download a quickstart guide for free on DriveThruRPG now.
[h=3]Bagthulhu – The diabolically adorable Cthulhu Dicebag by Bridget Hughes[/h](Campaign Ends : Wednesday 31st May 2017; 02:47 UTC)
Wrapping up this weeks column we have Bagthulhu which, yes you’ve guessed it, is a plush dice bag of our favourite Lovecraftian Great Old One. This incarnation is less likely to drive you insane but unfortunately we can’t guarantee that the dice rolls won’t – for it can store up to 100 standard dice. What effect being ‘digested’ by Cthulhu will have on your dice only remains to be seen.
Bagthulhu is 10.5” (26cm) wide and 8” (20cm) in height. You can flip back his head to reveal a dicebag belly with a double drawstring closure.
**********
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]Era: Survival – Expansions into the Unknown by Shades of Vengeance[/h](Campaign Ends : Sunday 11th June 2017; 22:59 UTC)
Shades of Vengeance have run series of successful Kickstarters and have amassed quite an impressive catalogue of books over the last few years. Their latest campaign sees them return to Gaia, the world of Era: Survival which funded last year. Era: Survival is a post-apocalyptic world where multiple factions are fighting for survival in the ruins whilst the remnants of humanity struggle to survive in a hostile world full of danger.
The campaign starts off with three books (The Swarm, Infected Manual and Tales of the Outlands) looking to be funded, along with the Definitive Edition Rulebook for Era: Survival. Each stretch goal unlocks another book (in the same style their Era: The Consortium – A Universe of Expansions campaign worked which ended up seven new books for the series).
“ Era: Survival allows you to explore a post-apocalyptic world 100 years after a Cataclysm that spread Infection, turning most of the warm-blooded creatures on Gaia into Mutants and Shambling zombies.
The people of Gaia have fundamentally different views which have led Humanity to splinter into numerous factions. These factions have complicated interactions, some working in near-alliances and others being ready to shoot on sight! Each faction also has its own view on how to survive extinction: while some search for a cure or isolate themselves far from the main centres of population, others seek to harness the power of the Mutants to gain power, or believe that Infection is the best course for Humanity.
Most modern features of Gaia are known and mapped, but Salvagers still exist, searching the ruins of fallen cities for the supplies needed by towns... and some are even lucky enough to find ancient "Vaults" from before the Cataclysm containing treasure troves of supplies.
With the Infected overrunning more towns every day, it's becoming increasingly dangerous out there...”
The Swarm Source Book
The Swarm is like a force of nature - there is no point in being angry when you see a glow on the horizon: you simply run as if it were a storm.
Over the last 5 years, the Swarm have spread southwards from their City of Light in the northern polar region, systematically burning everything their path and changing anyone not Infected into more Drones for their army.
The Swarm Source Book lets you join the Swarm as one of their Specials:
· Command a squad of your own as one of the Ashen
· Access some of the most advanced technology on Gaia as an Artisan
· Control the minds of others through programming techniques as an Abcediary
· and much more!
The Swarm will tame Gaia. Everyone else has a simple choice: stand in their way, and die, or join them.
The Infected Manual
The Infected Manual collects strange stories from Runners and travellers of the mutations they have encountered.
Encounter brand new types of Infected Mutants and Shamblers in your travels, with new abilities! From glue-like saliva to multiple arms and acquisition of other Infected mutations, experience the denizens of Gaia as never before.
With a brand new random generation system, you could encounter anything around the next corner! Gaia has never been so uncertain..
Tales of the Outlands
Many strange things happen on Gaia and it is not surprising, therefore, that even more unusual tales come from beyond the edge of Human civilisation.
Tales of the Outlands: Legends from the edge of the World collects many of these stories and provides adventure seeds for enterprising groups that are brave enough to leave the cradle of Humanity.
What is out there is said to be amazing and incredible: vaults filled with wealth beyond imagining, mysterious creatures and, it is said, a cure for Infection.
Will you survive this new and dangerous region?
Other possible books included the multi-book Foundation Campaign and the Aqua Setting Guide.
A free Quickstart Guide is available to download for free.
[h=3]Sigil & Sign – Cthulhu Mythos RPG where you play the cultist by Dominic McDowall – Cubicle 7[/h](Campaign Ends : Monday 22nd May 2017; 16:00 UTC)
Cubicle 7 have teamed up with Mark Rein-Hagen’s Make Believe Games to bring us not only the core rules for Sigil & Sign but also the first four supplements. Created by C.A. Suleiman the game twists the usual concept of various Mythos roleplaying games by having the characters not being the investigators but actually taking on the role of an Outsider. Boasting a creative team that also includes Dennis Detwiller (Delta Green), Greg Stolze (Unknown Armies), Lucya Szachnowski (Strange Aeons), Jesse Heinig (Fallout), Malcolm Sheppard (Mummy: The Curse), and Tim Dedopulos (Cthulhu Lives!) the game has an amazing line-up of talent.
From Great Cthulhu to the King in Yellow, from the Crawling Chaos to the Black Goat, they are the Old Ones… and they are no myth. They were here on Earth long before the rise of civilized Man, and some – maybe even all, depending who you ask – never left at all. Something keeps the Old Ones’ interest tethered to our planet, and for those people who simply want to live their ordinary lives in peace, the baleful arms of such entities can only portend doom.
You are not one of those people.
As an Outsider, you are caught between two worlds: the mundane world of humankind and the dark and alien world of the Mythos.
You might have been truly human one, but no longer. Or perhaps you’ve never known what it means to be human, as many Outsiders are now some generations removed from their homo sapiens origins.
