RPG Crowdfunding News – Deathbringer, Sly Flourish, Gary's Appendix, and more

This week’s crowdfunding sampler looks at campaigns on Kickstarter and Backerkit that close between July 23 to August 13. Beyond the most anticipated TTRPG of 2026, great GM advice, maps, and Ennie Award-nominated TTRPGs listed in this article, you can check out the Side Quest promotion at Kickstarter. Side Quest features creators producing small RPG products for the gaming table, it’s a great way to sample talented creator’s work.

Deathbringer TTRPG by Professor DM from Roll For Combat

• END DATE: Aug 13, 2026 at 8:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• PROJECT TYPE: Shadowdark RPG (Deathbringer variant)
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $125 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the Deathbringer Core Rules, adventure pack, 16 character sheets, GM screen, dungeon and grass Ultimate Dungeon Terrain (UDT) double-sided playmat, as well as Deathbringer character and monster pawns, including adventures by Professor DM, Kelsey Dionne, Baron DeRopp, Grace World Destroyer, DM Scotty, Bob World Builder, Brandon "Runehammer" Gillam, Justin Alexander, Luke Hart, William Tanner Schroede, and Ben Milton
• AI STATEMENT: “All of our art is created by humans, no AI trickery! Only real, soul-forged art!”
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The most anticipated TTRPG release of 2026 (as reported here), Deathbringer is Professor Dungeon Master’s (PDM’s) take on old school, high-lethality fantasy RPGs. Using a version of Shadowdark RPG where there is no magical healing, surviving death unlocks the greatest powers. This game embodies all of the philosophies that PDM shared in his videos: Savage combat, evil foes so there’s no moral gray area, bonus death dice to add to your rolls, and Ultimate Dungeon Terrain (UDT), a circular stage where the world revolves around the PCs simplifying distances, movement, and combat. Combined with the original gameplay mechanics found in Shadowdark RPG, this game promises to bring back deadly encounters but make them a unique experience. If you want a dangerous game that feels steeped in the 1980s, this Backerkit campaign is worth a look.

Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster from Sly Flourish

• END DATE: Thu, August 6 2026 10:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): System neutral
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• AI STATEMENT: “For Humans By Humans. All of our books have been and will always be written, edited, designed, and laid out by human beings for human beings. Real human artists provided all of the art and maps in these books.”
• ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk conducted an interview with Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The master of minimal game prep is remastering one of the best GM guides in gaming! Behold, Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster! If you run TTRPGs, this book, and Sly Flourish’s other tomes, are a time tested source of tips, tricks, and ways to organize your campaigns and adventures so they don’t eat your freetime. Let’s face it, preparing an adventure takes too long; I find running con games intimidating because of all of the prep they involve. However, the Lazy Gamemaster series simplifies the concepts of running a game and speeds up getting to the dice slinging. If you want faster game prep, try out this Kickstarter campaign.

Limithron's Pirate Map Collection from Limithron

• END DATE: Tue, August 4 2026 11:59 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): System neutral
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG accessories
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $100 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the boxed set and encounter atlas
• AI STATEMENT: “Is Artificial Intelligence used in any part of this project? Absolutely not. We're creatives who enjoy creating. Why would we hand that over to machines?”
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The creators behind Pirate Borg, arguably the most popular of the MÖRK BORG variants, offer over 100 dry-erase nautical battle maps for use with any fantasy TTRPG. Boats, ships, beaches, buildings, and every location you would associate with pirate treasure can be found among this collection of maps. Sized at 8.5 by 11 inch up to 22 by 34 inch, these maps let you do ship duels, dungeon delves, and treasure digs that your table will love. If you want pirate ship maps, this Kickstarter campaign has the vessels you’re looking for.

D&D 5E: The Soul of Trickery (Expansion Book) from Nat19

• END DATE: Aug 1, 2026 at 1:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons 5.19 Edition (Nat19’s version of 5e)
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: C$100 + S/H for the PDF, VTT, and print versions of Soul of Trickery and Paraprismatic Tempest and the PDF and VTT version of Lyre's Guide to Retia
• AI STATEMENT: “ZERO AI. Before we get into everything else, we wanted to put up front that NO AI is used at any stage in the creation of this product or campaign. Nat19 only supports human artists.”
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 150 pages of player resources for Nat19's Somnus Domina setting. 39 subclasses, 44 spells, 27 NPCs, deities, planes, and more await you in Soul of Trickery. Updating their goddess of fire, assassination, honorable crime, and trickery, this book expands on Luxus' Guide to Kits'adria. The other product on offer is Paraprismatic Tempest, 90 pages exploring their elemental realms. If you want 5e sourcebooks about gods and planes of power, this Backerkit may speak to you.

