RPG Crowdfunding News – Coyote & Crow, Victorian Mage, DIESEL, and more

This week, I look at crowdfunding projects through Kickstarter and IndieGoGo that end by April 1st. We’re post-Zine Quest 3 and the number of newly offered crowdfunding projects has come down, but that has not impacted the quality or the funding amounts. While there are fewer RPG crowdfunding projects to cover, I cannot cover them all; instead, here’s a selection of what’s currently on offer.

Coyote & Crow the Role Playing Game from Connor Alexander

• END DATE: Thu, April 1 2021 10:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 + $9 US S/H for the PDF and hardcover of the book
• ADDITIONAL REPORTING: My intereview with Connor Alexander is coming soon
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? How would the Americas be if Europeans had not colonized it? This RPG promises a fresh, and refreshing, view of the near future with a true difference, time diverted before 1492. Set in the near-future, this book offers 300 pages of new rules and a world that offers a range of possibilities.

Remarkable Cults & Their Followers - GM Guide for Any RPG from LoreSmyth

• END DATE: Thu, April 1 2021 11:00 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): System neutral
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €15 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 120 pages of system neutral fantasy cults. If your campaign needs cults, either as villains or, possibly, groups to set right, this may offer you some good content.

Victorian Mage TTRPG from Onyx Path Publishing

• END DATE: Thu, March 25 2021
• SYSTEM(S): Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $75 + S/H for the PDF, POD, and hardcover of the book
• NOTE: This campaign is on IndieGoGo
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This 200+ page takes your Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition to the Victorian era. If you’re a fan of Storyteller games set in the past, this one is worth checking out. Beyond the book, Onyx Path Publishing is offering this project through IndieGoGo, a new crowdfunding option for them, and they explain why on their blog. But, it’s interesting to see a major project (all of the 20th Anniversary Storyteller games have a solid fanbase) outside of Kickstarter.

2022 Quest Calendar An Adventure-a-Day RPG from Sundial Games LLC

• END DATE: Wed, March 31 2021 1:59 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG calendar
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $34 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the 2022 Quest Calendar, mini-dice, another book, and dry erase markers
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? For Christmas, a buddy gave me the 2021 adventure-a-day calendar, a good gaming gift and a nice pick me up each morning. This gift gives you something to look forward to for 2022.

Stonetop from penny lantern

• END DATE: Wed, March 31 2021 6:47 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Powered by the Apocalypse
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H the both PDF and print versions of the books
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This hearth fantasy (Iron Age) RPG use the Powered by the Apocalypse system to tells adventures about saving your settlement. It comes in two digest sized books. The 400 page core rules and GMs guide, Book I: Stonetop, and the 250 page setting almanac, Book II: The Wider World and Other Wonders.

Savage Company: Machines of War from SHM Publishing

• END DATE: Fri, March 19 2021 5:26 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and Pathfinder 1e
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $35 for the PDF of the book and STL files for 3D printing
• TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Try out six free books at DriveThruRPG
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Need a dieselpunk military fantasy wargame as well as RPG content for 5e or PF1e? If you want your orcs to have guns and mechs (and your PCs, as well), then this project offers scalable rules allowing you to go from RPG to wargame.

Sea Monsters: 60+ savage creatures of the deep for DnD 5E from Legendary Games

• END DATE: Mon, March 22 2021 12:00 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $10 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This 80-page book offers over 60 5E seaborne monsters for your campaign. If you’re running a sea based campaign or adventure and you want more water-related monsters from a company with a solid 5e catalog, this is likely to be a winner.

Alchemy & Poisoncraft: A module & an adventure for 5e from Cabal of Enchantment

• END DATE: Mon, March 29 2021 1:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £50 + S/H for the PDF and hardcovers of both books
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Need poison for your 5e campaign? More than poison, this book offers subclasses, spells, items, monsters and so much more. This campaign will create two books: Alchemy & Poisoncraft at 200 pages and Scholar’s Footprints at over 70 pages. The campaign page offers a demo to try out.

Survivalist's Guide to Spelunking for D&D 5E from AAW Games

• END DATE: Thu, April 1 2021 2:09 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $39 + S/H for the PDF and hardcover versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? AAW is back with another Underworld offering for D&D. This time the guide to surviving the experience. At 208 pages, you’re getting rules, tools, and over 100 tables. Need an extra incentive, how about this? Douglas Niles of TSR fame (Dungeoneer's Survival Guide) is working on this project. Check out the campaign page for more details.

DIESEL from Steven Pankotai

• END DATE: Wed, March 31 2021 9:00 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $35 for the PDF and POD versions of the book
• ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Podcast #140: DIESEL RPG with Cassandra MacDonald
• TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: DIESEL Quick Play
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In this game, you’re a rebuilt human and you run on diesel fuel. That’s just the tip of the iceberg with this RPG, and it’s worth checking out if you want new, unexpected ideas. But, don’t take my word for it, try out their DIESEL Quick Play.

