As has been the case for several weeks, there are more RPG crowdfunding campaigns than I can count without kicking off my shoes, so I’ve trimmed it down to 6 RPGs and linking 13 zines. All of these end between March 15th to the 21st. Lots of Powered by the Apocalypse, 5e, and Pathfinder to select from so let’s dig in.
Comrades: A Revolutionary RPG by W.M. Akers
Jinkies! the Roleplaying Game by Toby Strauss
Terry Mancour's Spellmonger by Battlefield Press
Bite Me! - a game of werewolf pack dynamics by Black Armada Games
[h=3]ZINE QUEST KICKSTARTERS[/h]In Thoth's Wake - Zine Quest Edition! by Jon Smejkal
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Comrades: A Revolutionary RPG by W.M. Akers
- END DATE: Fri, March 15 2019 10:32 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Powered by the Apocalypse
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 for the PDF of Comrades: A Revolutionary RPG
“A tabletop roleplaying game about life in the revolutionary underground, where a roll of the dice can change the world. Comrades is a game about union organizers battling strikebreakers in Appalachia. It’s about Black Panthers staring down the police to feed children breakfast. It’s about the Parisian radicals manning the barricades of the Commune, ready to die for their red flag. Comrades is a tabletop RPG about life in the revolutionary underground. Based on the Apocalypse World engine, it pits players against a corrupt government, forcing them to fight from the shadows to free the people from their chains. Playing as characters like the Soldier, the Student, the Propagandist, and the Worker, your comrades will mount rallies, stage coups, evade the secret police, and fight fascist goons. A campaign of Comrades can take place in any setting the players dream up—modern or historical, real or imagined—giving them a chance to create a revolution all their own. This 162-page rulebook includes ten playbooks embodying different revolutionary archetypes, including the Demagogue, the Mystic, the Artist, and the Brute, a guide to the game’s core rules, which keep the action hurtling along at a breakneck pace, and a complete campaign setting, "Khresht: 1915," that will allow you to start playing immediately.”
Jinkies! the Roleplaying Game by Toby Strauss
- END DATE: Tue, March 19 2019 10:21 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Powered by the Apocalypse
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 for the PDF & POD versions of Jinkies!
“A roleplaying game about solving a mystery with the gang, animated hijinks, talking animals, and plenty of Groovy Snacks. Jinkies! is a tabletop roleplaying game based on the mystery-adventure cartoons of the 1970s, like Scooby Doo, Jabberjaw, or Josie and the Pussycats. In this Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) game, the players will explore fantastic locations and meet strange people in their pursuit of adventure, mystery, and laughs. Like all 1970s mystery-adventure cartoons, Jinkies! is also high on comedy, but lacking in combat. Instead of swords and guns, you'll fight crime with your wits and cleverness. . . and maybe a few wise-cracks on the way! The adventures in Jinkies! are set in America, 1975. They'll take you from a mountain town in Oregon, through the American gothic midwest, and into Philadelphia, PA. Roleplaying games traditionally have a hard time telling mysteries. That's why Jinkies! does it differently. Like in any PbtA game, the players and the Animator in Jinkies! "play to find out." This means that no one--not even the Animator--knows who did it until the big reveal. This approach shifts the focus from the mystery to the adventure, and from the culprit to interesting suspects. The result is a mystery-adventure that's unpredictable and exciting every time.”
The Great American Novel, A Roleplaying Game by Christopher Grey
- END DATE: Wed, March 20 2019 11:25 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 plus S&H for the PDF and print versions of The Great American Novel, A Roleplaying Game
“The Great American Novel, A Roleplaying Game is a collaborative storytelling tabletop roleplaying game for 3 to 6 players that uses character-driven game play to create a literary experience for a variety of settings and genres. GAN uses some of the latest innovations in the independent gaming space including elements from Apocalypse World and Powered by the Apocalypse games, FATE, Ten Candles, the Story Pillar system from Home By Dark, derived from Fiasco. The literary structure compels an experience that emulates diving into a good book and not resurfacing until you've felt all the feels. The Beta version of the game is already complete and currently undergoing a developmental edit by Christopher Sniezak at Encoded Designs and Misdirected MarkProductions, who has written and designed for Fate, Gumshoe, and Dungeons & Dragons. Once funded, the book will be line edited by Lauren McManamon, editor of the Gauntlet's Codex, The Veil: Cascade by Fraser Simons, the Uncanny Echo zine by Fraser Simons, and Good Society: A Jane Austen RPG by the Storybrewers and the upcoming Hack the Planet by Fraser Simons. Gallant Knight Games will publish and distribute the game. It will be black and white illustrated, approximately 100 pages.”
