This week, I look at RPG crowdfunding projects running from October 5th to the 23rd. This is an amazing time for RPG crowdfunding. Starting with Dragon Con 2021 two weeks ago, there is a tabletop gaming centric convention every other weekend until late October. Dragon Con, Gen Con, Origins, SPIEL ‘21, Con on the Cob, Gamehole Con, and more are scheduled throughout the funding period of the RPG crowdfundings listed here. Conventional (ha!) wisdom postulates that gaming dollars are limited and conventions eat a lot of them up. But this week’s list shows solid numbers despite the competition from face-to-face conventions.
On September 14th, three superhero RPGs launched on Kickstarter. Since they share a couple of common design elements (superheroes, RPG, and comic book artists), I thought I’d lead with them.
QUEERZ! RPG from Son of Oak Game Studio
Legends of the MetaVerse from Good Brother Studios
5th Evolution: Carbide City #2 - 5e Super Heroes from Limitless Adventures
Blackbirds RPG from Andrews McMeel Universal
How to RPG with Your Cat from OddFish Games
Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse: Beyond Thunder City from Shoreless Skies Publishing
Secrets of the Drow Trilogy (5e) from Midnight Tower
DUSTER from Occupied Hex Games
The Complete Illustrated Book of Abjuration from Phil Stone Illustration
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Amazon.
On September 14th, three superhero RPGs launched on Kickstarter. Since they share a couple of common design elements (superheroes, RPG, and comic book artists), I thought I’d lead with them.
QUEERZ! RPG from Son of Oak Game Studio
- END DATE: Wed, October 13 2021 12:45 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): City of Mist
- PROJECT TYPE: Core boxed sets
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $75 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the basic box (Player’s Guide, MC Guide, dice, and more) plus the character creation guide and graphic novel
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: QUEERZ! TTRPG Demo Game is free at DriveThruRPG
- SUPERHERO COMIC BOOK ARTWORK BY: This project features artwork and a manga by ISA
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In this superhero RPG, you use the award-winning and well-reviewed City of Mist engine to tell the stories of super sentai LGBTQ and allied superheroes fighting against Ignorance, a literal substance in this game. This game is all about love, empathy, and superpowers. Imagine larger-than-life superheroics in which heroes balance their personal lives, combat villains with Rainbow Empathy, and enter the villain’s Inner Space to learn the backstory of why they became evil. The character’s goal is to win by turning the villains into allies. Check out the demo, it’s a ton of content and will help you decide if this is the RPG for your gaming table. If you’re looking for an over-the-top, super sentai superheroics RPG boxed set with multiple books and options, check out this campaign page.
Legends of the MetaVerse from Good Brother Studios
- END DATE: Thu, October 14 2021 10:31 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- SUPERHERO COMIC BOOK ARTWORK BY: This project features covers by Jae Lee and June Chung, and Mike and Laura Allred as well as Andrea Di Vito of Marvel fame and IDW’s Dungeons and Dragons comics, and more
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is the first of two 5e superhero products this week. This one sports pedigreed comic book artwork as well as a completely revamped 5e system. With a 350-page rulebook, you’re looking at 10 classes with 32 subclasses, origin stories that stand in for ancestries, and secret identities. With 300 powers, 80 rogues, and a campaign setting, this game promises all you’ll need to play in the core book. With comic book artists creating the art for this project and a former Marvel staff editor editing this, it has the right creators onboard to craft the perfect feel for this project.
5th Evolution: Carbide City #2 - 5e Super Heroes from Limitless Adventures
- END DATE: Tue, October 5 2021 3:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 + $8 S/H to the US for the PDF and print versions of the book plus a PDF of the comic
- SUPERHERO COMIC BOOK ARTWORK BY: This project features a comic by Bubblegum Jane creator, WunderChivo/Ian Fell
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The sequel to 5th Evolution: Carbide City, this project expands on Limitless Adventures’ 5th Evolution/5Evo project combining comic books and 5e mechanics. This campaign creates a new comic, an adventure, adventure hooks, villains, NPCs, locations, and more. As the third superhero project on this list, it offers game support instead of a full core ruleset as the other two do. If you’re interested in superhero adventures, check out their campaign page.
