D&D General The 13th Age 2nd Edition Kickstarter Has Launched

13th Age was released 10 years ago as a 'love letter' to D&D. Designed by D&D 3E's Jonathan Tweet and 4E's Rob Heinsoo, it streamlined the game and introduced innovations such as the Escalation Die, and it's One Unique Thing, a trait that every character has which is individual to them.

2nd Edition is now here--streamlined, clarified, backward-compatible, and updated with revised classes, monsters, and more. And, unlike the single book format of the original, this version comes in the form of a 240-page Player's Handbook and a 160-page Gamemaster's Guide.

You can pick up both books for £40 in PDF or £100 in hardcover format, plus dice, a GM screen, and more.

There's a free preview document available (12-page PDF).

Designer Rob Heinsoo spoke to EN Publishing's Jessica Hancock about 13th Age 2E last year on the Not DnD show.

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[mamba]

It just isn't worthwhile for any publisher to care what WotC's publication schedule is. This would only matter if the folks producing 13th Age were anywhere in the ballpark of WotC, but instead they are orders of magnitude smaller. Therefore, it really doesn't matter what WotC does, because even at its best, 13th Age will be a blip on the blip of its radar, not actual competition.

not sure, it might be more like whether the little fishing boat should care about the aircraft carrier even if the carrier does not care about it

Either way I am not sure it makes much difference for 13th Age

 

[Shardstone]

not sure, it might be more like whether the little fishing boat should care about the aircraft carrier even if the carrier does not care about it

Either way I am not sure it makes much difference for 13th Age

This is basically my point.

 

[Yaarel]

Yes.

And more to the point, replying to criticism with "you can always ignore it if you don't like it" is never the insightful constructive response you (not you Yaarel) think it is.

I agree. A DM can use "rule zero" to fix any rule. At the same time, a bad rule is still bad.

(See, Oberoni Fallacy.)

 

[ezo]

So, the game has been around for 10 years, and they want KickStarter support to develop and launch a 2nd Edition?

I thought the point of KictStarter was to, well, kick start a company or business, not be a money grab for an estabilshed one. That is pathetic IMO.

 

[Nikosandros]

So, the game has been around for 10 years, and they want KickStarter support to develop and launch a 2nd Edition?

I thought the point of KictStarter was to, well, kick start a company or business, not be a money grab for an estabilshed one. That is pathetic IMO.

Kickstarter can be used for many purposes. Getting funds to publish a book is actually quite typical. I don't see anything pathetic here and I'm supporting this campaign.

 

[Retreater]

So, the game has been around for 10 years, and they want KickStarter support to develop and launch a 2nd Edition?

I thought the point of KictStarter was to, well, kick start a company or business, not be a money grab for an estabilshed one. That is pathetic IMO.

Well, we can also point fingers at EN Publishing, Goodman Games, Pinnacle (creators of Savage Worlds), Chaosium (makers of Call of Cthulhu), Troll Lord Games (Castles and Crusades), Steve Jackson Games (the Fantasy Trip, Munchkin), established fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, numerous board games from Gloomhaven to HeroQuest that have sought funding from Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms.
Maybe it's not that outlandish?

 

[ezo]

Kickstarter can be used for many purposes. Getting funds to publish a book is actually quite typical. I don't see anything pathetic here and I'm supporting this campaign.

If you are already a company who has published books and is presumably showing a profit? Sounds pathetic and money-grabbing to me...

Well, we can also point fingers at EN Publishing, Goodman Games, Pinnacle (creators of Savage Worlds), Chaosium (makers of Call of Cthulhu), Troll Lord Games (Castles and Crusades), Steve Jackson Games (the Fantasy Trip, Munchkin), established fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, numerous board games from Gloomhaven to HeroQuest that have sought funding from Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms.
Maybe it's not that outlandish?

For any and all of those who, again, are already establish, showing profits, etc. yes, it is.

Using KickStarter to ask for funding when you are, oh, I don't know, just getting started, is sort of the point of the site. Like, if I saw Apple launching a KickStarter for the new iPhone, or WotC starting a KickStarter for the 2024 Edition development, that would be just as outlandish, and pathetic.

Once you company is up and running, using your profits to fund new projects is really part of the business growing.

 

[mamba]

Once you company is up and running, using your profits to fund new projects is really part of the business growing.

why can a KS not be part of the business growing? Sounds like a smart move actually, you gauge interest before fully committing and realizing too late that you now sit on a pile of books for which there is too little interest…

If you only ever want to support companies on their first KS, by all means go ahead, I have different criteria for this

 

[ezo]

why can a KS not be part of the business growing? Sounds like a smart move actually, you gauge interest before fully committing and realizing too late that you now sit on a pile of books for which there is too little interest…

This is what things like focus groups are for: to gauge interest before committing.

If you only ever want to support companies on their first KS, by all means go ahead, I have different criteria for this

You do you. I still think established companies using KickStarter to get "more money" is sad.

 

[Retreater]

This is like arguing that a parkway should be called a driveway because people drive on it, and a driveway should be called a parkway because people park on it.
Maybe "Kickstarter" isn't to "kickstart" a company, but to reduce the risk of a new product? It does take a lot of capital to produce a book, get art, print, store, and ship the product. Kickstarter has the added benefit of letting the company know how many to produce so they don't over print and waste money storing the product.
But hey, if you hate it so much and find this company too "pathetic," feel free to leave this thread.