Cartographr: Augmented Reality Tabletop Terrain Builder from Cartographr

• END DATE: Sun, March 28 2021 7:59 AM EDT.
• PROJECT TYPE: AR app for your fantasy tabletop RPG
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 for early access and two asset packages
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? If you’re looking for a way to play a fantasy tabletop RPG on your phone, this may be an option for you. As the GM, you can build 3D encounters and your players will interact with them with some video game as well as tabletop options. Check out the campaign page’s videos to see more details about how it works.

The Sci-fi Master's Toolkit from Arkenforge Tabletop

• END DATE: Wed, March 31 2021 5:49 AM EDT.
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG map and audio softwarre
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: AU$100 for the software and four essentials packs
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? If you need a map software for your sci-fi encounters (specifically cyberpunk, deep space, and wasteland) then this software caters to you. Offering sci-fi battlemaps and audio integration, this product offers a variety of maps to fill your sci-fi needs. Add to that, if you’re a publisher, they offer a full commercial license to use the maps in your products.

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Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Amazon.

 

[TwoSix]

Wow, surprised to see WoD 20th getting more support. I thought everyone had pivoted to V5 by now. Speaking of, where's M5, y'all? Come on!

I would love to see a M5 with the old consensual reality and the Tradition/Technocracy divide, but with the more elegant casting and spheres system of Mage: Awakening 2nd edition.

 

[dogoftheunderworld]

Coyote & Crow looks very cool. In it to win it.

 

[darkbard]

Super happy about Stonetop! I've been following development on that one for several years now, and it looks right up my alley. (It is iron age, though I always wanted to run a Bronze age "hearth fantasy" based on the Halstatt Culture, but there are similar vibes.)

Jeremy's blog postings are a great resource for Dungeon World players, and his Stonetop looks super exciting. This is the first time I've ever backed a Kickstarter: that's how excited I am!

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Yeah, this month is Coyote and Crow as well as Stonetop for me. The only other kickstarter I'm really looking forward to is Freebooters on the Frontier v2 coming later this year (fingers crossed).

Otherwise, I"m done with kickstar... Ooh, shiny!

 

[Aldarc]

Jeremy's blog postings are a great resource for Dungeon World players, and his Stonetop looks super exciting. This is the first time I've ever backed a Kickstarter: that's how excited I am!

I like that Stonetop follows in a similar vein as Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures or even RuneQuest, where the community/village is an important dimension for the PCs.

 

[darkbard]

I like that Stonetop follows in a similar vein as Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures or even RuneQuest, where the community/village is an important dimension for the PCs.

Absolutely. Building the PCs into a community, where (a) those ties matter to all aspects of play and (b) the success of the community is tied to the actions of the PCs offers a very different avenue to immersion and setting investment than reams of (likely inconsequential) lore.

 

[imagineGod]

Absolutely. Building the PCs into a community, where (a) those ties matter to all aspects of play and (b) the success of the community is tied to the actions of the PCs offers a very different avenue to immersion and setting investment than reams of (likely inconsequential) lore.

Monte Cook's Numenera: Discovery and Destiny

 

[ART!]

1. I really appreciate these threads, @Egg Embry !
2. There's a couple things here I was already aware of and actively interested in, and some I was not aware of and am now interested in, and one or two that I didn't think I was interested in (because I had dismissively skimmed past them while scrolling through Kickstarter) but am now interested in. To wit:
a) Coyote & Crow. I'm not keen on the system at all, but I will probably back this, both for the setting and to support Indigenous creators in the gaming biz.
b) Remarkable Cults is pretty tempting. I mean, who doesn't love a good cult - or eight! - or to spice things up? A cult-generating system is a very nice feature, too, and rules for PC-led cults?!? Very tempting...
c) Quest Calendar?!?! How did I not know about this?? Sold!
d) I like the ideas and tone of Stonetop, but I've realized that PbtA games are not my cup of tea as a GM, so...hmm...
e) Sea Monsters is a no-brainer: more monsters!!! Still, I can't back everything with more monsters for our D&D games...or can I...?
f) Alchemy & Poisoncraft would be nice to have, but I have to watch myself (or ratehr my wallet) with these nice-looking 5E supplements...
g) Survivalist's Guide to Spelunking is one of those that I dismissed out-of-hand when I first came across it, but I didn't realize all the Underdark, Underworld possibilities there, or that Doug Niles is working on it! That's some AD&D pedigree I can't ignore. Expanded rules for adventuring in settings our group hasn't used yet - that's intriguing.

So, yeah: Coyote & Crow I might just have to back on principle, Quest Calendar is an almost must-have, and Cults and Spelunking are very tempting. We live in a golden age!

 

[Aldarc]

Stonetop has less than 48 hours left to go on its Kickstarter.

 

[imagineGod]

I am happy that "Remarkable Cults and their Followers" is building upon and massively exceeding the success of the early product in this series of "Remarkable Inns and their Drinks"