Terry Mancour's Spellmonger by Battlefield Press
- END DATE: Wed, March 20 2019 9:06 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): D&D 5e and Pathfinder 1e
- PROJECT TYPE: Campaign setting
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 plus S&H for the PDF and print of the 5e and PF1e versions of Spellmonger RPG
- NOTE: Jonathan M Thompson of Battlefield Press quoted my review of his Kickstarter (from the Open Gaming Network) so, turnabout is fair play, and I’m going to quote me, too.
“Bringing Terry Mancour's Spellmonger series to the Pathfinder RPG and the Fifth Edition of the World’s most popular roleplaying game. What is Spellmonger? It’s the tale of Minalan, a human mage descended from space colonists, set amid a fantasy’s war. The pitch for the first novel could be paraphrased this way: “Minalan gave up a promising career as a professional warmage to live the quiet life of a village spellmonger in the remote mountain valley of Boval. It was a peaceful, beautiful little fief, far from the dangerous feudal petty squabbles of the Five Duchies, on the world of Callidore. For six months things went well. . . Then one night, Minalan is forced to pick up his mageblade again to defend his adopted home from the vanguard of an army of goblins – gurvani, they call themselves – bent on a genocidal crusade against all mankind. All that stands between the gurvani horde and the people of the Five Duchies is one tired, overwhelmed baker’s son who wanted nothing more than to be a simple village spellmonger!” The RPG books will include a great deal of content including new Archetypes for classes, especially for the various types of magic users, information on how the existing classes fit inside the world of Callidore, write ups on the pantheon of Callidore, new spells and magical developments, including how divine magic works in the realm, information on the Censorite, an organization of magic users designed to limit the abilities of mages, write ups on non-human races such as the Alka Alon, the Karshak Alon (the Stonesingers), the Gurvani, and others, and a bestiary of Callidore.”
Bite Me! - a game of werewolf pack dynamics by Black Armada Games
- END DATE: Thu, March 21 2019 3:01 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Powered by the Apocalypse
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £25 plus S&H for the PDF and hardcover versions of Bite Me!
“A roleplaying game about badass werewolves and their emotional relationships. This is a game about being a werewolf, in a Pack. The Pack is a deeply intimate and close family; like a family, sometimes it is full of love and happiness and sometimes it is brutal and dysfunctional. But love it or hate it, you can't ignore it – it will shape you. Fearless Alpha, dedicated foot soldier, pacifist scholar or rebellious cub - your relationship with the Pack is the cornerstone of who and what you are. In Bite Me! you'll uncover the story of the Pack, exploring the relationships between Packmates, drawing out their loves, rivalries and betrayals. What are the cracks that could shatter the Pack and drown you in hate, and how much stress can those pressure points take before they explode? Outside the Pack is a threatening world of violence waiting to rain down upon you: werewolf hunters, rival Packs - even a human with a smartphone and an instagram account could all mean a bloody end for you. The Pack will face powerful threats, forcing the Packmates to choose where they fight and die; the cycle of fractures which threaten to destroy the Pack and the inescapable pull of the Pack-family dynamic is the core of the game. This is a game about struggling with the beast inside, deciding when you will fight, protect, murder, or mutilate - whether you do these things because you love the feral life or as a sacrifice to save the family you are bound to. What does it feel like to be a part of that family? Bite Me! is built using the same Powered by the Apocalypse (PBTA) framework found in games like Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts and Night Witches, to name but a few. The game will be released in a beautiful A5 size hardcover book with as many illustrations as our budget (and Vincent and Morrighan's time) allows. The exact size depends on the funds we raise, but you can expect it to be around 175-200 pages, give or take.”
