Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarter Club

Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere RPG leads the pack in an exclusive club -- crowdfunders for tabletop roleplaying game products which have broken the $1M barrier! It is currently the most successful TTRPG crowdfunder in history with a funding total of over $10M, and over 30,000 backers (and also the third biggest crowdfunded of any kind!)

[Update--Kickstarter integrated 'late pledges' in May 2024. The totals on this table are the totals at the time the campaign officially ended and do not include late pledges or additional pledges from pledge managers.]


Screenshot 2024-10-24 at 11.18.17 AM.png

This list comprises crowdfunders specifically for tabletop roleplaying games or supplements which have exceeded $1M. It does not include crowdfunders which are primarily for miniatures, software, dice, or other accessories.

Crowdfunders (2).png


$1M+ TTRPG Crowdfunders: The Official TTRPG $1M Crowdfunder Club

#​
Project
Platform​
D&D 5E​
Additions**​
Creator​
Date EndedBackersAmountFirst Day***Average Pledge
1​
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Brotherwise GamesAugust 202452,652$14,557,439$4,380,024 (30%)$276
2​
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game
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September 202181,549$9,533,258$1,150,566 (12%)$117
3​
Gloomhaven Grand Festival
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July 202334,691$5,053,380$1,339,942 (27%)$146
4​
The MCDM RPG
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MCDM Productions (Matt Colville)​
January 202430,177$4,600,529$1,985,398 (43%))$152
5​
The Crooked Moon: Folk Horror in 5E by Legends of Aavantris
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Legends of AvantrisNovember 202321,793$4,020,234$1,225,460 (30%)$184
6​
Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms - A 5e Tome
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DnD Shorts (Loot Tavern)October 202326,376$3,327,204$712,290 (21%)$126
7​
Terry Pratchett's Discworld RPG: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork
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-​
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ModiphiusNovember 202416,177$2,925,641$671,187 (23%)$181
8​
Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt: A 5e Supplement
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MonkeyDM(Loot Tavern)August 202219,723$2,692,698$411,135 (15%)$137
9​
Obojima Tales From The Tall Grass: A 5E Campaign Setting
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1985 GamesAugust 202323,416$2,610,869$380,679 (15%)$111
10​
Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds
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Hit Point PressNovember 202116,929$2,479,888$349,884 (14%)$147
11​
ALIEN RPG – Evolved Edition and Rapture Protocol
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Free LeagueApril 202511,749$2,412,117$1,109,732 (46%)$205
12Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches Setting
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The Arcane LibraryApril 202512,795$2,384,757$1,099,875 (46%)$186
13​
DC20
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The Dungeon CoachJuly 202420,685$2,245,231$415,127 (19%)$108
14​
Strongholds & Streaming
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Matt ColvilleMarch 201828,918$2,121,465$591,556 (28%)$73
15​
Tanares RPG - 5e
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Dragori GamesOctober 20219,403$2,100,242$993,228 (47%)$223
16​
Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game
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May 202215,061$2,097,715$679,748 (32%)$139
17​
"Flee, Mortals!" - The MCDM Monster Book for 5e
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Ampersand-icon.png
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Matt ColvilleMay 202227,009$2,084,117$788,976 (38%)$77
18​
The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game
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September 202311,622$2,027,997$794,798 (39%)$174
19​
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, Second Edition
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-​
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March 202116,591$2,025,288$521,908 (26%)$122
20​
Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme
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November 202215,018$1,933,426$792,724 (41%)$129
21​
Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting
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Ampersand-icon.png
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Loot Tavern(Hit Point Press)July 202118,082$1,845,422$259,382 (14%)$102
22​
BLADE RUNNER - The Roleplaying Game
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May 202215,323$1,673,567$833,263 (49%)$109
23​
The Seeker's Guide to Twisted Taverns
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Ampersand-icon.png
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Eldermancy
(Ghostfire Gaming)
March 202117,921$1,650,076$211,563 (13%)$92
24​
Adventure Time: The Roleplaying Game
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May 20247,334$1,568,387$238,556 (15%)$214
25​
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed Set
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Alan GerdingDecember 202115,699$1,405,569$529,134 (38%)$90
26​
Dolmenwood Tabletop RPG
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Exalted FuneralSeptember 202310,862$1,389,313$639,002 (46%)$128
27​
Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis!
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Matt ColvilleNovember 201919,033$1,372,685$594,330 (43%)$72
28​
Shadowdark RPG: Old School Gaming, Modernized
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-​
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The Arcane LibraryMarch 202313,249$1,365,923$299,898 (22%)$103
29​
Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire
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Ghostfire GamingMay 202115,530$1,348,160$258,640 (19%)$87
30​
7th Sea: Second Edition
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John Wick (Chaosium)March 201611,483$1,316,813$286,290 (22%)$115
31​
The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5e
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Ampersand-icon.png
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Hit Point PressJune 20209,871$1,310,509$218,381 (16%)$133
32​
Dungeons of Drakkenheim
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Dungeon Dudes
(Ghostfire Gaming)
August 202113,376$1,279,240$370,638 (29%)$96
33​
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness
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Palladium BooksNovember 20238,383$1,277,498$359,895 (28%)$152
34​
Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent
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Ampersand-icon.png
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Warchief GamingMay 202110,218$1,260,863$493,947 (39%)$123
35​
The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book 2
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Griffin Macaulay
(Hit Point Press)
April 202211,710$1,237,197$297,192 (24%)$106
36​
Erevan's Guide to Death and Beyond - A 5e Tome
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Archvillain GamesJune 20246,826$1,236,738$336,253 (27%)$181
37​
Moria - Through the Doors of Durin for The One Ring RPG
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September 202313,009$1,198,575$619,890 (52%)$92
38​
Tales of the Valiant RPG: Launching Black Flag Roleplaying
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Kobold PressJune 202310,057$1,151,914$487,329 (42%)$115
39​
The Field Guide to Floral Dragons
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Hit Point PressMay 202412,532$1,110,056$297,687 (27%)$89
40​
Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying Game
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Connor AlexanderApril 202116,269$1,073,453$106,515 (10%)$66
41​
Monsters of Drakkenheim - 5E Monsters with Lores Lairs & Loot
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Dungeon Dudes
(Ghostfire Gaming)
April 20248,078$1,065,710$459,295 (43%)$132
42Fallen London: The Roleplaying Game
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Magpie GamesMarch 20258,105$1,028,103$419,329 (41%)$127
43​
Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim
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Dungeon Dudes
(Ghostfire Gaming)
September 20228,963$1,025,330$422,376 (41%)$114
44The Magnus Archives RPG: Tangled in the Web
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Monte Cook GamesMarch 20256,174$1,015,475$244,599 (24%)$164
45​
Humblewood Campaign Setting for 5e
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Hit Point PressApril 201914,604$1,001,085$58,985 (6%)$69
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Miniatures |
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Merchandise |
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Dice |
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Kickstarter |
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Backerkit |
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D&D 5E​

