This week’s RPG crowdfunding sampler features campaigns that end between June 19 and July 7. These campaigns can be found on on Kickstarter and Backerkit, but there are more worthwhile projects on sites like Crowdfundr, GameFound, GameOnTabletop, and IndieGoGo.
The Last Caravan: A Cars and Aliens Tabletop RPG from Ted Bushman
Aether Nexus: Fantasy Mecha TTRPG from Absolute Tabletop
Knight from Mark Baker
Delver 9: Old School RPG Resources for GMs and Players from The Tabletop Engineer
Tales from Stolki's Hall: A Thrones & Bones Anthology from Lazy Wolf Studios
20 Bounties & Most Wanted from SideQuest20
Traveler's Trinkets: Charms, Baubles and Other Sundries from Foam Brain Games
8th Board Game Days
Big Bad Con 2023
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
The Last Caravan: A Cars and Aliens Tabletop RPG from Ted Bushman
- END DATE: Tue, June 27 2023 10:53 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $40 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book, music, and PDF map
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? There are way more RPG crowdfunding campaigns to cover each week than I have space for. However, this one had to make it in with the tagline: "Little Miss Sunshine meets War of the Worlds." So, yeah, after reading that I had to know what this RPG is about. Aliens came a year ago. The war was brutal. Humans didn’t win, but the aliens didn’t complete their conquest either. A nuclear winter is here and you’ve got to caravan up in order to travel from where you are to the last potential bit of safety. Alien and human factions control the highways and what towns remain. You have to sneak, talk, or fight your way to get past them. This is an RPG about found family and survival in a desperate science fiction world. Campaigns are about the trip across a brutal landscape; 6 to 10 sessions of life on a hostile road. This system is based on the Forged in the Dark and No Dice, No Masters meaning you’ll focus on building a story about what’s in front of you as the fiction guides this story. If you’re in need of a fiction first dark RPG that has a tight, easy to explain premise, this is worth a look.
Aether Nexus: Fantasy Mecha TTRPG from Absolute Tabletop
- END DATE: Fri, June 30 2023 9:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): The Mecha Hack
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of all three books
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Giant mechs and magic in a RPG setting inspired by Escaflowne, Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, and Aura Battler Dunbine. This core rulebook uses The Mecha Hack to tell tales of warrior-mages “clad in artifact armor.” Think semi-organic, semi-magical mechs and a world overrun with ovesized amounts of the bizarre. The engine is a d20 roll under system that lets you play in and out of your mechs. If you need a world of giant monstrosities and magic mechs to combat them, you’re ready for Aether Nexus.
Knight from Mark Baker
- END DATE: Mon, June 19 2023 5:06 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: AU$40 for the PDF and POD discount versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This fantasy RPG make you a knight in Avalon. Magic, melee, murder, and mayhem manifest, but you have sworn an oath to right them all. Inspired by Welsh myth, King Arthur, King Arthur Pendragon, Into the Odd, Forged in the Dark, and Microscope by Ben Robbins, this RPG uses a d20 roll under system. Here’s the secret, your rolls always succeed; the die is there to dictate your level of effectiveness, not whether you connected at all. Noted as a “Crowd Favourite at TabletopCon 2023,” the campaign page has a number of quotes talking about how good the game is. If you want a new fantasy RPG system in which you are a knight who fights against great odds with a player positive system, this campaign is worth a look.
Delver 9: Old School RPG Resources for GMs and Players from The Tabletop Engineer
- END DATE: Wed, June 21 2023 11:59 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Old-School Essentials
- PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $11 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book (US only)
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? For the 9th issue of Delver, you get articles, random tables, and an OSR adventure with maps, random encounters, room details, and more for levels 5 to 6. With this issue, there’s a new tagline: “Old School RPG Resources for GMs and Players.” New to Delver? This is an RPG zine with OSR content compatible with Old-School Essentials, ShadowDark, Swords & Sorcery, and Basic Fantasy RPG. Each issue features a variety of articles with ideas to improve your sessions. How will these improve your session? I was able to play a session of Monster of the Week with James Floyd Kelly of Delver GMing. I call this out because James combines the best of OSR mechanics and the inspiration from modern gaming and featuring the best ideas from both in Delver. While this is an RPG zine, the feel is like an OSR magazine, and publishers can advertise in issues of Delver. $50 gets you a half-page ad and 5 copies of the zine, which is a good deal for small OSR publishers as they can sell the copies to offset their investment. Check out the campaign page for a sample of the types of content you’ll find in Delver.
