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.
Tiny Dungeon 2e – Minimalist fantasy roleplaying is back! By Gallant Knight Games
(Campaign Ends : Friday 6th October 2017; 15:13 UTC)
Alan Bahr’s Gallant Knight Games returns to the TinyD6 ruleset and fantasy in their latest Kickstarter campaign. Tiny Dungeons 2nd Edition features a revised ruleset and, due to the success of the campaign, a lot of micro-settings. Backers also get a complimentary PDF of their sci-fi ruleset, Tiny Frontiers: Revised, which was unlocked as a stretch goal.
Using the rules in this book, you'll be able to play heroic adventurers, daring treasure hunters, imperious magic-users, and more! Explore numerous worlds and discover legends, adventure and fantastical beasts.
Character creation is simple, fast, and exciting. You pick your character type based on the exciting stories your Game Master is going to tell, you pick a few Traits that each grant a single benefit, and you're done!
Sometimes as the GM, you don't have time to plot lengthy, detailed worlds, but you want that experience. Well, we've got your back, and that support comes in the form of micro-settings! Micro-settings are short settings filled with adventure hooks, and designed to put your adventures and campaigns into high action-adventure.
The game is coming with (so far) 17 Micro-Settings from a host of authors including Jim Pinto, Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Marie Brennan and Ben Woerner. Settings include things such as Home Sweet Home (about hapless dungeon dwellers who must defend their home against hordes of ruthless adventurers), Zankhara (a savage sword & sorcery pirate setting), Swordsmen of Wiing! (high flyng wuxia action where heroes battle a corrupt empire), and Chariots of the Mage Kings (where brave adventurers delve into the ruins of the star-chariots of the mage-kings who arribed from the heavens).
Tiny Dungeon uses a simple, fast, and dynamic ruleset to handle actions. The game uses up to three six-sided dice as part of action resolution.
If you roll a "5" or "6" on a die, your check succeeds. Most checks are made with two dice. However, if you are deemed to have "advantage" on a roll, you gain a third die to roll. If you have disadvantage, you lose a dice (rolling only a single die).
Devil’s Swamp – A Call of Cthulhu RPG Adventure by New Comet Games
(Campaign Ends : Friday 13th October 2017; 02:00 UTC)
The Devil’s Swamp is a Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition adventure anthology, for the classic 1920’s era. The book currently contains seven adventures (more could be unlocked through stretch goals by the end of the campaign) that can be run in one or two evenings. Each adventure can be played as an independent one-off game or as a string of adventures forming a campaign for your Investigators.
The adventures are all based in the Bridgewater area known as the Hockomock. As a member of the Bridgwater Preservation Society, you and your friends investigate the stories people plague the city and area with. The stories the police won't investigate, or quit on way too easily. Living next to the Hockomock, at the heart of what will later become known as the Bridgewater Triangle, gives you easy access to delve into any of the stories that arise.
The Hockomock Swamp, named the Devil's Swamp by the original English settlers, is a known site for paranormal activity. Everything from Bigfoot, aliens, thunder birds, huge snakes, strange lights, Puckwudgies, Native American curses, cultists, mutilated animals and more have been reported in the area. So join me and my team as we help unravel the Mythos tied to the mysteries of the Hockomock.
The Dare – A Call of Cthulhu 1-shot, revised for 7th Edition by Sentinel Hill Press
(Campaign Ends : Monday 9th October 2017; 04:01 UTC)
Staying with Call of Cthulhu, for a moment longer, with another 7th Edition scenario called The Dare. The Dare was originally written by Kevin Ross and published in 1996 by Triad Entertainments. This edition has not only been updated to the 7th Edition ruleset but also expanded.
"Children will always be afraid of the dark." - H.P. Lovecraft
Do you remember what it was like to be a kid? When in every shadow there might lurk a monster? When a nightmare might be escaped from by diving under your blankets? When the morning light brought escape from all your fears... for a little while?
In THE DARE, players take the role of a group of average kids who are forced by their neighborhood bully to spend the night in the dreadful (and haunted!) Barnaker house. This being Call of Cthulhu, there are actually things in the house far more dangerous than even the most terrified child might imagine. The kids must then work together to explore the nightmarish old Barnaker house and investigate its mysteries if they hope to survive until the morning.
The scenario is now about three times the length of the original and includes ten pre-generated kid investigators. Backers get a draft of the scenario immediately as the campaign closes, so well in time for your Halloween games evening!