*Licensed or based on an existing IP (movie, novel, video game, board game, comic book, previous game edition, etc.)
**Merch means pins, shirts, dice trays, etc. Stuff which isn't the actual game.
***First day figures represent first calendar day, not first 24 hours, and are taken from Kicktraq's daily funding stats for Kickstarter or Backer Tracker for Backerkit.
Some unusual patterns can be seen above. Most crowdfunders follow the traditional 'U' shaped curved, with a large portion of the funding taking place in the first few and last few days of the campaign, and comparatively slower progress in the middle.
  • Tanares RPG did nearly $1M in its first day, but then support dropped off for the remaining month. This was due to a high-value giveaway to first-day backers.​
  • Humblewood started off slow and then got a big boost in the last 4 days. It's not clear what caused that, but an aggressive final marketing push is a good candidate--they have multiple marketing entries in their collaborators list.​
A crowdfunder which does well will tend to mean later campaigns also do well, as those backers are notified when new crowdfunders by the same creator are launched.

What Does A Million Dollar Campaign Look Like?
Look at the above campaigns, we can paint a picture of a million dollar TTRPG campaign.
  • 25/45 include minis
  • 41/45 include merchandise (pins, t-shirts, dice trays, etc.)
  • 34/45 include dice
  • Only 2/44 do not include minis, dice, or merch
  • 25/45 are D&D 5E related--but the top 4 are all non-D&D.
  • 17/45 are based on an existing IP (movie, book, older game edition, etc.) other than D&D
  • Only 3/45 are original games (neither 5E nor based on existing IP.)
  • The average pledge level is in the region of $115
  • The average campaign does 26% of its funding in the first day unless there are early bird rewards in which case it can be in the mid-40%s
  • The average campaign has 18.5K backers, with the lowest about 9K backers
Multiple Entries
The following creators have two or more entries in the chart. These 6 creators comprise nearly 50% of the chart with a total of 18 entries.

