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.

[UPDATE--Backerkit started crowdfunding services in 2022, with their first million dollar campaign in July 2023. Backerkit is now included, so general references to 'Kickstarters' can now be assumed to mean 'Crowdfunders'.]

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 to break $1M without physical merch addons (minis, dice, shirts, pins, etc.) is Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying Game (2021) from Connor Alexander. The only other campaign to do this so far is Shadowdark (2023).
• The average pledge level for a million-dollar campaign is about $100. This is usually reached by including add-ons and merchandizing. The lowest average pledge level is $66 (Coyote & Crow with just the game itself) and the highest is $223 (Tanares with numerous miniatures packs).
• 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.
• Gloomhaven Grand Festival included an RPG, but was also a Kickstarter for a boardgame and 600+ miniatures.

In the 12 years since Kickstarter's creation in 2009 until the start of 2021, 4 TTRPG projects beat the $1M mark. Since March 2021, until the time of writing, a further 24 projects have done so.

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

#​	Kickstarter	Platform​	D&D 5E​	IP*​	Additions**​	Creator	Date Ended	Backers	Amount	First Day***	Average Pledge
1​	Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game		​			Magpie Games	September 2021	81,549	$9,533,258	$1,150,566 (12%)	$117
2​	Gloomhaven Grand Festival		​			Cephalofair	July 2023	34,691	$5,053,380	$1,339,942 (27%)	$146
3​	The Crooked Moon: Folk Horror in 5E by Legends of Aavantris					Legends of Avantris	November 2023	21,793	$4,020,234	$1,225,460 (30%)	$184
4​	Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms - A 5e Tome					DnD Shorts (Loot Tavern)	October 2023	26,376	$3,327,204	$712,290 (21%)	$126
5​	Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt: A 5e Supplement					MonkeyDM (Loot Tavern)	August 2022	19,723	$2,692,698	$411,135 (15%)	$137
6​	Obojima Tales From The Tall Grass: A 5E Campaign Setting					Hit Point Press	August 2023	23,416	$2,610,869	$380,679 (15%)	$111
7​	Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds					Hit Point Press	November 2021	16,929	$2,479,888	$349,884 (14%)	$147
8​	Strongholds & Streaming					Matt Colville	March 2018	28,918	$2,121,465	$591,556 (28%)	$73
9​	Tanares RPG - 5e					Dragori Games	October 2021	9,403	$2,100,242	$993,228 (47%)	$223
10​	Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game		​			Monte Cook Games	May 2022	15,061	$2,097,715	$679,748 (32%)	$139
11​	"Flee, Mortals!" - The MCDM Monster Book for 5e					Matt Colville	May 2022	27,009	$2,084,117	$788,976 (38%)	$77
12​	The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game		​			Monte Cook Games	September 2023	11,622	$2,027,997	$794,798 (39%)	$174
13​	The One Ring Roleplaying Game, Second Edition		​			Free League	March 2021	16,591	$2,025,288	$521,908 (26%)	$122
14​	Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme		​			Exalted Funeral	November 2022	15,018	$1,933,426	$792,724 (41%)	$129
15​	Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting					Loot Tavern (Hit Point Press)	July 2021	18,082	$1,845,422	$259,382 (14%)	$102
16​	BLADE RUNNER - The Roleplaying Game		​			Free League	May 2022	15,323	$1,673,567	$833,263 (49%)	$109
17​	The Seeker's Guide to Twisted Taverns					Eldermancy (Ghostfire Gaming)	March 2021	17,921	$1,650,076	$211,563 (13%)	$92
18​	Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed Set		​			Alan Gerding	December 2021	15,699	$1,405,569	$529,134 (38%)	$90
19​	Dolmenwood Tabletop RPG		​			Exalted Funeral	September 2023	10,862	$1,389,313	$639,002 (46%)	$128
20​	Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis!					Matt Colville	November 2019	19,033	$1,372,685	$594,330 (43%)	$72
21	Shadowdark RPG: Old School Gaming, Modernized		​		-​	The Arcane Library	March 2023	13,249	$1,365,923	$299,898 (22%)	$103
22	Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire					Ghostfire Gaming	May 2021	15,530	$1,348,160	$258,640 (19%)	$87
23​	7th Sea: Second Edition					John Wick	March 2016	11,483	$1,316,813	$286,290 (22%)	$115
24	The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5e					Hit Point Press	June 2020	9,871	$1,310,509	$218,381 (16%)	$133
25	Dungeons of Drakkenheim					Dungeon Dudes (Ghostfire Gaming)	August 2021	13,376	$1,279,240	$370,638 (29%)	$96
26​	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness					Palladium Books	November 2023	8,383	$1,277,498	$359,895 (28%)	$152
27	Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent					Warchief Gaming	May 2021	10,218	$1,260,863	$493,947 (39%)	$123
28	The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book 2					Griffin Macaulay (Hit Point Press)	April 2022	11,710	$1,237,197	$297,192 (24%)	$106
29​	Moria - Through the Doors of Durin for The One Ring RPG					Free League	September 2023	13,009	$1,198,575	$619,890 (52%)	$92
30​	Tales of the Valiant RPG: Launching Black Flag Roleplaying					Kobold Press	June 2023	10,057	$1,151,914	$487,329 (42%)	$115
31​	Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying Game		​		-​	Connor Alexander	April 2021	16,269	$1,073,453	$106,515 (10%)	$66
32​	Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim					Dungeon Dudes (Ghostfire Gaming)	September 2022	8,963	$1,025,330	$422,376 (41%)	$114
33	Humblewood Campaign Setting for 5e					Hit Point Press	April 2019	14,604	$1,001,085	$58,985 (6%)	$69

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Miniatures |

Merchandise |

Dice |

Kickstarter |

Backerkit |

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 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.