Rise of the Drow: Collector's Edition for D&D 5E and PFRPG by AAW Games- END DATE: Thu, March 21 2019 2:19 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): D&D 5e and Pathfinder 1e
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $99 plus S&H for the PDF and hardcover of Rise of the Drow: Collector's Edition
“Our #1 Bestseller and ENnie nominated mega-adventure Rise of the Drow returns in a final massive volume for 5th Edition or Pathfinder. This project combines our best-selling, 5-star, ENnie-nominated Rise of the Drow book series into a massive 600+ page, collector's edition hardcover. The Underworld, or Underdark if you prefer, is a dark and dangerous place inspired by Norse mythology and popularized by the late, great E. Gary Gygax, authors Ed Greenwood, R.A. Salvatore, and many others. A twisted and dark place with a myriad of cultures and creatures, the Underworld is an entire world buried below the surface and hidden from the light of day. Deep caves and dark passages wind and honeycomb throughout the earth, distinctly unique races plot against each other and unknown horrors slog about looking for an easy meal. Rise of the Drow is a mega-adventure over 600-pages in length and takes your characters from levels 1-20. In addition to the main adventure, you can use Rise of the Drow to run multiple campaigns set entirely underground! Rise of the Drow: Collector’s Edition contains revised, updated, and all-new content for the adventure and setting. The same expanded and updated content is included in both the D&D 5E and Pathfinder RPG versions of the Collector’s Edition, both PDF and print.”
[h=3]ZINE QUEST KICKSTARTERS[/h]In Thoth's Wake - Zine Quest Edition! by Jon Smejkal
- Ends: Thu, March 14 2019 11:00 PM EDT.
- “A pulp adventure for the Fate Core roleplaying game system.”
- PDF $5 / PDF & POD $8 plus additional costs
- Ends: Fri, March 15 2019 3:20 PM EDT.
- “An RPG about neurotic aunties who save the world—and look good doing it. Inspired by my glamorous 87-year-old grandma. #ZineQuest!”
- PDF & Print $10 + $4 US shipping
- Ends: Sat, March 16 2019 5:34 AM EDT.
- “This 'zine is a collection of items set in the world of the Relics: A Game of Angels RPG. Created by fans who have played the game.”
- PDF AU$3 / PDF & Print AU$5 + AU$15 US shipping
- Ends: Sat, March 16 2019 10:23 AM EDT.
- “A lot of plots and hooks for fantasy RPG's Adventures... A very useful tool for dungeon masters!!!”
- PDF €8 / Print €16 + €19 US shipping. NOTE: PDF version is not mentioned
- Ends: Mon, March 18 2019 10:47 AM EDT.
- “A science-fantasy horror dungeon for Old School versions of Dungeons & Dragons.”
- PDF $4 / PDF & Print $8 US shipping included
- Ends: Mon, March 18 2019 6:43 PM EDT.
- “An RPG zine filled with horrifying tables to help a GM add a sense of eeriness to any game!”
- PDF $5 / PDF & Print $10 + $3 US shipping
- Ends: Mon, March 18 2019 11:00 PM EDT.
- “This new edition of the cult-classic RPG introduces enhanced rules, gameplay examples, and numerous adventure seeds.”
- PDF $5 / PDF & Print $10 + $5 US shipping
- Ends: Tue, March 19 2019 9:53 AM EDT.
- “This is a fully standalone RPG game about silly 80s VHS horror.”
- PDF $6 / PDF & Print $16 + $5 US shipping
- Ends: Thu, March 21 2019 10:46 AM EDT.
- “A dungeon crawl zine made for new school tabletop RPGs, but with old school sensibilities.”
- PDF $5 / PDF & Print $15 + $1 US shipping
- Ends: Thu, March 21 2019 11:17 AM EDT.
- “Three 80's Glam Metal Horror RPG Zine with chilling adventures and Quick-Play rules based on Blades in the Dark by John Harper.”
- Issue #1 PDF & POD $5 plus additional costs / All 3 Issues PDF & POD $13 plus additional costs
- Ends: Thu, March 21 2019 1:03 PM EDT.
- “A zine of tools for the Dungeon Crawl Classics table top roleplaying game.”
- PDF $5 / PDF & Print $8 + $4 US shipping
- Ends: Thu, March 21 2019 2:11 PM EDT.
- “An OSR Zine Bestiette”
- PDF $3. NOTE: No print version mentioned
- Ends: Thu, March 21 2019 6:42 PM EDT.
- “An RPG and OSR setting zine for adventuring in a strange fantasy version of colonial America. Fearsome creatures, witchcraft and weird.”
- PDF $5 / PDF & Print $10 US shipping included shipping included
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! This article was contributed by Egg Embry as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Egg is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG.
