Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game Kickstarter is live!

The Kickstarter for Magpie Games' Avatar: Legends RPG has launched and is hurtling towards $1M in its opening hours. Set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra, this tabletop roleplaying game includes a free quickstart which you can download today.

Update — it hit $1M in the first few hours, making it the fastest ever TTRPG Kickstarter to do so.

Update -- after less than two days, it has made over $2.3M, already making it the biggest TTRPG Kickstarter ever (with nearly a month yet to go!)

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game

An officially licensed tabletop roleplaying game set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

www.kickstarter.com

Avatar Legends: The RPG is a heroic fantasy game set in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra in which you and your friends take on the role of young heroes from across the Four Nations who have joined together to make the world a better place. It’s a game for people of all ages who want to look at the world beyond the scope of the existing stories and explore the meaningful actions heroes take for the good of others.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Honestly I think Avatar is just that popular with both older and younger people... and honestly the setting info would be great even if you're not a fan of PbtA... I wouldn't be surprised if this is getting grabbed up by gamers and collectors alike. I doubt I'll run it using PbtA (or whether I'll run it at all) but I definitely kickstarted as it's a media property me, my son and my nephews/nieces watched together and it holds a ton of sentimental value/nostalgia for us.

The questions from backers about GM screens are a pretty good sign that a lot of folks don't realize what PbtA is, or at least how it works.

 

[overgeeked]

The questions from backers about GM screens are a pretty good sign that a lot of folks don't realize what PbtA is, or at least how it works.

Between that and people thinking it's a video game, here's to hoping it doesn't collapse when people pull out en masse when they realize it's neither a video game nor is it D&D.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Between that and people thinking it's a video game, here's to hoping it doesn't collapse when people pull out en masse when they realize it's neither a video game nor is it D&D.

I think a huge portion of the backers are just folks who want to buy something Avatar-related, even if that means getting the cloth map and never hanging it or the element-themed journals and never using them. That collector itch runs deep. And I get it, I just lost it at some point. I still have a ton of toys that I got on eBay sitting in boxes that I move from home to home and never display or do anything with.

 

[overgeeked]

I think a huge portion of the backers are just folks who want to buy something Avatar-related, even if that means getting the cloth map and never hanging it or the element-themed journals and never using them. That collector itch runs deep. And I get it, I just lost it at some point. I still have a ton of toys that I got on eBay sitting in boxes that I move from home to home and never display or do anything with.

That's my assessment as well. It's mostly collectors and only some gamers. Too bad it's going to wildly skew the numbers for RPG Kickstarters.

 

[Aldarc]

That's my assessment as well. It's mostly collectors and only some gamers. Too bad it's going to wildly skew the numbers for RPG Kickstarters.

As opposed to people backing a Middle Earth kickstarter or one from the ex-lore director of Blizzard Entertainment?

 

[darjr]

I hope that most will at least give it a try

but I do find it kinda hard to believe that most are not aware that the Kickstarter is a tabletop rpg.

 

[Umbran]

That still doesn't explain a lot. I mean, Magpie is good, but it certainly isn't Fria Ligan, in terms of RPG design recognition.

Recognition of design by design wonks doesn't mean much in this context.

Some KS get unexplainable, awesome magic behind them and this is the best example ever in the RPG category.

There's nothing unexplainable in, "a decent game shop got hold of one of the most popular franchises in the geekisphere".

 

[Feepdake]

The way I see this phenomenon is that it could serve as a gateway to folks who haven't the darndest clue what a ttrpg is. Sure, people are starting to learn what it actually is, but the high rate of funding shows that people are willing to give it a shot. Probably won't win everyone over, but like what 5e did for the industry as a whole, I reckon this will also bring in a new generation of ttrpg gamers

 

[Weiley31]

From the kickstarter images, the Book looks a lot better than what I thought it would have. That or I'm just used to PBtA books not looking professional or big. Course, I haven't really played any PBtA rpgs despite getting a copy of Henshin.

 

[CleverNickName]

but I do find it kinda hard to believe that most are not aware that the Kickstarter is a tabletop rpg.

Same here. It's in the first sentence of the project description, and it's the first word of Magpie Game's company description. There will always be that handful of people who just skim the page, look at the pictures, and pledge with the assurance that they can back out whenever. But I'd wager that far, far more folks will read any and all fine print before spending $50+ dollars on something.

So far today: $2.44M with 28 days remaining and 20,256 backers...that's incredible for any tabletop RPG, and especially so for one that isn't 5E-compatible. That is quite a hat-trick, and I'm really proud of them!

I feel like the expectation for these projects within the industry is that sure, a good one will make $10-50K, and a really really successful one will make a few hundred thousand dollars. So a Kickstarter project hitting the multi-million dollar tier could raise a few eyebrows in the industry...maybe this will become a catalyst for other things.