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]The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth Roleplaying Game by Christopher Grey[/h](Campaign Ends : Wednesday 28th June 2017; 16:39 UTC)
I’ll admit that I was immediately drawn to this campaign by both its name (How could anyone resist a game called The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth?) and also the campaigns tagline “A satirical Lovecraftian horror tabletop roleplaying game set in a children’s theme park using the Apocalypse World engine.”
Happiest Apocalypse on Earth is a tabletop roleplaying game that is part satire, part horror. Set in a fictional children’s theme park called Mouse Park, the game allows players to customize the attractions in the park, the dangers that lurk there, and their own Mouse Park staff member. Collaborative storytelling and customized character and narrator moves create a wide range of terrifying incidents involving ancient horrors, demonic magic, and a conspiratorial plot to keep a bloodthirsty ancient god appeased. Ghouls, monsters, specters, and cultists abound, but they only scratch the surface of the true evil that lies far beneath.
This game is for horror lovers, monster of the week enthusiasts, and that huge population that thinks animatronics are scary. It takes popular notions of innocence and cartoonish morality and violently turns it on its head. It is part satire of nostalgic pop culture and it is part deadly serious X-Files and Supernatural. The satirical nature shines through in its ironic approach and sometimes humorous take on characters, but the mysteries and plots that unfold are all but trivial.
The game is built using the Apocalypse World roleplaying game framework created by Vincent Baker and adapted and modified to fit the setting. As a Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) game, The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth shines with the best of collaborative storytelling using mechanics that are familiar to the experienced and intuitive to the novice. It works well as a campaign, or a one shot, and can be the centerpiece of family games or adult ones.
[h=3]SideQuests: Easy Adventure Modules for 5E Dungeons & Dragons by Dominic M[/h](Campaign Ends : Monday 26th June 2017; 22:59 UTC)
SideQuests are a series of one-shot 5th Edition adventures that can be played either as standalone stories, or implemented into your ongoing story, and completed in a few sessions.
There are four SideQuests modules available through this campaign – ranging from levels 1 to 5 – and each comes with a variety of campaign customization features, adventure hooks and epilogues. Each also supplies options on how to include the settings and NPCs into your own campaign once you’ve completed the adventure if you wish to and each module supplies a mix of role-playing, puzzle, looking and combat scenarios – so something for every player.
The four SideQuests on offer are the following:
Insurrection At The Abbey (level 1) – The Kobolds have grown strong - surely strong enough to overthrow the local abbey that they've been eyeing! This SideQuest begins as word has spread about the Kobold army that is planning to lay siege and take control of a humble monastery. The only thing that stands in the Kobolds' way is, of course, your group of brave adventurers. This is a perfect introductory campaign to the world of D&D; it is designed to give your first-level players their first taste of combat and dungeon-crawling!
Portrait of Ruin (level 2) – Portrait of Ruin is a gothic horror meets who-done-it style mansion mystery. It was designed for second level players, but can easily be adapted to suit players of any level. Portrait of Ruin tells the story of the disappearance of the wife of arcane painter named Augustine Faust. Faust, a progressive in combining traditional paints with unparalleled spellcraft, has seemingly locked himself in his massive estate, leaving the townsfolk to ponder the fates of Augustine and Eleanor Faust. This SideQuest is predominately centred around exploring Faust’s ominous mansion, solving the puzzles and mysteries therein - with something sinister stalking the players every step of the way...
Mausoleum Madness (level 3) – Mausoleum Madness is centred around an ancient druidic temple, buried with time into the wilderness. The legends tell of untold riches and magical artifacts within - but no explorers have ever lived to tell the tales. In this adventure, players will have to find the entranceway to the legendary ruin - but that will be the least of their worries. Once inside, players will have to use everything at their disposal to solve riddles, avoid lethal traps, and fend off crazed cultists that worship something far below the earth...
Prisonbreakers (level 5) – You've been captured! The players have been outsmarted by a local crime lord [or, Insert Your Bad Guy Here], and have been jailed indefinitely. Their gear? Gone. The reason? You decide (or, in a pinch, pick from the Heinous Crimes d10 Table). Players will have to use all of their cunning, stealth, and resourcefulness to break out of the Geldeth Stronghold... before it's too late!
