This week’s article covers projects ending in February including a number of quickstarters. Due to the deluge of RPG crowdfunding campaigns (largely from Kickstarter’s Zine Quest), I’m covering as many projects as there’s space, but, unfortunately, I can’t cover every RPG project on Kickstarter, GameOnTabletop, and IndieGoGo. As such, here are some of those that piqued my interest.
IRON KINGDOMS: REQUIEM 5e from Privateer Press
Gods of Metal: Ragnarock from Hunters Entertainment
![Torg Eternity - Orrorsh [ENG].jpg](https://www.enworld.org/attachments/torg-eternity-orrorsh-eng-jpg.132059/ "Torg Eternity - Orrorsh [ENG].jpg")
Torg Eternity - Orrorsh [ENG] from Ulisses Spiele
Lighthearted, a Magical 80s RPG from Kurt and Katie Potts and Gallant Knight Games
XENOSCAPE - Extreme survival Sci-Fi RPG from Tin Hat Games
Archetype Anthology: A Dozen Subclasses for D&D 5th Edition from EN Publishing
HYPNAGOGIC JERKS: an rpg zine about dreams from Theoreticalboi
Low Stakes (Zine Quest 3) from Nerdburger Games
Tower of Scoundrels from Philip Reed Games
Love's Labour's Liabilities - A 5e RPG Zine Quest from Egg Embry Publishing
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Amazon.
IRON KINGDOMS: REQUIEM 5e from Privateer Press
- END DATE: Fri, February 12 2021 2:59 AM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooks
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 for the PDFs of all three books
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Steam power plus gunpowder in a sword and sorcery setting using the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition ruleset brought to you by one of the largest tabletop game publishers, Privateer Press, I’m glad to cover this. The Iron Kingdoms setting has been around for over 15 years across several systems. It’s awesome to see it introduced to 5e. This campaign offers three books (Iron Kingdoms: Requiem at 240 pages, Monsternomicon at 180 pages, Legend of the Witchfire at 80 pages), a GM Screen, and so much more. If you want a mechanized steam powered fantasy world for your gaming table, check out this project.
Gods of Metal: Ragnarock from Hunters Entertainment
- END DATE: Mon, February 22 2021 9:00 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- NOTE: I want to share an excellent customer service story. I backed Hunters Entertainment's Altered Carbon RPG. The book was damaged in the shipping, which is no fault of Hunters Entertainment's or their fulfillment service, Gamerati. They made addressing this easy as they had a campaign update with instructions on getting damaged books replaced. One email with some pictures of the damage and they shipped out a new copy, which arrived in mint condition. It was an exceptional customer service experience that left me even more impressed with Hunters Entertainment's. Because of that, I feel I can back their books with confidence.
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Imagine taking the combination of heavy metal and RPGs less as inspiration and more as fact and roadmap and you’ll have the base idea behind this game. Gods of Metal leans into the idea of metal gods and players as their metal band warriors, taking the concept as far as you can with a 250 page core rulebook that envisions a perfect genre mashup. There’s way too much to cover in a paragraph, so let me say the campaign page is inspiring, and highlight this: The RPG offers an album with an original song from a member of Anthrax and a member of Butcher Babies plus unreleased tracks from Fozzy, Gygax, and others as well as previously release songs from Motorhead, Armored Saint, and Bloodywood. Getting “name” bands for an album to accompany an RPG from the company that brought you Altered Carbon, Alice is Missing, and more shows their level of dedication to this project. If you need more metal at your gaming table, this is the one.
Torg Eternity - Orrorsh [ENG] from Ulisses Spiele
- END DATE: 02/17/2021 17:00 (GMT-5)
- SYSTEM(S): Torg Eternity
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooks
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $225 + $15 US S/H for the casket box, multiple map packs, tokens, dice tray, cards, soundtrack, GM screen, adventure, sourcebook, and more
- NOTE: This campaign is run via GameOnTabletop
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Ulisses Spiele is offering more Torg Eternity goodness to help you save the shifting realities of the multiverse. Through this GameOnTabletop crowdfunding campaign, you’ll learn more about the occult mysteries of Orrosh, gain new crunch for the game, and face off against the Gaunt Man. If you’re a fan of Torg Eternity, Ulisses is offering more of their excellent products. If you haven’t tried this RPG before, this campaign includes a number of add-ons to feel the size of this game.
