RPG Crowdfunding News – Evolved, Eldritch Automata, D/D/D/D, and more

This week’s TTRPG crowdfunding sampling spotlights campaigns that end between January 23 to February 1. Time traveling superheroes, mech warriors, grave robbers, planes, dinosaurs, and fantasy Jay and Silent Bob all make this article’s list.

Evolved - Superhero TTRPG - Powered by DCC RPG from Bloat Games

• END DATE: Tue, January 30 2024 10:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeon Crawl Classics
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• DISCLAIMER: I freelanced for Eric Bloat on The Broken Controller (below). I did not work on this project
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Superheroes and time travel powered by Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC). Time travel evolves and empowers some of those who make the jump in time, granting them extraordinary abilities. In a setting divided between 2026 and 2051, you play in the now of ‘26, travel forward to a dystopian then of ‘51 where the Evolved are hunted. As 1st to 5th level characters in the earlier timeframe, you’ll have an opportunity to influence the future. What’s neat is you’ll be higher level veterans in 2051. Estimated at over 600 pages, this book offers a lot of content pulling DCC ideas from Goodman Games’ rules, Weird Frontiers, The Umerican Survival Guide, and Star Crawl. This isn’t just supers, this isn’t just time travel, this is a world with a narrative direction that’s worth exploring.

Eldritch Automata | Tabletop Roleplaying Game from Gehenna Gaming

• END DATE: Thu, February 1 2024 10:00 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Year Zero Engine
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $100 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the starter set, core rulebook, GM screen, cards, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Taking advantage of Free League’s SRD, Gehenna Gaming brings an RP-heavy cosmic horror game inspired by Evangelion and Pacific Rim. You pilot a mech, an almost uncontrollable machine needed to battle “eldritch abominations known as Horrors” and the “angelic nightmares known as Seraphs.” Using Free League’s award-winning Year Zero Engine, your character must face their inner demons as they fight to save the world. The description feels like it will have some of Free League’s ALIEN and some of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu horror elements as well as the dark internal struggles of Vampire: The Masquerade. If you’re a fan of mechs, monsters, Year Zero, drama, and horror, this project deserves a read through.

D/D/D/D, a Pamphlet Adventure for Mork Borg from Crumbling Keep

• END DATE: Tue, January 23 2024 10:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): MÖRK BORG
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG pamphlet adventure
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $2 + S/H for the PDF and print version of the pamphlet
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Titled the Den of the Degenerate Dirt Diggers, you’re getting a one-page pamphlet adventure. 7 locations, mapped, random encounters, a rumor table, and a loot table can be found in the tri-fold pamphlet. Grave robbers are robbing graves. It’s MÖRK BORG so your characters don’t care. However, one of your characters is cunning enough to realize that if you rob the grave robbers, you’ll save on the expense of having to buy shovels to dig up the graves. Genius. In the US, for the PDF and print versions plus shipping, it’s $3 total.

Creature Companion: Shadowdark Edition from Appendix N Entertainment

• END DATE: Thu, February 1 2024 12:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Shadowdark RPG
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Shadowdark RPG is making its way to backers, and that community loves the system. To service those gamers, Appendix N Entertainment is updating their Old-School Essentials Creature Companion to Shadowdark stats. Offering 46 creatures and, if they unlock the stretch goals, even more monsters as well as deities. If you want creatures that have already been tested for OSE brought to your Shadowdark games, this campaign is worth a review.

Legendary Locations from Kabouter Games

• END DATE: Wed, January 31 2024 3:00 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): System neutral
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €25 for the PDF and POD discount coupon for the book as well as your name listed as an Executive Producer
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The cover features elven Jay and dwarf Silent Bob of Clerks fame, so I’m sold. Inside you’ll find 100 pages of fantasy locations from villages to inns to religious houses. You’re getting NPCs, factions, adventure hooks, and maps. All the contents are system neutral so you get the roleplaying info without the stats. If you need simple, easy to drag-and-drop locations, this book awaits. Noinch!

A Guide To The Fragment Realms • a D&D 5e Multisetting Book from Jayke

• END DATE: Wed, January 31 2024 11:59 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This book is a collection of 5e content. Think 12 subclasses, 15 ancestries, monsters, an adventure, and, the secret sauce, multiple planar settings. At 230 to 250 pages, this book sets up worlds with a variety of portals rules to get you from A to B. The planes mentioned in the campaign are a crystallized world for alchemists, an apocalypse realm where the gods fell, and a sky world of steampunk flying ships. Want to test out the options? Check out the campaign page for a free playtest.

Prehistoric Perils: A Dinosaur Bestiary from Fainting Goat Games

• END DATE: Tue, January 23 2024 3:52 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): The Monsters Are Our Heroes and Valor Knights RPG
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $4 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Do you need a book of dinosaurs for your game Valor Knights or The Monsters Are Our Heroes games? If the answer is yes, then this book is for you. I’d say more, but RPG dinosaurs done for the love of dinosaurs sums up this project nicely.