Tales from Stolki's Hall: A Thrones & Bones Anthology from Lazy Wolf Studios
- END DATE: Thu, June 29 2023 11:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Fiction with RPG material as an appendix
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $55 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- AI STATEMENT: “No A.I. Used”
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is a fiction anthology with stories set in the world of Norrøngard, a Norse-inspired land used as the setting for Lou Anders’ Frostborn novel and the Thrones & Bones Roleplaying Game. The anthology includes stories by Ed Greenwood, Joel Shepherd, K. V. Johansen, Sarah L. Miles, and more. Format-wise, there’s an option to get the book printed in the same hardcover format as the Thrones & Bones RPG so it fits on the shelf with the others. In addition, that version includes in-game items, monsters, NPCs, and more in the appendix at the end. If you’re a fan of the RPG or Lou Ander’s world, this anthology is worth reviewing.
20 Bounties & Most Wanted from SideQuest20
- END DATE: Sat, July 1 2023 1:59 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): System neutral
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventures
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: CA$5 for the PDF of the adventures and PDF tokens
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This book provides 20 villains, each with a bio and a one-shot adventure centered around their villainous activities. Each entry starts with the villain then offers an overview of the adventure, likely scenarios for infiltration and combat, and then the adventure’s resolution. There are also wanted posters, paper minis, and battle maps. If you need some system neutral enemies, this book provides a variety of options.
Traveler's Trinkets: Charms, Baubles and Other Sundries from Foam Brain Games
- END DATE: Tue, June 27 2023 12:00 PM EDT.
- PROJECT TYPE: RPG accessories
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $48 + S/H for the bracelet and charms
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Foam Brain Games is participating in Free RPG Day this June 24th, so I wanted to highlight their Kickstarter. Traveler’s Trinkets offers real world jewelry to accessorize your love of gaming. In this campaign, you get a bracelet with over 80 optional fantasy RPG items to select from. A bracelet with an alchemist’s potion, a battle axe, a dwarven crown, mimic, spellbook, or whatnot dangling from the chain; this project may be the right fashion accessory for you.
- END DATE: Thu, July 6 2023 7:56 AM EDT.
- PROJECT TYPE: Tabletop gaming gathering
- WHEN & WHERE: July 20 to 23, 2023 at Awakened Coffee in Knoxville, Tennessee
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 for the three-day badge and a sticker
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This campaign features something I’d love to see more of: Local tabletop gatherings. Not a convention, not a game store event, but a fun time to get together with friends, drink some beverages, and sling some dice away from the house. The cost is casual, which is nice for a chance to pop in and out for games that interest you. While I’d like this specific campaign to be open to all tabletop games (role, board, card, and dice), it’s still neat to see a beautiful space, ready items to eat, and games open to all gamers. If you’re in the Knoxville area, this is worth checking out.
Big Bad Con 2023
- END DATE: Jul 7, 2023 at 12:00am EDT.
- CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
- PROJECT TYPE: Tabletop gaming convention
- WHEN & WHERE: September 28 to October 1, 2023 at Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel in Burlingame, California
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $75 for the 4-day badge, Hall of Heroes entry, and a backer pin
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In North America, there are several tabletop RPG conventions that have notable attendance numbers: Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana, PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, Gamehole Con in Madison, Wisconsin, and Gary Con in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. While there are smaller conventions throughout the continent, there aren’t many that reach a critical mass of attendees that make it worth a publisher’s effort to attend, a subject I’ve covered before. Those shows are worth a publisher’s time. However, if you put those conventions on a map, they’re tightly grouped together centered on states that surround Indiana. To expand tabletop’s distribution, connections, and fandom, it’d make sense for a tabletop gaming convention to service California, the West Coast, and southwestern RPGers. Enter Big Bad Con. They’re working hard to be a destination tabletop convention with guests like Michelle Nguyen Bradley of Tabletop News and voice acting such as Critical Role, the Baker family, creators of the Powered by the Apocalypse system, Connor Alexander of Coyote & Crow RPG, Tim Hutchings of Thousand Year Old Vampire, Sen-Foong Lim of every awesome RPG out there, and many more. Game publishers need conventions to spread the love for their work. Gamers needs a chance to connect with other gamers. Big Bad Con fills a gigantic footprint that is under serviced, and I want them to find their audience and grow. If you’re a California area gamer looking for more gaming options, check out this campaign on Backerkit.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