[h=3]Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley[/h](Campaign Ends : Friday 23rd June 2017; 22:59 UTC)
Graham Walmsley’s Cthulhu Dark has been a popular convention game in the UK for a few years so I wasn’t surprised to see his first Kickstarter for an expanded version fly past its goal in a few hours.
Cthulhu Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game of cosmic horror, in the style of H.P. Lovecraft.
It's about the things we fear, amplified until they are unbearable. It's about stories that genuinely creep you out, not well-worn tropes and creatures you've seen hundreds of times before.
And it's about bleak horror, in which humans are powerless when confronted by hyperintelligent alien horrors. You can't beat them. You can't fight them. You can only watch, run, hide and fear.
If you love Cthulhu games already, then this is Lovecraftian horror at its most intense. If you're new to them, then Cthulhu Dark is a great place to start. You'll enter a world of stories that are both terrifying and terribly human.
The rules are incredibly short: they're tightly focused on horror and they drive the game. Cthulhu Dark is a hardback book, 8.5 by 11 inches, about 200 pages long. The cover, by George Cotronis, is in full color. The interior is beautifully laid out, with stunning black-and-white art by Matteo Bocci.
It starts with the Player's Section, which consists of:
· The Rules: Cthulhu Dark's tight, focused two-page ruleset, which you can see here.
· The Rules In Detail: How to use the rules to best effect in your games, together with a range of tips and tricks.
Then comes the Keeper's Section, consisting of:
· Introduction: An introduction to cosmic horror and all the essential elements of a Cthulhu Dark mystery, including the Themes, the Threat, the Final Horror, the Setting, Creeping Horrors and the Power.
· Writing a mystery: A step-by-step guide to writing Cthulhu Dark mysteries. This takes you through every step of making an effective horror story to play through, starting with the things you fear and ending with the full horror.
· Rewriting a mystery: Ten different ways to look at a mystery, which help you sharpen and polish it, until it's as good as it can get.
· Playing a mystery: How to play a Cthulhu Dark game, including how to explain and use the rules, how to describe horror and how to find a dramatic ending.
· Threats of the Mythos: A guide to the creatures, artifacts and other unspeakable things that haunt the universe, explaining how to use these things to enhance the story you want to tell.
Then you get four settings, taking Cthulhu Dark into different times and places. Each comes with a full scenario to play.
· London 1851: Terror in dirty, twisted Victorian London, where evil hides in the dark and the stink. Plus the scenario Screams of the Children.
· Arkham 1692 (by Kathryn Jenkins): Fear and superstition in Lovecraft's iconic city, in a time of witchcraft. Plus the scenario The Doors Beyond Time.
· Jaiwo 2017 (by Helen Gould): In modern-day Africa, corruption lurks in the ruins of the British Empire. Plus the scenario The Curse of the Zimba.
· Mumbai 2037: Stories of cyberpunk India, in the city where dreams, wealth and power meet. Plus the scenario Consume.
In all these settings, you play Investigators who don't often appear in Cthulhu games: in London 1851, you play thieves, beggars and other residents of the slums; in Arkham, you play rural villagers; in Jaiwo, you play people from that African country; and in Mumbai, you play Indian workers.
Everything above is written and, after final editing and layout, it's ready to go. You'll get most of it just after the Kickstarter ends, in a preview edition called Cthulhu Dark Zero.
[h=3]Monarchies of Mau Fantasy Tabletop RPG by Richard Thomas[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 15th June 2017; 02:14 UTC)
Monarchies of Mau is both a sequel and a stand-alone game to Eddy Webb’s Pugmire RPG that raised almost $200,000 on Kickstarter in March 2016. Whereas Pugmire brought alive a fantasy world of canine characters the Monarchies of Mau takes a look of the nation of cats that is comprised of six city-states.
Set in the far distant future, long after mankind has vanished, the game has been compared to both The Three Musketeers and Planet of the Apes, but with cats.
“These cats have been uplifted to use technology and language. Some cats acquire the remnants of human technology, believing them to be literal gifts of magic from ancient, god-like servants. Others seek to create an ideal civilization, using the Precepts of Mau agreed to in the heat of a terrible war. Enemies of Mau can either be monstrous, like demon-possessed zombies, or simply other misunderstood people, such as the dogs of Pugmire.”