Lighthearted, a Magical 80s RPG from Kurt and Katie Potts and Gallant Knight Games
- END DATE: Fri, February 26 2021 5:05 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $36 + S/H for the PDF and hardcover of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In this RPG, you play 1980s John Hughes teen movie archetypes attending magic community college. It’s a solid mashup of 1980s kids on bikes nostalgia mixed with Harry Potter: The College Years. Pulling in the memories of John Hughes’ movies solidifies the image of this game, fun adventures that help your characters grow up instead of saving the universe (though you can do that as well). Backed by Gallant Knight Games, this project looks like a beautiful combination of ideas (80s teen movies and setting plus magic school) creating an easy-to-envision RPG experience. Mileage may vary on how well John Hughes’ movies aged.
- END DATE: Thu, February 11 2021 12:00 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €99 + S/H for multiple PDFs, the print core rulebooks, a GM screen, dice, cards, and more
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In Xenoscape, humanity colonized the planet then that colony failed as the planet’s ecosystem overran it. When the game starts, you’re among the last descends of the colonists fighting to survive. Xenoscape offers two core rulebooks, Creatures and Traditions, coming in at 220 page each. Traditions is the core rulebook, while Creatures is more about the sci-fi setting, monsters, and NPCs of this world.
Archetype Anthology: A Dozen Subclasses for D&D 5th Edition from EN Publishing
- END DATE: Tue, February 9 2021 5:00 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £7 for the complete PDF
- DISCLAIMER: EN Publishing is the parent company of EN World
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 28 pages worth of 5e archetypes for druids, rangers, and more, giving more options to your players. Plus, feats, fighting styles, and spells. If you’ve sampled EN Publishing’s projects before, you know these are tight, to the point types of RPG books offering original ideas and crunch. Best of all, this project advertises 12 subclasses, but will deliver 14. If you want new 5e mechanics for your game, check out the campaign page.
HYPNAGOGIC JERKS: an rpg zine about dreams from Theoreticalboi
- END DATE: Thu, February 25 2021 2:13 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Based on Nate Treme's Prole
- PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $13 + $5 US S/H for the physical zine, stickers, and a hand written thank you
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? I am a big fan of RPGs about dreams (one of my zines is about being a dream adventurer), so seeing this combination of zine and dreams is a winner for me. In this game, you are a Sleep Agent escorting a dream avatar on a quest for enlightenment. You’re opposed by other Sleep Agents that want to stop this quest. If you need an RPG about dreams in zine form, check out this campaign’s page.
Low Stakes (Zine Quest 3) from Nerdburger Games
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
- DISCLAIMER: I’ve attended conventions with Craig Campbell of Nerdburger Games
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? If you’re a fan of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waitit’s movie or TV series, What We Do In The Shadows, this game is for you. Nerdburger Games does an excellent job of creating original, engaging RPGs. If you are looking for supernatural vampire roommate comedy at your gaming table, I recommend trying out Low Stakes.
Tower of Scoundrels from Philip Reed Games
- SYSTEM(S): MÖRK BORG
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure and record
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Above, I talk about Gods of Metal: Ragnarock from Hunters Books. On their campaign page, they link to the other notable metal RPG, MÖRK BORG. While Philip Reed’s project hits some of the same beats as GoM (a metal-based RPG and a record), it is its own thing and uses MÖRK BORG as its engine. The Tower of Scoundrels adventure comes in two booklets detailing the tower, the record is an original recording by Philip Reed, and the record sleeve serves as a mini-GM screen; it’s a nice looking package. If you’re a fan of Philip’s other MÖRK BORG projects, you know how much he understands the system, and this project promises to be another great product with a dedicated soundtrack.
Love's Labour's Liabilities - A 5e RPG Zine Quest from Egg Embry Publishing
- END DATE: Sat, February 13 2021 11:59 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
- DISCLAIMER: I am a co-creator and publisher of this project. It is not associated with EN Publishing
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Want 5e content based on the theme of love for your game? Ideas like: warlock’s whose patrons are obsessed with them, monks who use the tragedy of breaking up to fuel their discipline, backgrounds, feats, and monsters that support the fiction of the zine. Co-written by novelist John McGuire, poet Leland Beauchamp, and myself, this sequel to our other zine, Love’s Labour’s Liberated, features 5e crunch as well as a short story, poem, and essay about keeping love safe at the gaming table instead of, you know, creepy. It’s my hope this zine shows my love for 5e, and that you’ll enjoy it.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Amazon.
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