Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarter Club

Avatar Legends leads the pack in an exclusive club -- Kickstarters for tabletop roleplaying game products which have broken the $1M barrier! It is currently the most successful TTRPG Kickstarter in history with a funding total of nearly $10M, and over 80,000 backers.

22 TTRPG campaigns have ever achieved $1M; 8 TTRPG campaigns have done so without offering miniatures, and only 7 which aren't D&D-related. I myself nearly did it, but fell slightly short with a mere $950,000!

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This list comprises Kickstarters specifically for tabletop roleplaying games or supplements which have exceeded $1M. It does not include Kickstarters for miniatures, software, dice, or other accessories.
  • The first TTRPG Kickstarter to break $1M was 7th Sea: Second Edition (2016) by John Wick.
  • The first to break $2M was Strongholds & Streaming (2018) by Matt Colville.
  • The first to break $9M was Avatar Legends (2021) from Magpie Games.
  • The first to break $1M on its first day was Avatar Legends (2021) from Magpie Games.
  • The first (and so far only) to break $1M without physical merch addons (minis, dice, shirts, pins, etc.) is Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying Game (2021) from Connor Alexander.
  • Most entries are Hit Point Press with 3 campaigns over $1M and contributor on two more; and Matt Colville with 3 campaigns over $1M.
  • Ghostfire Gaming has one million-dollar campaign of their own, and is listed as contributor to three others; Hit Point Press has three million-dollar campaigns, and is listed as a contributor on two more.
In the 12 years since Kickstarter's creation in 2009 until the start of 2021, 4 TTRPG projects beat the $1M mark. In the months since March 2021, until the time of writing, a further 18 projects have done so.

$1M+ TTRPG Kickstarters: The Official TTRPG $1M Kickstarter Club

#​
KickstarterCreatorDate EndedBackersAmountFirst Day**Average Pledge
1​
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying GameMagpie GamesSeptember 202181,549$9,533,258$1,150,566 (12%)$117
2​
Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt: A 5e Supplement^⁺MonkeyDMAugust 202219,723$2,692,698$411,135 (15%)$137
3​
Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds^*⁺Hit Point PressNovember 202116,929$2,479,888$349,884 (14%)$147
4​
Strongholds & Streaming^*⁺Matt ColvilleMarch 201828,918$2,121,465$591,556 (28%)$73
5​
Tanares RPG - 5e^*⁺Dragori GamesOctober 20219,403$2,100,242$993,228 (47%)$223
6​
Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying GameMonte Cook GamesMay 202215,061$2,097,715$679,748 (32%)$139
7​
"Flee, Mortals!" - The MCDM Monster Book for 5e^*⁺Matt ColvilleMay 202227,009$2,084,117$788,976 (38%)$77
8​
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, Second EditionFree LeagueMarch 202116,591$2,025,288$521,908 (26%)$122
9​
Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme*⁺Exalted FuneralNovember 202215,018$1,933,426$792,724 (41%)$129
10​
Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting^⁺Loot Tavern (Hit Point Press)July 202118,082$1,845,422$259,382 (14%)$102
11​
BLADE RUNNER - The Roleplaying GameFree LeagueMay 202215,323$1,673,567$833,263 (49%)$109
12​
The Seeker's Guide to Twisted Taverns^⁺Eldermancy (Ghostfire Gaming)March 202117,921$1,650,076$211,563 (13%)$92
13​
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed SetAlan GerdingDecember 202115,699$1,405,569$529,134 (38%)$90
14​
Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis!^*Matt ColvilleNovember 201919,033$1,372,685$594,330 (43%)$72
15Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire^*⁺Ghostfire GamingMay 202115,530$1,348,160$258,640 (19%)$87
16​
7th Sea: Second EditionJohn WickMarch 201611,483$1,316,813$286,290 (22%)$115
17
The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5eHit Point PressJune 20209,871$1,310,509$218,381 (16%)$133
18Dungeons of Drakkenheim^*⁺Dungeon Dudes (Ghostfire Gaming)August 202113,376$1,279,240$370,638 (29%)$96
19Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent^*⁺Warchief GamingMay 202110,218$1,260,863$493,947 (39%)$123
20The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book 2^⁺Griffin Macaulay (Hit Point Press)April 202211,710$1,237,197$297,192 (24%)$106
21​
Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying GameConnor AlexanderApril 202116,269$1,073,453$106,515 (10%)$66
22​
Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim^*⁺Dungeon Dudes (Ghostfire Gaming)September 20228,963$1,025,330$422,376 (41%)$114
23Humblewood Campaign Setting for 5e^*⁺Hit Point PressApril 201914,604$1,001,085$58,985 (6%)$69
^D&D
*Includes miniatures
⁺Includes other non-digital merchandise (dice, bags, pins, shirts, coins, etc.)
**First day figures represent first calendar day, not first 24 hours, and are taken from Kicktraq's daily funding stats