What Does A Million Dollar Campaign Look Like?
Look at the above campaigns, we can paint a picture of a million dollar TTRPG campaign.

• 16/32 include minis
• 29/32 include merchandise (pins, t-shirts, dice trays, etc.)
• 25/32 include dice
• 21/32 are D&D 5E related and 9/31 are based on an existing IP. Only 4/32 are new properties.
• 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 about 9K backers

 

[darjr]

Yea, 5e Adventures in Middle Earth. Can’t wait.

 

[Waller]

Sometimes i really can't make head or tails with rpg KS... . I get that a rpg based on the father of all fantasy worlds is going to be successful, but Colville's stuff? It's 5e, ok...but still, 2.1 Mio $? Why? I don't get it. I think that dude is seriously overrated * shrugs *

And that tavern thingy?! Uhm...ok. Just weird. I guess I'm definitely no longer "in touch" with what is hip in ttrpg. I just don't need stuff like that...at all.

They both have really large followings, and the Twsted Taverns did a big ad spend with Backerkit.

 

[MNblockhead]

Coleville's book was excellent and timely. I was at the point in my 5e gaming where I wanted some simple mass-combat rule and simple rules for characters to spend their money and build a stronghold as a base of operations. Strongholds and Followers hit at just the right time for me and the rules were good, it is well written (though could be better organized in parts), and well produced. It hit the sweet spot for me...and apparently a lot of other people.

 

[Eilathen]

How large are we talking here? Critical Role kind of following? Or less? I still think it's crazy that these make those amounts. But it seems some fans are just very rabid, these days. Something like - "I must have it, just because it is from X..." (even if i never use it/don't really need it).

I just find that kind of "loyalty" kind of weird. My decisions were always more along the lines of "is this something i need" and/or "is this a well made/designed thing".

 

[Morrus]

How large are we talking here? Critical Role kind of following? Or less? I still think it's crazy that these make those amounts. But it seems some fans are just very rabid, these days. Something like - "I must have it, just because it is from X..." (even if i never use it/don't really need it).

Not CR size (they're the biggest) but I'd guess Matt Colville is the next biggest?

As for reach affecting sales -- it's just maths. That's how advertising works. The more eyes on your project, the more people are going to be interested in it. If your project is of interest to 1% of gamers, 1% of 100 followers is 1 backer, while 1% of a million followers is 10,000 backers. And of course, if it hits a critical mass feedback loop where the size of the campaign itself makes people talk about it, you get even more eyes on it.

 

[MNblockhead]

I bought Coleville's book because it was something I "needed" (really wanted for my gaming at that time). I think I learned about it on ENWorld, I wasn't a follower. But being able to listen to a number of his videos certainly helped make me more comfortable in backing the project. I liked his philosophy and tips on DMing.

 

[Aldarc]

Colville's KS was more than a book. It was actually only a small portion of it.

 

[Alzrius]

I just find that kind of "loyalty" kind of weird. My decisions were always more along the lines of "is this something i need" and/or "is this a well made/designed thing".

In my experience, a lot of gamers look at potential purchases with a "I could conceivably need this for my game, someday" mindset. You might not have any use for a sourcebook about, say, cyborg werewolves from another dimension, at the moment, but in theory you might be able to use it for your next campaign, so it's worth picking up just in case.

 

[imagineGod]

Yes, totally crazy the way the public flocks to particular Kickstarters. like the Taverns one, nothing special or different from the one I backed years ago called Remarkable Inns and their Drinks that has a new Kickstarter of Remarkable Cults and their Followers. But those not run by celebrities are not bringing in the millions. What gives? Same product concept.

if you are creator that disparity is damned depressing. And here we think Jeff Bezo's Amazon is the big bad.

 

[Morrus]

Yes, totally crazy the way the public flocks to particular Kickstarters. like the Taverns one, nothing special or different from the one I backed years ago called Remarkable Inns and their Drinks that has a new Kickstarter of Remarkable Cults and their Followers. But those not run by celebrities are not bringing in the millions. What gives? Same product concept.

if you are creator that disparity is damned depressing. And here we think Jeff Bezo's Amazon is the big bad.

Not really. I don’t measure my success by how well others do. I’m very happy with my monthly sub-$20K campaigns, and somebody making a million dollars doesn’t take anything away from me. Good for them! Jealousy is not a pleasant look on anybody.