Sickest Wretch for Sickest Witch - New Non-Witch Class Book from Severed Books

• END DATE: Sun, August 2 2026 10:45 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Sickest Witch
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $19 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 2026 is going well for Sickest Witch. This game is finding its fans, especially since its 2026 Ennie Award nominations for Best Game, Best RPG Related Product, and Best Rules. Sickest Witch is low fantasy folk horror OSR and it is brutal. This expansion offers non-Witch classes as well as adventure hooks and a one-shot to build on the core rules. If you want to try out the game that received so many Ennie nominations, check out this Kickstarter.

Gary's Appendix: Issue 11 (Goblins!) from RPG Ramblings

• END DATE: Thu, July 30 2026 6:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Old-School Essentials
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $19 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the zine
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In this issue of the OSR zine series, the crew tackles goblins. This issue gives old school goblins their due with a look at their folklore, ecology, tribes, religion, and what body horror they pursue. With contributions from Zac Goins, Shannon Appelcline of Dungeons & Designers fame, and more, you’ll get 44 pages with 6 articles and some bestiaries. If you’re a fan of goblins and want some nasty, old school horrors to fight, this zine awaits.

D&D EN5ider Annual--adventures and rules for D&D 5.5E! From EN Publishing

• END DATE: Thu, July 23 2026 5:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Adventures
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £19 for the PDF version of the book
• AI STATEMENT: “EN5ider Magazine contains no art or any other content created by generative artificial intelligence. We work with a large, international team of talented freelance artists and writers, overseen by magazine editor Mike Myler. Cover art by Leonardo Sa.”
• DISCLAIMER: EN World is a subsidiary of EN Publishing.
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? EN Publishing has a new 5.5e offering featuring 360 pages of adventures, a new class, and more. Inside this hardcover reside 20 adventures built for your party (between levels 3 to 12). Tasked with 17 puzzles and over 40 monsters, your players will have to work hard to overcome these obstacles. With CRs ranging from ½ to 25, these monsters will require new spells and magic items to defeat them. Fortunately, this book houses over 180s spells, 30+ magic items, new feats, and a variety of subclasses. The new class is the Protomancer, a magic user able to use magic as a building block. This campaign reprints the material from issues 1 to 12 of EN5ider Magazine in a hardcover. Check out the Kickstarter page for more details about these adventures and monsters.

See you in two weeks.
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.

 

[timbannock]

For the life of me I can't understand what's so appealing about Deathbringer

I feel the opposite. Who doesn't want faster turns, more interesting and epic deaths as opposed to just rolling to survive while unable to act, advancement rewards based on the risk of near-death experiences, and a fun meta currency made up of dice for handling stunts as opposed to a strict feat system?

But yeah, that's what choices are all about. We each get the game we want, because chances are, someone's already designed it

 

[SteveC]

I backed a couple of these to support the creators. I really like Professor DM's style (and he's a fellow English Major and actual teacher, so he gets my support there) and I'm interested in the Lazy Susan style of gaming. It will be interesting to see.

 

[Giantrollorc]

For the life of me I can't understand why people would not find Deathbringer appealing.

 

[Morrus]

and he's a fellow English Major

No he's definitely an American professor. This is an English major.

 

[Superchunk77]

For the life of me I can't understand why people would not find Deathbringer appealing.

Deathbringer looks TITS! Def backing that one.

 

[JDR]

Deathbringer looks TITS! Def backing that one.

Inspired by Conan, Heavy Metal magazine, Thundarr the Barbarian, Korgoth of Barbaria, and Dark Sun. Mechanics look good. Compatible with Shadowdark/OSR. Worked on by alot of folks I like. No brainer decision for me.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I did the Sly Flourish one. I like his videos and Bob World Builder recommended him.

Thank you!

 

[overgeeked]

Inspired by Conan, Heavy Metal magazine, Thundarr the Barbarian, Korgoth of Barbaria, and Dark Sun. Mechanics look good. Compatible with Shadowdark/OSR. Worked on by alot of folks I like. No brainer decision for me.

I mean, the world is the thinnest possible veil of WFRP’s setting.

 

[Baumi]

Deathbringer sounds cool, but I will definitly wait for the release. I'm still grumpy that his old Deathbringer RPG was never updated event though there were some problems (like the forced layout that only works for printing and folding).

On the other hand, I immideatly baked the Sly Florish Book, his lazy GM Book was a gamechanger for me. 8D

 

[brodahisou]

I've back both Deathbringer and Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster. I'm a patreon of both Professor DM and Sly Flourish and regularly watch their videos. They have both provided tricks, tools and ideas to make me a better gamemaster and run more exciting games. I'm happy to back their projects. They've given so much to the RPG community I think it's only fair we give something back to them.

Plus Professor DM has just retired and I don't know what it's like in the US, but in the UK, being a teacher is a thankless job, with long hours and crap pay. So if I can assist in a small way in providing the Professor with a little nest egg and securing his legacy and dream of producing his own RPG, then I'm all for it.

I'm really looking forward to playing Deathbringer. In the words of Deathbringer "The old games have grown soft. It's time to sharpen the blade and remind those of the price of failure... and bloody glory!"