This week, I look at projects that end between April 7 and 21 on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. Several of these are adaptations, D&D supplements, original RPGs, and inspiring designs.
The Real Thing RPG from Jason Ward
Staged Heroism RPG from Nerdburger Games
Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders + Cypher System RPG from Druid City Games and Monte Cook Games
CBR+PNK: Augmented from Mythopoeia/The Cabinet of Curiosities
Remarkable Guilds & Their Heroes - GM guide for Any RPG from LoreSmyth
Bergin's Book of Beasts - DnD 5e from Penny Dragon Games
Deimos Academy from Game and a Curry, LLC
The Prismatic Tower - A wild magic adventure for 5th Edition from Maître Corbeau
Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast from Possum Creek Games
Blessings, Healing, and Peace for Ukraine from EN Publishing
- END DATE: Fri, April 15 2022 11:59 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Powered by the Apocalypse
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 + S/H for the PDF and the print Kickstarter cover of the RPG
- ADDITIONAL COVERAGE: Morrus talked a bit about this here
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? To everyone – EVERYONE! – I knew in high school, rejoice! Your musical salvation has come to tabletop! Faith No More, the band that recorded “Epic” and “Falling To Pieces”, has a Powered by the Apocalypse RPG! In terms of content, this is a full RPG, officially licensed, that pulls story elements from the band’s album, The Real Thing. This 110-page zine-sized book offers the rules you’ll need to play in a world that draws from the storytelling of FNM. If you’re a fan of the band or PbtA RPGs, this is worth your consideration.
- NOTE: In high school, it felt like I knew a rock god arena’s worth of FNM fans. It was so many fans, the number would be deemed epic.
- END DATE: Thu, April 14 2022 8:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 + $6 S/H in the US for the PDF and softcover of the book
- DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: I’ll help Nerdburger Games out at their booth at JordanCon 2022. I don’t work for them, but I help cover their booth when I can because everyone needs a helping hand sometimes
- DISCLAIMER THE SECOND: The magnificent Mike Myler made mechanics for this manual of monumental merriment
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project is an RPG homage to The Venture Bros. It’s not official, but like Nerdburger Games other homages to The Muppets, Quantum Leap, and What We Do In Shadows, it fills a void at the gaming table. This comedy RPG is a rump of superheroics, heists, and a love letter to Saturday morning cartoons. If you’re a fan of rules lite RPG comedy superheroes, over-the-top plans, and adventures that go delightfully wrong, this is going to be a winner for your gaming table.
Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders + Cypher System RPG from Druid City Games and Monte Cook Games
- END DATE: Fri, April 8 2022 9:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Cypher System
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR RPG PLEDGE: $59 + S/H for the PDF and print book and XP deck of cards
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This campaign is for a board game and an RPG. I’m going to focus on the RPG for reasons that should be obvious since this is an RPG site. This standalone Cypher System RPG rule and lore book clocks in at 400 pages, adapting the award winning board game to RPG. Full of the world’s lore, fantasy sea-based setting, and its adorable art, this project comes to life using an established RPG engine. The campaign page includes a discussion about how to create Cypher characters, what species are offered, what kinds of beasts you’ll face, and more. If you’re a fan of Tidal Blades, the Cypher System, or sea-based RPGs, this is worth a look.
CBR+PNK: Augmented from Mythopoeia/The Cabinet of Curiosities
- END DATE: Thu, April 7 2022 9:00 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Forged in the Dark
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rule pamphlets
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the multi-pamphlet boxed set
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is a cyberpunk RPG done as a series of pamphlets and intended for one-shots or no-leveling campaign play. This crowdfunding offers up to eleven pamphlets to get you into the game and adventures. The GM Guide is an eight panel pamphlet, like all of these pamphlets, that shares the core rules. The Player Guide is given to each player as the player’s playbook and reference guide. Then there are, with stretch goals, another nine pamphlets that range from adventures to more rules and guidance. Presented as a “boxed set” of pamphlets, I’m curious to see the finished product as well as play a streamlined Forged in the Dark cyberpunk experience. Add to that, the campaign suggests that these pamphlets will look outstanding. CBR+PNK has great art and a nice format making use of the how information can be conveyed via pamphlets. Check out the campaign page for a link to their free preview.