Burial Plots by Goblinoid Games
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 12th October 2017; 16:35 UTC)
Burial Plots is an anthology of five adventures for the Cryptworld Horror Roleplaying Game and also compatible with the original Pacesetter edition of the Chill Roleplaying Game.
The adventures are:
Condition Critical
Dr. Howard Eastman has called a press conference at his remote research facility to announce a medical breakthrough that will “eradicate human illness and suffering forever.” But what if the cure proves to be worse than the disease?
Unquenchable
Three days ago, a group of hunters failed to return from their annual deer hunt near Akron, Ohio. Your team of expert trackers and investigators has been brought in to assist in the search. But there seems to be an undercurrent of unease amongst the police who whisper of a disturbing discovery they’ve made. Is there something sinister lurking in the forest?
Death in the Dust
In 1888, the silver-mining boomtown of Weaver, Arizona, was abandoned after a series of unexplained disasters, and the town was left to crumble in the desert sands. Today, the former ghost town has been revitalized as a historical attraction. Is history about to repeat itself?
Forget-Me-Not
Horrific axe murders recently committed in Oregon's Tillamook State Forest are identical to those committed by the legendary "Paul Bunyon Butcher" 40 years ago. However, the original killer – now elderly and feeble – remains behind bars. Has a copycat killer surfaced, or is this the work of something even more sinister?
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
The Christmas season is typically a time of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. But one THING has decided to make this year's Yuletide visit to relatives a horrific holiday from Hell.
Jigsaw Fantasy: Oceans and Deserts – Setting Aids for Gamers by Stephen Coffey
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 12th October 2017; 23:59 UTC)
Jigsaw Fantasy: Oceans and Deserts is a series of six books, available individually as digest sized books of roughly 24 pages each, or compiled into one hardcover or limited edition leather bound volume.
Jigsaw Fantasy gets its name from its modularity - every piece of Jigsaw is designed to be able to link up in multiple ways, so you can use them as you wish in order to build into your own setting.
Use Our Building Blocks...
If you like building your own world and your own adventures, but don't want to start from scratch, Jigsaw provides what you need - structured setting elements designed to combine with what you're already doing. Or maybe you want to add something new to an existing world to surprise your players who've met the barbarians from the far north many times - but what of the Selkie?
...But Play in Your Own World
Where a Jigsaw Piece contains something unusual or setting specific it provides advice and examples of how to alter it to fit whatever world you may be playing in. Previous specific examples have included Eberron, Planescape, Thieves' World, Discworld, Middle Earth, and many more. We've also referenced real-world mythologies as diverse as Norse, Ancient Egyptian, and Voodoun. It is easy to put the Emerek Tribes into any desert from the Sivatag to Darksun because we show you how.
The six books in this campaign are equally split between the Oceans and Deserts. The Ocean environs are The Floating City (Ampai is a city that exists atop a flotilla of giant jellyfish, all of which move around one another making maps impossible and travel complicated – especially if you want to stay dry), Red Lock Bay (A haven for pirates and vagabonds, but also a home for many who’ve chosen to give up that life, Red Lock Bay is a town built out of a shipwreck on an otherwise empty island), and The Boiling Sea of Ice (The nest grounds of both Kraken and Selkie, and the many dangers of a realm where the oceans boil deep beneath the ice).
The three Deserts environs are The Sivatag Desert (A huge sandy expanse which most would think were devoid of life but for the camels. But that could not be further from the truth!, The Emberek Tribes (Details the culture and customs of the nomadic dwarven tribes who live in the desert with their herds of camels), and The Panoply of Annem Ka (Annem Ka is an ancient and long dead culture who ruled a huge empire, yet they never forgot their roots as a desert nation. The emperor would literally bear their gods, bound into mighty artefacts, to display their power and wisdom. These artefacts still exits, and the gods are looking for great heroes to bear them once more).
Forbidden Lands – Retro Open-World Survival Fantasy RPG by Fria Ligan
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 12th October 2017; 19:00 UTC)
The Free League, or Fria Ligan in their native Swedish, are the company behind hit RPGs such as Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop. Forbidden Lands sees them tackle Retro-Fantasy and also their first boxed set on Kickstarter.
The campaign has done phenomenally well and, still with over a week to go as I write this, has already attracted over 2000 backers. As the campaign will be wrapping shortly after next weeks column I thought I’d highlight again here as it’s certainly worth a look. For a more indepth look at the game you can check out the preview, Exploring Forbidden Lands – A Preview of The Free League’s New Fantasy RPG that I wrote just before the campaign launched.
