This week’s article looks at RPG crowdfunding projects that end between March 29 to April 6 with one quickstarter for March 21. As with each article in this series, I can’t cover every RPG that is crowdfunding on Kickstarter, Backerkit, Crowdfundr, GameFound, GameOnTabletop, or IndieGoGo. As such, I pick a sampling, but if your preferred RPG isn’t listed, it’s not a slight as I wish every RPG success, it’s a limitation of time and space.
Shadowdark RPG: Old-School Gaming, Modernized from The Arcane Library
Little Game Masters from Randall Hampton
Death to the Wizard Kings: DIY Vat Spawn Kit from Marie Enger
The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes for 5e from SlyFlourish
1984:Thoughtcrime from Ediciones Radagast
Critical Codex from Jerry Joe Seltzer
You're In Space And Everything's F**** from Dinoberry Press
Fear The Con 2023
SagaBorn Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook 1.5 from Lone Wanderer Entertainment
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
Shadowdark RPG: Old-School Gaming, Modernized from The Arcane Library
- END DATE: Thu, March 30 2023 6:26 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): OSR
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Shadowdark RPG Quickstart Set is free at DriveThruRPG
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $109 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of core book, the GM screen, 3 zines, 3 mini-adventures, and more
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is an old-school and streamlined-school fantasy RPG. Treasure equals XP, no darkvision and torches last one hour of real time, simplified distances, no skills, just stats, encumbrance involves gear slots, and a d20 roll high system; you get where this is going, yes? A full OSR that focuses on being as streamlined and intuitive as a d20 system can be. Of course, your character won’t have squat for hit points, but there’s balance as the monsters have morale checks. This is the perfect OSR for players that want the old-school experience with less math. If you’re looking for 330 pages of core content including 239 monsters, nearly a hundred magic items and spells, random tables, and more, check out the campaign page for a link to the free preview.
Little Game Masters from Randall Hampton
- END DATE: Thu, March 30 2023 10:59 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This fantasy RPG is designed for ages 5 to 9. Using a d20 base and touching on all of the standard polyhedral dice, this project promises a kid friendly system that promotes social interaction and math. There are three stats and the character sheets are well designed picturing the die you roll plus the modifier to make actions easier to explain. If you’re looking for a fantasy experience for the children in your life, this may be a worthwhile game to look into.
Death to the Wizard Kings: DIY Vat Spawn Kit from Marie Enger
- END DATE: Thu, March 30 2023 11:25 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): System neutral
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Marie Enger of Casket Land is back with the best campaign pitch page for fans of high energy comics and indie RPGs I’ve ever seen. Instead of telling you exactly what you’re getting, the comic pages offer random tables to roll and determine what elements you learn about this book. To navigate the campaign page’s comic-style pitch, you roll on random tables to see if this it right for you. The presentation is AAA graphic design excellence! Death to the Wizard Kings: DIY Vat Spawn Kit is a 32-page (and growing through stretch goals) system neutral character builder. Designed like a comic book, you answer questions and roll on charts to learn more about your vat spawn. If you’re a fan of interactive RPG supplements, this one has the potential to be an award winner with its original layouts and ideas.
The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes for 5e from SlyFlourish
- END DATE: Fri, March 31 2023 3:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $40 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Do you want to run custom monsters in your 5e campaign? Something beyond the Monster Manual and beyond any monster manual? SlyFlourish has 128 pages of rules and philosophies to create, augment, and roleplay a variety of monsters. This books will suggest new attacks, new powers, better armor, and more. The book is broken into articles on how to design the campaign around the monster, how to improve encounters, monster toolkits, and so much more. If you’re interested, check out the campaign page for the link to a 30-page free sample of the book.
1984:Thoughtcrime from Ediciones Radagast
- END DATE: Wed, March 29 2023 10:02 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €20 for the PDF of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Roleplay in the world of 1984. This project takes me back to high school reading assignments. Based on George Orwell’s dystopian scifi novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), the creators “worked side by side with George Orwell’s inheritors to make 1984: Thoughtcrime as true as possible to the universe the English writer created.” This project translates the original RPG from Asturian and Spanish to English. The world is retro-future and suggests a post-WWII Cold War fear that never manifested. Still, this is a setting steeped in history and mystery and worth roleplaying through.
Critical Codex from Jerry Joe Seltzer
- END DATE: Tue, April 4 2023 4:55 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and OSR
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $12 for the PDF of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Inside this book you’ll find over 100 pages of random d12 tables to heighten any 5e or OSR result. This does not replace combat and skill results, it adds to them to provide a cinematic flourish. For example, your character succeeds on a bludgeoning melee attack, flip to that page and roll to add flare to the results. What if their bludgeoning attack fails? There’s a chart for that. There’s options for skill results and more. If you need something to spice up encounter descriptions, this book may be the right quick reference for you.
You're In Space And Everything's F**** from Dinoberry Press
- END DATE: Thu, April 6 2023 8:59 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 for the PDF of both books
- NOTE: This RPG’s language is NSFW
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? For this RPG, expect sci-fi survival horror whose title tells you that space is not going to be kind. Inspired by Dead Space, System Shock, and Alien, this is an interesting option as death looms, but death isn’t the character’s end. Offered as two books, Station at 64 pages and Struggler at 40 pages, you’re on a randomly generated space station with random monsters. Every time you die, you return to a save point, but the world is randomly generated so it’s in constant flux. Check out the campaign page for a link to the PWYW demo.
https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/dinoberrypress/youre-in-space-and-everythings-naughty word/minichart.png
Fear The Con 2023
- END DATE: Thu, April 6 2023 1:13 PM EDT.
- PROJECT TYPE: Tabletop Gaming Convention
- LOCATION AND DATES: “Suburbs of St. Louis [Missouri] at the Brentwood Drury Inn” June 15th to the 17th, 2023
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 for a badge to attend the convention
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? For RPG fans in the greater St. Louis area, the RPG podcast, Fear the Boot, is hosting a tabletop gaming convention. With a preview gathering on June 15th, you’ll be able to game on June 16th and 17th through six 4-hour game slots. Gaming options include “D&D, Battletech, and Savage Worlds” as well as “new and exciting games with a community that thrives on new gaming experiences.” As well, the vendor room will feature games and geek crafts. If you’re looking for gaming near St. Louis in June, this is worth checking out.
SagaBorn Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook 1.5 from Lone Wanderer Entertainment
- END DATE: Tue, March 21 2023 3:25 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original d20 system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 + S/H for hardcover of the book and STL files
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Lone Wanderer Entertainment is offering a backwards compatible revision of their RPG, SagaBorn. Based on Dark Return, a gothic fantasy setting by Michael Bielaczyc and Dane Clark Collins, this RPG gives you a d20 engine with some original enhancements and story driven options. The system uses seven species, three classes with nine subclasses, nine skills, and more. It’s secret sauce are the mana-based spells and the heroic action system that allows for role offs. If you’re looking for another option in gothic fantasy, this might be for you.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