Creator
Entries​
MCDM Productions / Matt Colville
4​
Hit Point Press
4​
Free League
4​
Dungeon Dudes
3​
Monte Cook Games
3​
Exalted Funeral
2​
Magpie Games
2​
The Arcane Library
2​

Some creators are also listed as contributors to other projects.
  • Loot Tavern (1 entry) is also listed as contributor to DnD Shorts and MonkeyDM.
  • Hit Point Press (4 entries) is also listed as contributor to Loot Tavern and Griffin Macaulay.
  • Ghostfire Gaming (1 entry) is also listed as contributor to Eldermancy and Dungeon Dudes (x3).
 

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Is the Shadowdark pdf already released? I see they are being printed from some of the comments on the Kickstarter. Anyone that does have the pdf, any opinions yet?
 

Is the Shadowdark pdf already released? I see they are being printed from some of the comments on the Kickstarter. Anyone that does have the pdf, any opinions yet?
I late backed it and immediately got all the digital rewards. It's a great book. I can't wait for the hardcover to arrive in October.
 


Dolmenwood should hit $1 million in the next few hours. They’re sitting at $995,000.
I'm actually more excited by the 7000+ backer count. I wonder if Morrus has any desire to find the projects with X thousand backers (say, 5000+ backers).

RPGs are so dependent on network effects, and the number of backers on a core system can be a more direct indicator of the strength of a given game's potential network (assuming the product ever actually ships)
 


I'm actually more excited by the 7000+ backer count. I wonder if Morrus has any desire to find the projects with X thousand backers (say, 5000+ backers).

RPGs are so dependent on network effects, and the number of backers on a core system can be a more direct indicator of the strength of a given game's potential network (assuming the product ever actually ships)
Here's what I could come up with. Here are the RPG results with 7,000 backers or more, sorted by the number of backers.
(I didn't have the strength to drag it out to 5,000...sorry.)

I might have missed a couple, double-check me.