**********
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
Tiny Dungeon 2e – Minimalist fantasy roleplaying is back! By Gallant Knight Games
(Campaign Ends : Friday 6th October 2017; 15:13 UTC)
Alan Bahr’s Gallant Knight Games returns to the TinyD6 ruleset and fantasy in their latest Kickstarter campaign. Tiny Dungeons 2nd Edition features a revised ruleset and, due to the success of the campaign, a lot of micro-settings. Backers also get a complimentary PDF of their sci-fi ruleset, Tiny Frontiers: Revised, which was unlocked as a stretch goal.
Using the rules in this book, you'll be able to play heroic adventurers, daring treasure hunters, imperious magic-users, and more! Explore numerous worlds and discover legends, adventure and fantastical beasts.
Character creation is simple, fast, and exciting. You pick your character type based on the exciting stories your Game Master is going to tell, you pick a few Traits that each grant a single benefit, and you're done!
Sometimes as the GM, you don't have time to plot lengthy, detailed worlds, but you want that experience. Well, we've got your back, and that support comes in the form of micro-settings! Micro-settings are short settings filled with adventure hooks, and designed to put your adventures and campaigns into high action-adventure.
The game is coming with (so far) 17 Micro-Settings from a host of authors including Jim Pinto, Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Marie Brennan and Ben Woerner. Settings include things such as Home Sweet Home (about hapless dungeon dwellers who must defend their home against hordes of ruthless adventurers), Zankhara (a savage sword & sorcery pirate setting), Swordsmen of Wiing! (high flyng wuxia action where heroes battle a corrupt empire), and Chariots of the Mage Kings (where brave adventurers delve into the ruins of the star-chariots of the mage-kings who arribed from the heavens).
Tiny Dungeon uses a simple, fast, and dynamic ruleset to handle actions. The game uses up to three six-sided dice as part of action resolution.
If you roll a "5" or "6" on a die, your check succeeds. Most checks are made with two dice. However, if you are deemed to have "advantage" on a roll, you gain a third die to roll. If you have disadvantage, you lose a dice (rolling only a single die).
Devil’s Swamp – A Call of Cthulhu RPG Adventure by New Comet Games
(Campaign Ends : Friday 13th October 2017; 02:00 UTC)
The Devil’s Swamp is a Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition adventure anthology, for the classic 1920’s era. The book currently contains seven adventures (more could be unlocked through stretch goals by the end of the campaign) that can be run in one or two evenings. Each adventure can be played as an independent one-off game or as a string of adventures forming a campaign for your Investigators.
The adventures are all based in the Bridgewater area known as the Hockomock. As a member of the Bridgwater Preservation Society, you and your friends investigate the stories people plague the city and area with. The stories the police won't investigate, or quit on way too easily. Living next to the Hockomock, at the heart of what will later become known as the Bridgewater Triangle, gives you easy access to delve into any of the stories that arise.
The Hockomock Swamp, named the Devil's Swamp by the original English settlers, is a known site for paranormal activity. Everything from Bigfoot, aliens, thunder birds, huge snakes, strange lights, Puckwudgies, Native American curses, cultists, mutilated animals and more have been reported in the area. So join me and my team as we help unravel the Mythos tied to the mysteries of the Hockomock.
The Dare – A Call of Cthulhu 1-shot, revised for 7th Edition by Sentinel Hill Press
(Campaign Ends : Monday 9th October 2017; 04:01 UTC)
Staying with Call of Cthulhu, for a moment longer, with another 7th Edition scenario called The Dare. The Dare was originally written by Kevin Ross and published in 1996 by Triad Entertainments. This edition has not only been updated to the 7th Edition ruleset but also expanded.
"Children will always be afraid of the dark." - H.P. Lovecraft
Do you remember what it was like to be a kid? When in every shadow there might lurk a monster? When a nightmare might be escaped from by diving under your blankets? When the morning light brought escape from all your fears... for a little while?
In THE DARE, players take the role of a group of average kids who are forced by their neighborhood bully to spend the night in the dreadful (and haunted!) Barnaker house. This being Call of Cthulhu, there are actually things in the house far more dangerous than even the most terrified child might imagine. The kids must then work together to explore the nightmarish old Barnaker house and investigate its mysteries if they hope to survive until the morning.
The scenario is now about three times the length of the original and includes ten pre-generated kid investigators. Backers get a draft of the scenario immediately as the campaign closes, so well in time for your Halloween games evening!
