RPG Crowdfunding News – Crows, Cypher, Monsters of Rend World, and more

This week’s crowdfunding sampler looks at campaigns on Backerkit and Kickstarter that close between September 10 to 16. This list has another million dollar crowdfunding campaign, more Cypher from Monte Cook Games, a large 5.5e bestiary, a new project using the Traveller system, one for Coriolis: The Third Horizon, another that does something unique with DCC, and a gravedark MÖRK BORG.

Crows: Fortune or Death from MCDM Productions

• END DATE: Sep 15, 2026 at 3:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): “It uses the power roll mechanic from Draw Steel, but this is far from heroic fantasy.”
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $199.99 + S/H for the Limited Edition Ref Box plus the PDFs of the Starter Adventure and Crows: Fortune or Death
• LISTED CREATORS: Grace Cheung, James Introcaso, Jason Hasenauer, Jerod M. Bennett, Josh Gertz, Lars Bakke, Matthew Colville, Nick De Spain, Paul Hughes, Robert "Djordi" Djordjevich, Willy, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Matt Colville and MCDM Productions developed an OSR-esque survival horror TTRPG built from their Draw Steel system. This game focuses on wilderness, dungeon crawls, and strongholds. The Backerkit page states that they are taking this TTRPG back to school, old school. That means deadly, unbalanced encounters, dangerous journeys, and unknown monsters with unexpected powers. If you want Draw Steel augmented with an emphasis on player creativity because combat is a last resort, check out this Backerkit campaign for a free PDF preview.

Cypher—Advanced! from Monte Cook Games

• END DATE: Sep 4, 2026 at 8:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Cypher—Advanced!
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooks
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $139 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of Cypher Decoded, Cypher Bestiary II, Pocket Cypher, Advanced Character Portfolios, Cypher Creature Deck I and II
• AI STATEMENT: “There’s never any AI in MCG’s products. We make great RPGs because we love making great RPGs, and every word and image comes straight from our 100% human imaginations. We won’t insult your creativity, or ours, by delivering purposeless machine-generated drek, especially when we have so many great visions and ideas we’re excited to share with you!”
• LISTED CREATORS: Monte Cook, Sean K. Reynolds, Bruce R. Cordell, Shanna Germain, and many more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Monte Cook Games just released Cypher–Advanced!, the newest version of the Cypher System. This Backerkit campaign offers the first expansions for this new take on MCG’s house system: Cypher: Decoded and Cypher: Bestiary II. Decoded offers a variety of new player options such as genres, types, descriptors, foci, weapons, and more for your Cypher game. Bestiary II expands the monsters you’ll face in any Cypher campaign. If you’re a fan of Monte Cook’s signature gaming engine, this campaign reveals the latest updates.

Monsters of Rend World from Splattered Ink Games

• END DATE: Thu, September 10 2026 11:59 PM EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Kickstarter
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons 5.5e with 5e support
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $65 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• AI STATEMENT: “Monsters of Rend World is proudly 100% created by humans. We're committed to delivering products with entirely human-made art, writing, and design. We never have and never will use generative AI to create any of our content.”
• LISTED CREATORS: Darryl T. Jones, Ryan Bittner, and Altair
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This book is more than 300 pages of monsters with CRs at every level up to CR 30 Titans. Offering between 150 and 200 beasts, you’ll find a collection of creatures, ecosystems, lairs, harvesting and crafting rules, gear, subclasses, and more. Inspired by Monster Hunter, Shadow of the Colossus, Attack on Titan, Elden Ring, Berserk, Princess Mononoke, and Mad Max, this book blends those into monsters, environments, and concepts that your players can fight against. If you’re interested in 5.5e monsters, check out the Kickstarter page for more details.

Dark Conspiracy – A Horror RPG in the Modern Age from Mongoose Publishing

• END DATE: Sep 11, 2026 at 9:00am EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Traveller (Dark Conspiracy variant)
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £140 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the Dark Conspiracy Core Rulebook, Field Ops, Dark Conspiracy Referee's Screen, and Dread Earth Campaign
• AI STATEMENT: “Here at Mongoose we not only believe that art needs an artist... we actually like creating games and the idea of just handing all of that to a machine seems very odd to us! So no, there is no generative AI used in Dark Conspiracy. We would much prefer AI is used to cure cancer, end world hunger and free humanity.”
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Mongoose Publishing combines the Dark Conspiracy TTRPG from 1991 by Lester W. Smith and Game Designers' Workshop with their signature game engine, Traveller. The concept is the best of both worlds, DC’s lore with Traveller’s mechanics giving you a horror RPG with a robust system. This combines two historic properties in one package. If you’re interested in urban fantasy with a well-known ruleset, check out this Backerkit page for more details.

Across the Horizon / The Blood Tree from Yosano Studios

• END DATE: Sat, September 12 2026 9:00 AM EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Kickstarter
• SYSTEM(S): Coriolis: The Third Horizon RPG
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooks
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £50 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of Across the Horizon and The Blood Tree
• AI STATEMENT: “The books will be full-colour throughout, and all human-made (no AI), printed at 7 by 10 inches (18x25 cm).”
• LISTED CREATORS: Kevin Hassall, Erik Åhlin, Marija Popovic, Alexander Jatscha-Zelt, Philip Alaba, and many more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Coriolis: The Third Horizon is Free League Publishing original sci-fi TTRPG. This Kickstarter is from Yosano Studios, and they’re offering a pair of 3rd party books. Across the Horizon is a player’s guide to their setting and The Blood Tree is both a setting and a campaign for your table to play through. If you’re a fan of the Coriolis TTRPG and 3rd party content, this Kickstarter awaits.