Blackbirds RPG from Andrews McMeel Universal
- END DATE: Fri, October 15 2021 3:28 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Powered by Zweihänder
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $55 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: BLACKBIRDS RPG: Sneak Peek – Powered by Zweihander RPG is free at DriveThruRPG
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 688 pages worth of dark and gritty fantasy and cosmic horror that feels perfectly aligned with the Powered by Zweihänder brand. A group of mortals stole godhood and they’re planning to remake the world in their image. Against the unimaginable, you’re an adventurer trying to make your way, unaware that you are touched by destiny to save the world. As far as dark and gritty fantasy go, this one gives you some degree of control against the whim of fate. If you’re interested in this project, there’s the sneak peek, but I highly recommend blocking out some time to read this campaign page. It is thousands of words and details the setting, the characters, game mechanics, and contributors; it answers most every question you might have. Oh, and check out the campaign page about 2/3rds of the way down to hear two Blackbirds short stories read by Joe Manganiello, which is a cool bonus.
How to RPG with Your Cat from OddFish Games
- END DATE: Thu, October 14 2021 8:59 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 with free US S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Morrus talks about this RPG here
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Did you want to add your cat to your RPG? Not a picture of them, but to use them as the mechanical diviner of fate in your game. Well, this ruleset uses your feline to determine in-game results based on your cat’s reactions to prompts. As an example, for a magic attack in-game, you use a laser pointer and see what your cat’s first reaction to it is. Compare their reaction to a chart to determine what your character does. In-game crisis leads to out-of-game cat test that determines in-game results. If you can’t find your dice, but have a cat, this is the system you’ve been waiting for!
Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse: Beyond Thunder City from Shoreless Skies Publishing
- END DATE: Fri, October 15 2021 7:58 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Fate
- PROJECT TYPE: Campaign settings anthology
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 for the PDF and POD versions of the book
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Read my interview with Derek A. Kamal about this project here
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse is an award-winning Fate RPG that makes you a mouse in a motorcycle club. Part The Mouse And The Motorcycle, part The Secret of NIMH, and part Sons of Anarchy, this game puts your mouse in the driver’s seat. This campaign will create a setting anthology expanding the locations that your story can take place from sock hops and the 1950s to mice in space to the post-apocalypse and more. If your table needs mice on motorcycles, this is the game for you.
Secrets of the Drow Trilogy (5e) from Midnight Tower
- END DATE: Thu, October 14 2021 10:59 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £20 for the PDF and POD of the main book plus four more PDFs and VTT tokens, maps, and more
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Do you need a 5e drow adventure for levels 4 to 6? The adventure book comes in at 160 pages as this Kickstarter expands on Midnight Tower’s existing adventure with 35 new pages and a traditional print run. In addition, they’re creating a compendium of monsters, magic items, and spells titled, The Drÿnaeri’s Dark Library. If the campaign pages sounds interesting, you can read my interviews with Erik and Tove about some of their other 5e projects to learn more about their adventures.
DUSTER from Occupied Hex Games
- END DATE: Thu, October 14 2021 1:49 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $42 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? An original system RPG that puts you on the far side of nuclear armageddon in a wild west with cars. Estimated to be 200 to 300 pages, this core rulebook will give you everything you’ll need to play your characters and fight in this lawless, gaspunk future.
The Complete Illustrated Book of Abjuration from Phil Stone Illustration
- END DATE: Sat, October 23 2021 5:11 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 + $5 S/H in the US for the hardcover of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Phil Stone is back with another in his series of 5e spell books illustrating all of the magic of the Abjuration school. At 100 pages, this is the eighth (of eight) art spell books he’s created. If you’re a fan of Phil’s artwork and 5e content, this is a really handsome combination.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Amazon.