"Monarchies of Mau uses a customized version of the 5th Edition rules from the world's most popular fantasy RPG. It's been redesigned for streamlined play, with an emphasis on cooperation and action over competition and violence. Creating heroic and cunning cats is easy, and there are a variety of callings and noble houses that give focus to a cat’s role in society and in the adventuring party. To help you with your decision, I’m providing a copy of Monarchies of Mau Early Access. It’s a playable version of Monarchies of Mau that has over a third of the material you can expect in the final book.”
[h=3]Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs by Tristan Zimmerman[/h](Campaign Ends : Monday 5th June 2017; 23:04 UTC)
Tristan Zimmerman’s Archive collection is a great resource for a time strapped GM looking for inspiration for places, events or personalities to use in their games or springboard adventures out of.
The 265-page book supplies 80 locations, landscapes, NPCs and events throughout our real history and how to use them in your games. Each entry gives you their real background, ideas on how to use them in your campaign and a bunch of plot hooks. The entries could be used for a variety of settings – from fantasy to modern era and possibly even sci-fi with a few tweaks – and of course the personalities can be dropped in as NPCs in pretty much any setting with a few tweaks. For instance the Ching Shih, the notorious pirate queen, is presented in her historical context terrorising the coasts of China but there’s no reason why she couldn’t swap Earths seas for those of a fantasy setting or even the sails of her ship for the turbo thrust of a space craft.
The book is available in PDF and physical formats should provide some fun ideas for your game, or an entertaining read through some aspects of history, and people, you may not have heard of before.
[h=3]Amazing Dice Cases for Daring Adventurers by Blueshift Nine, LLC[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 22nd June 2017; 12:59 UTC)
Blueshift Nine, LLC are hoping to bring us four new class-based dice cases. All the cases are made from tin plate and are large enough to house twelve dice, a set of cards with additional space for further dice or your characters miniature. Four designs are planned, the first of which (The Wizard’s Grimoire) has so far funded as of writing.
Each case is 5 inches wide, 6.75 inches long, .75 inches tall and weighs in about 5 ounces (without dice).
In addition to the dice cases BlueShift Nine are also offering a range of gunmetal grey (with gold numbering) metal dice which are available in some pledge levels or as add-ons.
**********
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]The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth Roleplaying Game by Christopher Grey[/h](Campaign Ends : Wednesday 28th June 2017; 16:39 UTC)
I’ll admit that I was immediately drawn to this campaign by both its name (How could anyone resist a game called The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth?) and also the campaigns tagline “A satirical Lovecraftian horror tabletop roleplaying game set in a children’s theme park using the Apocalypse World engine.”
Happiest Apocalypse on Earth is a tabletop roleplaying game that is part satire, part horror. Set in a fictional children’s theme park called Mouse Park, the game allows players to customize the attractions in the park, the dangers that lurk there, and their own Mouse Park staff member. Collaborative storytelling and customized character and narrator moves create a wide range of terrifying incidents involving ancient horrors, demonic magic, and a conspiratorial plot to keep a bloodthirsty ancient god appeased. Ghouls, monsters, specters, and cultists abound, but they only scratch the surface of the true evil that lies far beneath.
This game is for horror lovers, monster of the week enthusiasts, and that huge population that thinks animatronics are scary. It takes popular notions of innocence and cartoonish morality and violently turns it on its head. It is part satire of nostalgic pop culture and it is part deadly serious X-Files and Supernatural. The satirical nature shines through in its ironic approach and sometimes humorous take on characters, but the mysteries and plots that unfold are all but trivial.
The game is built using the Apocalypse World roleplaying game framework created by Vincent Baker and adapted and modified to fit the setting. As a Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) game, The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth shines with the best of collaborative storytelling using mechanics that are familiar to the experienced and intuitive to the novice. It works well as a campaign, or a one shot, and can be the centerpiece of family games or adult ones.
[h=3]SideQuests: Easy Adventure Modules for 5E Dungeons & Dragons by Dominic M[/h](Campaign Ends : Monday 26th June 2017; 22:59 UTC)
SideQuests are a series of one-shot 5th Edition adventures that can be played either as standalone stories, or implemented into your ongoing story, and completed in a few sessions.
There are four SideQuests modules available through this campaign – ranging from levels 1 to 5 – and each comes with a variety of campaign customization features, adventure hooks and epilogues. Each also supplies options on how to include the settings and NPCs into your own campaign once you’ve completed the adventure if you wish to and each module supplies a mix of role-playing, puzzle, looking and combat scenarios – so something for every player.
