RPG Crowdfunding News – Worlds Without Number, Fe Borg, Mage Hunter, and more

This week’s article is a sampling of TTRPG crowdfunding projects, both regular and quickstarters, that end between October 23 and November 1. Pulled from Kickstarter, Backerkit, Crowdfundr, GameFound, GameOnTabletop, IndieGoGo, and more, I want to call out that there is a site dedicated to third party Mörk Borg crowdfunding projects here. It’s a great way for Mörk Borg creators to coordinate and notify fans of the system.

Worlds Without Number RPG: Offset Reprint from Sine Nomine Publishing

• END DATE: Tue, October 31 2023 11:59 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): OSR
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $80 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book plus an additional PDF
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Worlds Without Number is an adamantine best-seller on DriveThruRPG and its first print-run Kickstarter reached 4,562 backers in October 2020. That’s to say that many of you already own Worlds Without Number and have experienced the game. This campaign republishes that same book in an offset print-run. While this is a reprint using the same files as the first printing, there is new material coming with the 64-page Diocesi of Montfroid gazetteer PDF. WWN is a full fantasy TTRPG, it touts the 200-page system-agnostic GM toolkit sections of the 400-page book. The campaign’s only stretch goal offers Worlds Without Number under Creative Commons 0 licensing. So, if you want to create a WWN compatible book, this campaign makes that an option. If you missed out on owning an offset copy of WWN, this Kickstarter is a great option to add it to your collection.

Mage Hunter from Geekstable

• END DATE: Wed, November 1 2023 3:31 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Bounty Hunter
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £35 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is a diceless, no randomizer TTRPG. In Mage Hunter, you have a pool of Action Points (AP). Want to succeed at a task? If you have the relevant skill and spend the points, you succeed. That simple. However, your AP is your characters energy and when they run out, they’re out of the game until they recover. This makes every decision an act of AP economics (ha!) allowing you to succeed in the most capitalist of ways: Those with the most AP have the most in-game options. For this fantasy TTRPG, the stories focus on hunting mages as well as other fantasy adventures. If you’re interested in a randomizer free game, this is worth exploring.

Derelict | A Death in Space Adventure from Christian Eichhorn

• END DATE: Sat, October 28 2023 10:00 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Death in Space
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €16 + S/H for the PDF and the zine
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Death in Space is a rule-lite, sci-fi space terror and exploration TTRPG. In April 2021, the core rulebook Kickstarter reached 3,549 backers. This campaign is for a third-party adventure zine from Christian Eichhorn. 48 pages of exploring, looting, maps, and 22 encounters. If you’re a fan of DiS and want an adventure from one of the best zine creators out there, this Derelict awaits you.

Dux Bellorum - The Age of Arthur from Brittannia Game Designs Ltd

• END DATE: Oct 31, 2023 at 3:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Chivalry & Sorcery 5th Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £25 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This book expands on Chivalry & Sorcery 5th Edition, bringing you into the adventures of King Arthur. Written using the English names of the era, this sourcebook imagines Britain after the Romans left, the time that saw the rise of the legend of Arthur. Dux Bellorum offers you the option to birth the legends that will shape our literature and lore for centuries. If you’re a fan of Arthur and C&S 5e, check out this Backerkit campaign.

Fe Borg - The Scary Fairy Folk Metal RPG Based on Mörk Borg from A Couple of Drakes

• END DATE: Mon, October 30 2023 11:59 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Mörk Borg
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $36 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This TTRPG can be summed up as Mörk Borg fey. That’s right, the doom metal TTRPG system is visited upon the fey realm in a standalone game. Coming as a A5-sized 100+ hardcover so it fits alongside your other Mörk Borg books, this book gives you the core rules, new classes, and an adventure to kickoff your dive into the world of these dark fey. With class titles like Stolen Child, Fairy Lover, Ironbound Fey, Warrior Poet, and others, you’ll get a sense of the whimsy of the setting before adding in Mörk Borg’s lethality, and you have an idea of what you’re getting with Fe Borg.

Nyx: A Dreamlike Interpretive RPG from Doctor Glasgow

• END DATE: Mon, October 30 2023 9:45 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $37 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the books, postcards, bookmarks, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? As the author of a dream-based TTRPG, I’m a sucker for other dream-based games. Nyx uses a tarot card system for play. Inspired by the settings of Kingdom Hearts, Earthbound, and Sandman, this TTRPG has rules for ethereal, whimsical, and nightmare experiences. Coming in at 236 pages, the book includes core rules, 169 spells, 201 special abilities, 177 enemies, and more. If you’re a fan of dream-based TTRPGs, this is worth checking out.