Unspeakable: Sign & Sigil challenges Narrator and player alike to inhabit the protagonists of that secret world, people whose personas, conflicts, themes, views, and philosophies might well stand in start contrast to those held by the players depicting them. You’ll face stark choices and challenges as you attempt to navigate your way through the twin minefields of mundane human existence and cult life.
You might be a true loyalist, a member of what your people call the Oathbound. You might serve in an active capacity, and be called upon to perform strange tasks or investigate even stranger places, all in the pursuit of the greater glory of your otherwordly patron.
Your character might instead be one of the Outcaste, a group of Outsiders who forsake the suffocating structure of their central cult to follow their own path in the dire service of their Old One.
Whatever your personal, spiritual, or philosophical bent, you are an Outsider, and with that inescapable reality comes the dark Primogeniture of the Mythos. With it comes being marked of the Great Sigils: Change, Chaos, Darkness, Death, Madness, Ruin, or Silence.
To be an Outsider is to be burdened with difference and with increasingly horrid Aberration. But it also signifies that you are truly gifted of the Old Ones and of their eldritch power, capable of wielding some small portion of that power, able to call upon unearthly Bequests and perform rituals so dark that none dares conduct them in the light.
Rivalries run deep, and the cults often work at cross purposes with one another, so the capacity for mystery, intrigue, and explosive violence waits around every corner.
Come… the Convergence is upon you. There is no time to lose.
And your god is waiting.
The core game comes in a deluxe slip case consisting of a full colour Core Setting book (which will be atleast 272 pages), and a Play Kit (rule book, Axiom System cards, dice and tokens).
The four supplements also available are The Madness of Providence (scenario), The Oathbound Hall (a who’s who), Houses of the Unholy (detailed workings of the cults), and Sigil & Sign Player’s Guide (new rules and play advice).
[h=3]The Book of Contemporary Magical Things by Stygian Fox Publishing[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 25th May 2017; 17:37 UTC)
The Book of Contemporary Magical Things is a collection of mundane items imbued with magical power that can be used in any contemporary horror or fantasy roleplaying guide. It’s a 100 pages of modern items of varying power levels from the slight and seemingly harmless to a handful of artifacts of great power, so dangerous that no mortal should possess them.
The sections of the books detail the items in rising magnitude of power – from the small time parlour trips seen in Mina to the possibly earth shattering powers of the artifacts found in Cosmica. Each section is entirely systemless so you can alter them to fit in with your rules and setting with minimal effort. Each entry comprises of an image of the item, its benefits, dangers and current location.
[h=3]Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks – The Ultimate GM’s Guide by LoreSmyth[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 25th May 2017; 06:52 UTC)
What Adventurer worth his, or her, name doesn’t like a tavern? A place of gossip and rumour, to find intel on the neighbourhood, to hire a guide or recruit a new member to the team or, of course, the place since time immemorable to start your latest quest…
Well, the good news is that LoreSmyth’s latest kickstarter provides a wealth of new content and options to turn those boring tavern visits into memorable, exciting events with their 80-page Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks – “a definitive guide to taverns, creating them and bringing them to life.” What’s more is that it’s systemless so fully compatible for any game!
The book contains eight richly detailed inns – at 5 pages each – complete with a history, notable NPCs and unique food and drinks. Chronicled by famous adventurer Quilla Bladesong, in these pages you will discover famous places such as The North Call Inn, Fizzlenozzle’s Hall of Wonders and The King’s Coin. Each includes a number of secrets and rumors to provide story hooks for many new adventures. Each tavern is written so that it can easily be dropped into your existing campaign world and become a place your players love returning to, time and again!
If you love creating your own wonderful places, Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks provides you a wealth of inspiration and options, there are complete sections full to the brim with generation tables, lists and ideas to create and populate your taverns. They range from the types of drinks to be served, the variable exotic dishes, memorable features and even a list of 100 More Story Hooks for your Taverns.
[h=3]Ruma: Dawn of Empire RPG by Martin Greening[/h](Campaign Ends : Wednesday 7th June 2017; 02:30 UTC)
Powered by the ever popular Apocalypse Engine Martin Greening takes us back to an alternate Roman Empire where magic and mythology are real in Ruma: Dawn of Empire.
Since the fall of Hellas, the burgeoning Ruman Empire is the center of civilization. But the young empireis beset on all sides by adversaries, from the expanding forests of Kell and their heinous druids and unnatural creatures, to the undying lands of Aegypt and their hordes of constructs led by immortal generals.
The setting is rich in suggestions, but there is ample opportunity for each group playing Ruma to make the world their own. In fact, the game encourages this by providing a general framework of the world, but leaves much of the detail up to you. Want to change up the pantheon? Go for it. Have the Rumans discovered the Americas? Awesome.
Players take on roles of troops of specialists in the Ruman forces, gathered together by generals or senators into a cohort tasked with investigating or overcoming mysterious and dangerous obstacles hindering the Empire’s expansion. Dome will be full citizens, trained warriors or learned magi, while others may be slave gladiators or foreign skirmishers who aide the legions in their conquests.
The rulebook will be a digest sized hardcover of around 128 pages.
You can download a quickstart guide for free on DriveThruRPG now.
[h=3]Bagthulhu – The diabolically adorable Cthulhu Dicebag by Bridget Hughes[/h](Campaign Ends : Wednesday 31st May 2017; 02:47 UTC)
Wrapping up this weeks column we have Bagthulhu which, yes you’ve guessed it, is a plush dice bag of our favourite Lovecraftian Great Old One. This incarnation is less likely to drive you insane but unfortunately we can’t guarantee that the dice rolls won’t – for it can store up to 100 standard dice. What effect being ‘digested’ by Cthulhu will have on your dice only remains to be seen.
Bagthulhu is 10.5” (26cm) wide and 8” (20cm) in height. You can flip back his head to reveal a dicebag belly with a double drawstring closure.
**********
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