The four SideQuests on offer are the following:
Insurrection At The Abbey (level 1) – The Kobolds have grown strong - surely strong enough to overthrow the local abbey that they've been eyeing! This SideQuest begins as word has spread about the Kobold army that is planning to lay siege and take control of a humble monastery. The only thing that stands in the Kobolds' way is, of course, your group of brave adventurers. This is a perfect introductory campaign to the world of D&D; it is designed to give your first-level players their first taste of combat and dungeon-crawling!
Portrait of Ruin (level 2) – Portrait of Ruin is a gothic horror meets who-done-it style mansion mystery. It was designed for second level players, but can easily be adapted to suit players of any level. Portrait of Ruin tells the story of the disappearance of the wife of arcane painter named Augustine Faust. Faust, a progressive in combining traditional paints with unparalleled spellcraft, has seemingly locked himself in his massive estate, leaving the townsfolk to ponder the fates of Augustine and Eleanor Faust. This SideQuest is predominately centred around exploring Faust’s ominous mansion, solving the puzzles and mysteries therein - with something sinister stalking the players every step of the way...
Mausoleum Madness (level 3) – Mausoleum Madness is centred around an ancient druidic temple, buried with time into the wilderness. The legends tell of untold riches and magical artifacts within - but no explorers have ever lived to tell the tales. In this adventure, players will have to find the entranceway to the legendary ruin - but that will be the least of their worries. Once inside, players will have to use everything at their disposal to solve riddles, avoid lethal traps, and fend off crazed cultists that worship something far below the earth...
Prisonbreakers (level 5) – You've been captured! The players have been outsmarted by a local crime lord [or, Insert Your Bad Guy Here], and have been jailed indefinitely. Their gear? Gone. The reason? You decide (or, in a pinch, pick from the Heinous Crimes d10 Table). Players will have to use all of their cunning, stealth, and resourcefulness to break out of the Geldeth Stronghold... before it's too late!
[h=3]Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley[/h](Campaign Ends : Friday 23rd June 2017; 22:59 UTC)
Graham Walmsley’s Cthulhu Dark has been a popular convention game in the UK for a few years so I wasn’t surprised to see his first Kickstarter for an expanded version fly past its goal in a few hours.
Cthulhu Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game of cosmic horror, in the style of H.P. Lovecraft.
It's about the things we fear, amplified until they are unbearable. It's about stories that genuinely creep you out, not well-worn tropes and creatures you've seen hundreds of times before.
And it's about bleak horror, in which humans are powerless when confronted by hyperintelligent alien horrors. You can't beat them. You can't fight them. You can only watch, run, hide and fear.
If you love Cthulhu games already, then this is Lovecraftian horror at its most intense. If you're new to them, then Cthulhu Dark is a great place to start. You'll enter a world of stories that are both terrifying and terribly human.
The rules are incredibly short: they're tightly focused on horror and they drive the game. Cthulhu Dark is a hardback book, 8.5 by 11 inches, about 200 pages long. The cover, by George Cotronis, is in full color. The interior is beautifully laid out, with stunning black-and-white art by Matteo Bocci.
It starts with the Player's Section, which consists of:
· The Rules: Cthulhu Dark's tight, focused two-page ruleset, which you can see here.
· The Rules In Detail: How to use the rules to best effect in your games, together with a range of tips and tricks.
Then comes the Keeper's Section, consisting of:
· Introduction: An introduction to cosmic horror and all the essential elements of a Cthulhu Dark mystery, including the Themes, the Threat, the Final Horror, the Setting, Creeping Horrors and the Power.
· Writing a mystery: A step-by-step guide to writing Cthulhu Dark mysteries. This takes you through every step of making an effective horror story to play through, starting with the things you fear and ending with the full horror.
· Rewriting a mystery: Ten different ways to look at a mystery, which help you sharpen and polish it, until it's as good as it can get.
· Playing a mystery: How to play a Cthulhu Dark game, including how to explain and use the rules, how to describe horror and how to find a dramatic ending.
· Threats of the Mythos: A guide to the creatures, artifacts and other unspeakable things that haunt the universe, explaining how to use these things to enhance the story you want to tell.