Burial Plots by Goblinoid Games
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 12th October 2017; 16:35 UTC)
Burial Plots is an anthology of five adventures for the Cryptworld Horror Roleplaying Game and also compatible with the original Pacesetter edition of the Chill Roleplaying Game.
The adventures are:
Condition Critical
Dr. Howard Eastman has called a press conference at his remote research facility to announce a medical breakthrough that will “eradicate human illness and suffering forever.” But what if the cure proves to be worse than the disease?
Unquenchable
Three days ago, a group of hunters failed to return from their annual deer hunt near Akron, Ohio. Your team of expert trackers and investigators has been brought in to assist in the search. But there seems to be an undercurrent of unease amongst the police who whisper of a disturbing discovery they’ve made. Is there something sinister lurking in the forest?
Death in the Dust
In 1888, the silver-mining boomtown of Weaver, Arizona, was abandoned after a series of unexplained disasters, and the town was left to crumble in the desert sands. Today, the former ghost town has been revitalized as a historical attraction. Is history about to repeat itself?
Forget-Me-Not
Horrific axe murders recently committed in Oregon's Tillamook State Forest are identical to those committed by the legendary "Paul Bunyon Butcher" 40 years ago. However, the original killer – now elderly and feeble – remains behind bars. Has a copycat killer surfaced, or is this the work of something even more sinister?
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
The Christmas season is typically a time of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. But one THING has decided to make this year's Yuletide visit to relatives a horrific holiday from Hell.
Jigsaw Fantasy: Oceans and Deserts – Setting Aids for Gamers by Stephen Coffey
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 12th October 2017; 23:59 UTC)
Jigsaw Fantasy: Oceans and Deserts is a series of six books, available individually as digest sized books of roughly 24 pages each, or compiled into one hardcover or limited edition leather bound volume.
Jigsaw Fantasy gets its name from its modularity - every piece of Jigsaw is designed to be able to link up in multiple ways, so you can use them as you wish in order to build into your own setting.
Use Our Building Blocks...
If you like building your own world and your own adventures, but don't want to start from scratch, Jigsaw provides what you need - structured setting elements designed to combine with what you're already doing. Or maybe you want to add something new to an existing world to surprise your players who've met the barbarians from the far north many times - but what of the Selkie?
...But Play in Your Own World
Where a Jigsaw Piece contains something unusual or setting specific it provides advice and examples of how to alter it to fit whatever world you may be playing in. Previous specific examples have included Eberron, Planescape, Thieves' World, Discworld, Middle Earth, and many more. We've also referenced real-world mythologies as diverse as Norse, Ancient Egyptian, and Voodoun. It is easy to put the Emerek Tribes into any desert from the Sivatag to Darksun because we show you how.
The six books in this campaign are equally split between the Oceans and Deserts. The Ocean environs are The Floating City (Ampai is a city that exists atop a flotilla of giant jellyfish, all of which move around one another making maps impossible and travel complicated – especially if you want to stay dry), Red Lock Bay (A haven for pirates and vagabonds, but also a home for many who’ve chosen to give up that life, Red Lock Bay is a town built out of a shipwreck on an otherwise empty island), and The Boiling Sea of Ice (The nest grounds of both Kraken and Selkie, and the many dangers of a realm where the oceans boil deep beneath the ice).
The three Deserts environs are The Sivatag Desert (A huge sandy expanse which most would think were devoid of life but for the camels. But that could not be further from the truth!, The Emberek Tribes (Details the culture and customs of the nomadic dwarven tribes who live in the desert with their herds of camels), and The Panoply of Annem Ka (Annem Ka is an ancient and long dead culture who ruled a huge empire, yet they never forgot their roots as a desert nation. The emperor would literally bear their gods, bound into mighty artefacts, to display their power and wisdom. These artefacts still exits, and the gods are looking for great heroes to bear them once more).
Forbidden Lands – Retro Open-World Survival Fantasy RPG by Fria Ligan
(Campaign Ends : Thursday 12th October 2017; 19:00 UTC)
The Free League, or Fria Ligan in their native Swedish, are the company behind hit RPGs such as Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Tales from the Loop. Forbidden Lands sees them tackle Retro-Fantasy and also their first boxed set on Kickstarter.
The campaign has done phenomenally well and, still with over a week to go as I write this, has already attracted over 2000 backers. As the campaign will be wrapping shortly after next weeks column I thought I’d highlight again here as it’s certainly worth a look. For a more indepth look at the game you can check out the preview, Exploring Forbidden Lands – A Preview of The Free League’s New Fantasy RPG that I wrote just before the campaign launched.
**********
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