RankTitleTypeAmountBackers
1​
Avatar Legends: the Roleplaying GameRPG
$9,535,317.00​
81,567​
2​
Strongholds & StreamingSupplement
$2,121,465.00​
28,918​
3​
Flee, Mortals! - The MCDM Monster Book for 5ESupplement
$2,084,117.00​
27,009​
4​
Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch HuntSupplement
$2,692,698.00​
19,723​
5​
Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis!Supplement
$1,372,685.00​
19,033​
6​
Herbalist's PrimerSupplement
$814,806.00​
18,725​
7​
Heliana's Guide to Monster HuntingSupplement
$1,845,422.00​
18,082​
8​
The Seeker's Guide to Twisted TavernsSupplement
$1,650,076.00​
17,921​
9​
Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing WildsCampaign
$2,479,888.00​
16,929​
10​
THE ONE RING Roleplaying Game, Second EditionRPG
$1,570,879.00​
16,596​
11​
Coyote & Crow: the Role Playing GameRPG
$1,073,435.00​
16,269​
12​
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st EditionRPG
$1,405,569.00​
15,699​
13​
Grim Hollow: The Monster GrimoireSupplement
$1,348,160.00​
15,530​
14​
BLADE RUNNER - The Roleplaying GameRPG
$1,673,567.00​
15,323​
15​
Old Gods of Appalachia RPGRPG
$2,097,715.00​
15,061​
16​
Monty Python's Cocirricular Mediaeval Reenactment ProgrammeRPG
$1,933,426.00​
15,018​
17​
Humblewood Campaign Setting 5ERPG
$1,001,085.00​
14,604​
18​
Dungeons of DrakkenheimAdventure
$1,279,240.00​
13,376​
19​
Shadowdark RPGRPG
$1,365,923.00​
13,249​
20​
The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book 2Supplement
$1,237,197.00​
11,710​
21​
7th Sea: Second EditionRPG
$1,316,813.00​
11,483​
22​
BREAK!! A TTRPG inspired by fantasy videogames and animeRPG
$623,929.00​
10,328​
23​
Obojima Tales From The Tall GrassAdventure
$1,133,269.00​
10,241​
24​
Auroboros: Coils of the SerpentCampaign
$1,260,863.00​
10,218​
25​
Fate CoreRPG
$433,365.00​
10,103​
26​
Tales of the Valliant RPGRPG
$1,151,914.00​
10,057​
27​
The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5ESupplement
$1,310,509.00​
9,871​
28​
Geologist's PrimerSupplement
$606,836.00​
9,547​
29​
Tome of Beasts 3Supplement
$767,501.00​
9,438​
30​
Tanares RPG - 5EAdventure
$2,100,242.00​
9,403​
31​
Sebastian Crowe's Guide to DrakkenheimSupplement
$1,025,330.00​
8,963​
32​
Vault of MagicSupplement
$474,240.00​
8,742​
33​
Odyssey of the DragonlordsAdventure
$456,332.00​
8,239​
34​
Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the UnfoldersRPG
$969,256.00​
8,215​
35​
Thirsty Sword LesbiansRPG
$298,568.00​
8,152​
36​
Anime 5E - Fifth Edition Fantasy Roleplaying ReimaginedRPG
$608,702.00​
8,073​
37​
Vaesen RPG - Mythic Britian & IrelandRPG
$593,591.00​
7,995​
38​
Quest-o-NomiconAdventure
$620,323.00​
7,737​
39​
Lewd Dungeon Adventures: A Roleplaying Game for CouplesRPG
$254,376.00​
7,706​
40​
L'Arsene's Ledger of Treasures and Trinkets - a DnD 5E TomeSupplement
$855,185.00​
7,659​
41​
Animal Adventures: The Faraway Sea (5E Campaign Setting)Campaign
$689,273.00​
7,611​
42​
Menagerie of MagicSupplement
$317,734.00​
7,370​
43​
Dolmenwood Tabletop RPGRPG
$995,716.00​
7,269​
44​
The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes for 5ESupplement
$268,601.00​
7,207​

Some notes and observations:
  • This list is only for products in the Tabletop Games category, on Kickstarter, that have 7,000 or more backers.
  • It does not include minis, dice, board games, card games, web apps, and computer software.
  • Obojima (#23) and Dolmenwood (#44) are still open, with 17 and 25 days remaining (respectively.)
  • The product that raised the most money per backer: Tanares RPG. They averaged $223.36 per backer.
  • The product that raised the least money per backer: Lewd Dungeon Adventures, with an average of only $33.01 per backer.
  • The highest-backed product that still didn't make it into the Million Dollar Kickstarter Club: The Herbalist's Primer. It's the 6th highest-backed product of all time with 18,725 backers, but only raised $814,806.
  • The lowest-backed product to enter the Million Dollar Kickstarter Club: Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim. It's the 31st highest-backed product, and became a millionaire with only 8,963 backers.
  • These numbers only reflect what I could scrape off of Kickstarter, and don't tell the whole story. For example, I'm one of hundreds of people who backed Old Gods of Appalachia through a different crowdfunding platform. These numbers should therefore be considered minimum values for a given product.
 
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To your point about "network strength," by far the biggest determinant of whether or not a product will make it into the Million Dollar Kickstarter Club is whether or not it is compatible with 5th Edition D&D Rules. There are 25 products on the list, and 17 of them are explicitly designed for 5th Edition D&D (68%). This isn't counting system-neutral products, or the products that only imply compatibility with D&D 5E.

It's neither a guarantee nor a requirement, obviously, but that is the one thing that most millionaire RPG Kickstarters have in common.
 
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To your point about "network strength," by far the biggest determinant of whether or not a product will make it into the Million Dollar Kickstarter Club is whether or not it is compatible with 5th Edition D&D Rules. There are 25 products on the list, and 17 of them are explicitly designed for 5th Edition D&D (68%). This isn't counting system-neutral products, or the products that only imply compatibility with D&D 5E.

It's neither a guarantee nor a requirement, obviously, but that is the one thing that most millionaire RPG Kickstarters have in common.
More important is whether it has additional merchandise/add-ons. Minis, dice, t-shirts, pins, all that stuff. That’s the thing most of them have in common.
 


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