Then you get four settings, taking Cthulhu Dark into different times and places. Each comes with a full scenario to play.
· London 1851: Terror in dirty, twisted Victorian London, where evil hides in the dark and the stink. Plus the scenario Screams of the Children.
· Arkham 1692 (by Kathryn Jenkins): Fear and superstition in Lovecraft's iconic city, in a time of witchcraft. Plus the scenario The Doors Beyond Time.
· Jaiwo 2017 (by Helen Gould): In modern-day Africa, corruption lurks in the ruins of the British Empire. Plus the scenario The Curse of the Zimba.
· Mumbai 2037: Stories of cyberpunk India, in the city where dreams, wealth and power meet. Plus the scenario Consume.
In all these settings, you play Investigators who don't often appear in Cthulhu games: in London 1851, you play thieves, beggars and other residents of the slums; in Arkham, you play rural villagers; in Jaiwo, you play people from that African country; and in Mumbai, you play Indian workers.
Everything above is written and, after final editing and layout, it's ready to go. You'll get most of it just after the Kickstarter ends, in a preview edition called Cthulhu Dark Zero.
[h=3]Monarchies of Mau Fantasy Tabletop RPG by Richard Thomas[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 15th June 2017; 02:14 UTC)
Monarchies of Mau is both a sequel and a stand-alone game to Eddy Webb’s Pugmire RPG that raised almost $200,000 on Kickstarter in March 2016. Whereas Pugmire brought alive a fantasy world of canine characters the Monarchies of Mau takes a look of the nation of cats that is comprised of six city-states.
Set in the far distant future, long after mankind has vanished, the game has been compared to both The Three Musketeers and Planet of the Apes, but with cats.
“These cats have been uplifted to use technology and language. Some cats acquire the remnants of human technology, believing them to be literal gifts of magic from ancient, god-like servants. Others seek to create an ideal civilization, using the Precepts of Mau agreed to in the heat of a terrible war. Enemies of Mau can either be monstrous, like demon-possessed zombies, or simply other misunderstood people, such as the dogs of Pugmire.”
"Monarchies of Mau uses a customized version of the 5th Edition rules from the world's most popular fantasy RPG. It's been redesigned for streamlined play, with an emphasis on cooperation and action over competition and violence. Creating heroic and cunning cats is easy, and there are a variety of callings and noble houses that give focus to a cat’s role in society and in the adventuring party. To help you with your decision, I’m providing a copy of Monarchies of Mau Early Access. It’s a playable version of Monarchies of Mau that has over a third of the material you can expect in the final book.”
[h=3]Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs by Tristan Zimmerman[/h](Campaign Ends : Monday 5th June 2017; 23:04 UTC)
Tristan Zimmerman’s Archive collection is a great resource for a time strapped GM looking for inspiration for places, events or personalities to use in their games or springboard adventures out of.
The 265-page book supplies 80 locations, landscapes, NPCs and events throughout our real history and how to use them in your games. Each entry gives you their real background, ideas on how to use them in your campaign and a bunch of plot hooks. The entries could be used for a variety of settings – from fantasy to modern era and possibly even sci-fi with a few tweaks – and of course the personalities can be dropped in as NPCs in pretty much any setting with a few tweaks. For instance the Ching Shih, the notorious pirate queen, is presented in her historical context terrorising the coasts of China but there’s no reason why she couldn’t swap Earths seas for those of a fantasy setting or even the sails of her ship for the turbo thrust of a space craft.
The book is available in PDF and physical formats should provide some fun ideas for your game, or an entertaining read through some aspects of history, and people, you may not have heard of before.
[h=3]Amazing Dice Cases for Daring Adventurers by Blueshift Nine, LLC[/h](Campaign Ends : Thursday 22nd June 2017; 12:59 UTC)
Blueshift Nine, LLC are hoping to bring us four new class-based dice cases. All the cases are made from tin plate and are large enough to house twelve dice, a set of cards with additional space for further dice or your characters miniature. Four designs are planned, the first of which (The Wizard’s Grimoire) has so far funded as of writing.
Each case is 5 inches wide, 6.75 inches long, .75 inches tall and weighs in about 5 ounces (without dice).
In addition to the dice cases BlueShift Nine are also offering a range of gunmetal grey (with gold numbering) metal dice which are available in some pledge levels or as add-ons.
**********
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