Academia Arcana RPG - DCC at Wizard School from Dragon Peak Publishing

• END DATE: Sep 12, 2026 at 10:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC)
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $79.99 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of Academia Arcana RPG and Wizard's Vault zine bundle
• AI STATEMENT: “Was A.I. used in this project? No. Additionally, this book contains a curse for anyone who would upload it into an A.I. tool/L.L.M.”
• LISTED CREATORS: Stefan Surratt, Julian Bernick, Dieter Zimmerman, John Watson, Eddie Bartlett, Matt Gullett, Aaron Burkett, Jordy Williams, Andy Edmonds, Luau Lou Hoeffer, David Baity, Jeff Scifert, Stefan Surratt, Sanjulian, Teresa Guido, Macteg, Kiril Tchangov, Dax Hamon, Giovanna Martin, and Bruno Prosaiko
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This TTRPG has you playing mystery-solving teens at wizarding school, something like The Worst Witch meets Scooby-Doo with fun misadventures. Using DCC as its base, you’ll find the rules needed to detect clues, deal with magic, and combat the villains. In this campaign, you’ll get a 200-page book and 4 zines to get the rules, classes, monsters, and spells you’ll need to solve these mysteries. If this project interests you, check out the Backerkit page for a free quickstart to sample the game.

Khthon from Heltung Storytelling

• END DATE: Tue, September 15 2026 12:00 PM EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Kickstsarter
• SYSTEM(S): MÖRK BORG
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €10 for the PDF of the core rulebook
• AI STATEMENT: “100% Human Made/No AI. Absolutely no AI is being used in the process of developing this game. Every word written, every line drawn is all human.”
• LISTED CREATORS: Vault Crawler and Paweł Kicman
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The surface world died, your ancestors escaped to this underworld, a living grave for those that don’t realize the world is over. Using MÖRK BORG, this game features a dead world that your characters root through, scavenging through its husk to survive. More than 120 pages, the game is inspired by Mad Max (which was also cited in Monsters of Rend World above), Conan, the occult, and feudalism. If you want deadly, depressing depths, this Kickstarter might speak to you.

Chronicles of the Stellar Kingdom from The Polyhedral Knights

• END DATE: Thu, September 10 2026 8:00 AM EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Kickstsarter
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the Core Rules, Houses of the Realm Book, The Resistance Campaign Book, and the NPC Book
• LISTED CREATORS: Mickey Barfield, Dan Davenport, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The Polyhedral Knights have a new sci-fi fantasy inspired by Star Wars and Game of Thrones. Faster-than-light space opera, this is a game of mega-corps, aliens, and combat as you explore the new space. The system uses all of the polyhedrals including some that are more common in DCC than other RPGs. If you’re a fan of sci-fi TTRPGs, this Kickstarter may speak to you.

See you next week.
Egg Embry does not use AI in any of his writing. He participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, Kobold Press Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, Kobold Press, and Amazon. If you like the articles at EN World please consider supporting the Patreon.

 

[Sossij]

Using DCC as its base, you’ll find the rules needed to detect clues

Interesting that in a world of specialty detective/investigation systems, they went with DCC. I'm not questioning this decision, especially without looking at the rules, just an interesting choice.

Looks like two games on that list to give your weird(er) dice a workout.

 

[Shawnster_P]

That Mongoose Publishing blurb is the best AI statement ever!

 

[bsss]

While also interested in the books themselves in the Cypher Advanced campaign, I think the meta of it is interesting. Shorter duration, constrained scope, and saying up front that there's not going to be any stretch goals. More or less a pure "preorder" approach, gives MCG an injection of cash, gives backers a clear idea of what they're getting without the sprawling campaign baggage, and both sides should presumably come out of it more confident in what's getting done and delivered in a reasonable timeframe. I like it.

 

[stormwriter]

I think I have an addiction. I saw the Coriolis project here and thought "that looks cool", clicked the link and "You are a backer" was at the top of the page and I don't remember backing it =P

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

While also interested in the books themselves in the Cypher Advanced campaign, I think the meta of it is interesting. Shorter duration, constrained scope, and saying up front that there's not going to be any stretch goals. More or less a pure "preorder" approach, gives MCG an injection of cash, gives backers a clear idea of what they're getting without the sprawling campaign baggage, and both sides should presumably come out of it more confident in what's getting done and delivered in a reasonable timeframe. I like it.

I've been backing a number smaller/shorter campaigns on Kickstarter and it's wonderful.

I do not need stickers, I do not need a cloth map, I do not need a soundtrack album. Let's just get the main thing turned around.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

I've been backing a number smaller/shorter campaigns on Kickstarter and it's wonderful.

I do not need stickers, I do not need a cloth map, I do not need a soundtrack album. Let's just get the main thing turned around.

I mostly agree with you, but I do need the Middle-earth cloth maps!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I mostly agree with you, but I do need the Middle-earth cloth maps!

Oh yeah, there are definite exceptions.

I saw the expanded Dark Caribbean map on the Limithron Patreon and I will 100% be shelling out for that when they put it up on Kickstarter in 2027 or 2028. It'll be great to roll out on the table and let players figure out where they want to sail to and why some real world locations look all screwed up in Pirate Borg.

 

[Aldarc]

I do not need stickers, I do not need a cloth map, I do not need a soundtrack album. Let's just get the main thing turned around.

"Need" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.