Remarkable Guilds & Their Heroes - GM guide for Any RPG from LoreSmyth
- END DATE: Thu, April 14 2022 12:06 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): System neutral
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €15 for the PDF of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? You’ll get guilds with NPCs and services. Options to create your own guilds. Guild headquarters maps and guild-related plot hooks, all helping to round out your guild experience. This book offers system neutral content meant for any fantasy campaign. The most standout part of this project, other than the quality of the artwork, is that Remarkable is a book line and this is the fourth in the series. If you like this one, you have others to check out.
Bergin's Book of Beasts - DnD 5e from Penny Dragon Games
- END DATE: Thu, April 14 2022 1:34 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £45 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? I cover a lot of this style of book because it speaks to me: Monsters. This one is over 200 monsters for 5e plus monster related subclasses. In addition, they have a 100-page book that covers the campaign. If you’re a 5e fan and enjoy a collection of monsters as much as I do, check out the campaign page to sample their wares.
Deimos Academy from Game and a Curry, LLC
- END DATE: Thu, April 14 2022 11:06 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rules
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $35 + S/H for the PDF and boxed set plus another PDF
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This premise speaks to me: You’re at your boarding school’s class reunion when you begin to recall the cursed, supernatural horrors you experienced there. As adults, you have to deal with the horrors that scared you as children. This GM-less RPG lets you build out the school with maps of rooms that you can draw on and answer questions about. Akin to the second part of Stephen King’s IT meets the difficulties of Hogwarts, you’ll come back and fight your childhood demons. If the concept interests you, check out the campaign page.
The Prismatic Tower - A wild magic adventure for 5th Edition from Maître Corbeau
- END DATE: Tue, April 5 2022 9:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: CA$15 for the PDF of the adventure and maps, and the option to submit a wild magic surge
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This adventure focuses on a forgotten wizard’s tower filled with magical traps and wild magic. Designed to run around 15 hours for fantasy characters that are levels 3, 5, or 9. In addition to the adventure is a wild magic system that should help alter veteran player expectations with variations on different themes. If you’re looking for a trapped tower and unique magic properties available in English or French, this project may be of interest to you.
Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast from Possum Creek Games
- END DATE: April 21, 2022
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the core book, quickstart guide, and more
- NOTE: This crowdfunding campaign runs through IndieGoGo
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project is something special. Told through a bed and breakfast, these adventures don’t have a set rule system, instead each adventure focuses on a unique story and simple ruleset to convey the adventure. In this bed and breakfast, there are seven long-term residents and 50 guests to choose from as you play out adventures over 48 chapters. Characters range from all variety of humans to supernatural customers to anthropomorphic residents and more. The adventures are everyday events taken to the extremes of fantasy. If you’re looking for a project of that offers up “slice-of-life fantasy, queer found family, and cutting-edge game mechanics,” then this IndieGoGo is worth checking out. Check out the campaign page to download a free preview.
Blessings, Healing, and Peace for Ukraine from EN Publishing
- END DATE: April 14, 2022
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £5 for the PDF
- DISCLAIMER: EN World is a subsidiary of EN Publishing. To learn more about this project, you can read Morrus’ article here
- NOTE: This crowdfunding campaign runs through IndieGoGo
- THE CAUSE: “100% of the proceeds from this campaign will be donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.”
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This campaign combines gamers and helping Ukrainians in their hour of need. In exchange for a variety of 5e content such as healing spells, magical ceremonies, and monk archetypes, your money will go to assist Ukraine’s refugees. 11 healing spells, 2 monk subclasses, 7 supernatural gifts, and more. Coming from five supplements, this gives you some nice content. It’s a Pay What You Want campaign as every level gets all of the PDFs and all of the proceeds go to charity. If you’ve backed a EN Publishing campaign before, you know you’ll get the PDFs as soon as the campaign ends, and your funds will help those in need. If this appeals to you, head over to IndieGoGo to learn more and support the cause.