Reverend Werewolf’s Old Timey Monster Mania Family Hour from Planet X Games

• END DATE: Tue, October 24 2023 8:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): System neutral
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the zine
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Planet X Games has something festive in mind for Zine-O-Ween: 52 pages of tabletop terror to visit upon your favorite gaming table. Inspired by vintage magazines, comics, and movies such as Famous Monsters of Filmland, Horror Monsters, Monster World, Psycho, The Witching Hour, Vault of Horror, and House of Secrets, expect classic fright fights taken from sections titled “Crazy Carl’s Cryptid Corner”, “The Haberdashery of Horror”, or the adventure, “The Farm That Drank Blood!” I asked Levi Combs about this project: “It’s entirely system agnostic, but contains classic horror elements along with content suitable for most horror RPGs, including Call of Cthulhu, Liminal Horror, Kult, Delta Green and others.” If you’re a fan of RPG zines and horror, this project is for you.

Camp Blood - Grindhouse Horror Tabletop Roleplaying Game from Bloat Games

• END DATE: Mon, October 23 2023 11:59 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): SURVIVE THIS!!
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $79 + S/H for the print and PDF versions of the books
• DISCLAIMER: I have freelanced for Bloat Games. I am not involved in this project
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This mature gamer OSR sprays gore on the game table. This RPG swims in the blood of the summer camp teen slashers done grindhouse-style horror subgenre. Think Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, Camp Slaughter, Fear Street II: 1978, and They / Them, all of which serve as the inspiration for this game. Camp Blood is a spiritual successor to Bloody Appalachia; you don’t have to own Bloody Appalachia to enjoy Camp Blood or any other game coming in the bloody Bloat horror universe. Currently set for 175 to 200 pages, this book can only be yours via this campaign or direct purchase from Bloat Games as no third party distribution is planned.

Cocaine Owlbear: Deluxe Snowblind Edition from Fainting Goat Games

• END DATE: Wed, November 1 2023 8:38 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Honey Heist
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $5 for the PDF and POD discount coupon for the book
• PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Don’t do drugs with owlbears
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Jacob Blackmon drew a coked up owlbear, a parody of the Cocaine Bear movie. Mike Lafferty used that image as well as Grant Howitt’s Honey Heist to make a game of drugs, theft, and the darkest of humor. You play as animals that attacked a thief, snorted their magic drugs, and decide to usurp their complex scheme to steal massive amounts of these drugs. And the game has spells. If you’re looking for the definition of gonzo chaos at the table, an owlbear on cocaine might take the cake.

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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.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Not that I'm going to actually buy Cocaine Owlbear, but I got a smile out of reading about it.

 

[Retreater]

I'm tempted for that WWN. It looks like POD through DriveThru is significantly cheaper and immediately available - but I guess it's worse quality?
Can anywone who's purchased the hardcover from DriveThru speak to the quality?

 

[Egg Embry]

I'm tempted for that WWN. It looks like POD through DriveThru is significantly cheaper and immediately available - but I guess it's worse quality?
Can anywone who's purchased the hardcover from DriveThru speak to the quality?

I've purchased DriveThru PODs in general, but not Worlds Without Number specifically. In general, PODs are glued spines instead of sewed in and slightly different dimensions. They're not bad, but for heavy use, offset print is a winner as it is more durable. I can say that, because I bought Cities Without Number (the cyberpunk WWN) offset print, it's nice.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I use the SWN POD version for a campaign, and it held up nice. That said, I tend to go back and forth between my print and pdf versions; so less wear on the print

 

[eyeheartawk]

At this point I'll just make a TTRPG about me chilling on my couch and call it Slouch Borg. At this rate somebody may have already beaten me to it.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

At this point I'll just make a TTRPG about me chilling on my couch and call it Slouch Borg. At this rate somebody may have already beaten me to it.

I was hoping for a game called Q-Borg about queer death metal-heads; but we'd probably get a game about Star Trek villains...

 

[Sir Brennen]

Glad to see a KS for Death in Space. That’s a cool game and setting with the same type of permissive license as Mork Borg for third party content creators. While MB has literally well over a thousand pieces of 3PP content in just a few short years, DiS really hasn’t had nearly the same level of output.

(DiS is not based on the same system as Mork Borg, though many people seem to have that impression. More like parallel evolution in the OSR space.)

Plus Mr. Eichhorn has done a ton of quality stuff for other systems, so I’m excited to see what he does with DiS.

I mean, rogue black hole with a graveyard of trapped ships. What’s not to love?

 

[doctorhook]

I'm tempted for that WWN. It looks like POD through DriveThru is significantly cheaper and immediately available - but I guess it's worse quality?
Can anywone who's purchased the hardcover from DriveThru speak to the quality?

I didn’t order either version, but got both off the shelf from a store that ordered the retail package. The POD one is fine, but like anything POD it looks like it was made on a printer then put into a fancy cover—colours aren’t as bright, the paper is physically lighter and not as glossy, and the binding feels merely “fine” rather than sturdy.

The offset print feels like a real, professionally printed book like you might get from a big publisher. If you really like a game and can get an offset copy of its rulebook, I recommend it.

 

[TwoSix]

I'm tempted for that WWN. It looks like POD through DriveThru is significantly cheaper and immediately available - but I guess it's worse quality?
Can anywone who's purchased the hardcover from DriveThru speak to the quality?

The offset print quality is a large step up from any POD book that I've purchased.