Some unusual patterns can be seen above. Most Kickstarters 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 Kickstarter which does well will tend to mean later campaigns also do well, as those backers are notified when new Kickstarters by the same creator are launched. Including Ghostfire Gaming (which is involved with 3 campaigns), the list of 17 creators includes 4 who have 2 or more entries.

The average pledge level for a million-dollar campaign is about $100. This is usually reached by including add-ons and merchandizing.
 
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Aldarc

Legend
It looks fantastic, but I'm afraid that it's out of my price range, especially if I want to budget for other Kickstarters down the line this year.
 

Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
Flee Mortals and Appalachia both finishing soon!

Blade Runner next week, I reckon another million dollar campaign.
 



Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
Added an extra column to the table recording what each campaign did on its first day.

On average a million dollar campaign does 24% of its total funding on the first day. Note that this is skewed a little because some campaigns do first-day exclusive rewards, which will mean a higher percentage of their funds will be on the first day -- that's how Tanares RPG had nearly 50% of its funding on the first day.
 

Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
One thing that's interesting is that there's only ever been one TTRPG Kickstarter that's hit $1M with just the TTRPG--no minis, dice, pins, shirts, etc., and that's Coyote & Crow. I don't really have an insight into what the margins are on those types of items, but they definitely draw in the crowds. People love "things".
 


clearstream

(He, Him)
Well, from that table, it appears that running a kickstarter (that ends) in March is the way to go if you want it to be very succesful. The data-set though are a bit small... ;)

That actually leads to a serious question; when is the best time to run a kickstarter if you want it to succeed?
And think about making it for 5e... eleven entries were for D&D supplements or mods.
 


Nikosandros

Golden Procrastinator
One thing that's interesting is that there's only ever been one TTRPG Kickstarter that's hit $1M with just the TTRPG--no minis, dice, pins, shirts, etc., and that's Coyote & Crow. I don't really have an insight into what the margins are on those types of items, but they definitely draw in the crowds. People love "things".
There's also quite a bit of different between how different KSs deal with add-ons. For example, the recent "boxed set" KS for OSE didn't allow to pledge for add-ons during the campaign. They're added through Backerkit. This results in a lower total compared to other projects.
 

Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
There's also quite a bit of different between how different KSs deal with add-ons. For example, the recent "boxed set" KS for OSE didn't allow to pledge for add-ons during the campaign. They're added through Backerkit. This results in a lower total compared to other projects.
Yeah, I’m just talking about the Kickstarter campaigns here.
 


darjr

I crit!
Interesting that, like the rpg industry, there is a huge gorilla. Almost a magnitude higher than many of the others.
 



Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
It's currently the 4th best ever first day funding, with plenty of the day left to go. Currently at $720K. Ahead of it are:

1) Avatar Legends ($1.15M)
2) Tanares RPG ($993K)
3) Flee Mortals ($789K)
 

Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
Old Gods of Appalachia is climbing the chart. Currently #6. $2.08M to hit $5, $2.1M to hit #4. 101 minutes left to do it!

I think it will make #4. Maaaaaybe #3?
 



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