Gamer Nation Con 9: The Fellowship of the Gamers

• END DATE: Wed, January 31 2024 10:00 PM EST.
• PROJECT TYPE: Tabletop gaming convention
• DATES & LOCATION: April 4 to 7, 2024 “at the Dallas Games Marathon facility in Plano, Texas – just north of Dallas”
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $70 for a 4-day entry badge and a swag bag
• DISCLAIMER: In past, I freelanced for d20 Radio
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Will you be in the Dallas, Texas area with a need to sling dice in early April? This con features all things tabletop with a focus on RPGs. What sets it apart are the little things. They have a gaming swag auction that can only be paid for with XP. They pass out random power cards to each attendee that can be used during the con to, say, let someone re-roll a die. A collectible set of GamerCred buttons that can only be obtained through attending events, games, and other activities. The Steves of the Me And Steve Talk RPG’s Podcast have only given glowing reports about the Gamer Nation Cons when I’ve spoken with them. If you live in the area, this campaign page is worth a quick review.

Level Up: A5E Gate Pass Gazette Annual 2023 from EN Publishing

• END DATE: Thu, February 8 2024 6:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Level Up: Advanced Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £45 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 242 pages of content to enhance your A5E game. This hardcover reprints issues 11 to 22 of Gate Pass Gazette. You’re getting 30 exploration challenges, 29 archetypes, 14 cultures, 5 heritages, 4 feats, 3 combat traditions, over 20 monsters, and so much more. If you’re a fan of Level Up, do not sleep on this expansion.

The Broken Controller - Issues 1-4 from Bloat Zines

• END DATE: Tue, January 30 2024 8:00 PM EST.
• PROJECT TYPE: Retro video gaming zine
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $49 + S/H for all 4 The Broken Controller zines and the exclusive Retrostalgia #1, all in PDF and print
• DISCLAIMER: Egg Embry (me) wrote articles that appear in The Broken Controller #1 and Retrostalgia #1
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project offers up to five zines, four about retro video gaming from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and one about straight up pop culture nostalgia. There are articles about The Legend of Zelda, River City Ransom, Twight 2000: The Video Game, the first Shadowrun video game, and Gameboys. While I wrote for these zines, I still believe that they are an excellent source of nostalgic fun for those that want to remember the video games of their youth.

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

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I was really excited about Eldritch Automata before the campaign launched. But once it did, man, things did not go well. Sort of a perfect example of how not to launch an ambitious RPG KS: Only one piece of art, no breakdown of the new mechanics (esp. problematic for a mech game), very light details about the setting, and no sense of the different mechs you can pilot. But lots of details about the creators involved—which for some projects might be enough of a selling point, but only if the creators are essentially household names within the hobby.

The lack of any of those non-creator details persisted for days, well past the period where most Kickstarters basically live or die. By a few days in the math was insurmountable—there was no way they'd generate the attention needed to hit $60k.

I'm excited to see what happens if/when they relaunch, presumably with more game details. A mech game using the Year Zero Engine is right in my wheelhouse, even if just to lift mechanics for a different setting. I bet a lot of others would be interested too. But there's a specific method to hitting big on Kickstarter, almost a set of rules, and this one didn't really follow any of them.

 

[Scottius]

I'm very excited for Evolved. DCC system gonzo weirdness mixed with superpowers & time travel sounds like great fun to me.

 

[ravnos13]

I was really excited about Eldritch Automata before the campaign launched. But once it did, man, things did not go well. Sort of a perfect example of how not to launch an ambitious RPG KS: Only one piece of art, no breakdown of the new mechanics (esp. problematic for a mech game), very light details about the setting, and no sense of the different mechs you can pilot. But lots of details about the creators involved—which for some projects might be enough of a selling point, but only if the creators are essentially household names within the hobby.

The lack of any of those non-creator details persisted for days, well past the period where most Kickstarters basically live or die. By a few days in the math was insurmountable—there was no way they'd generate the attention needed to hit $60k.

I'm excited to see what happens if/when they relaunch, presumably with more game details. A mech game using the Year Zero Engine is right in my wheelhouse, even if just to lift mechanics for a different setting. I bet a lot of others would be interested too. But there's a specific method to hitting big on Kickstarter, almost a set of rules, and this one didn't really follow any of them.

Hi Grendel, I'm actually one of the creators of Eldritch Automata. Thanks for the feedback. It's actually very helpful, as this was our first KS campaign. We did update the page with a lot of those details and made it clear that one of the primary goals of the crowdfunding campaign was to fund art, as that's one of the pricier parts of TTRPG book production. While we're still trying to achieve our goal with this campaign, we do have a backup plan to relaunch, should the campaign fail, with some major updates, more information, a quick start for folks to test the game out themselves, and more!

 

[Egg Embry]

Hi Grendel, I'm actually one of the creators of Eldritch Automata. Thanks for the feedback. It's actually very helpful, as this was our first KS campaign. We did update the page with a lot of those details and made it clear that one of the primary goals of the crowdfunding campaign was to fund art, as that's one of the pricier parts of TTRPG book production. While we're still trying to achieve our goal with this campaign, we do have a backup plan to relaunch, should the campaign fail, with some major updates, more information, a quick start for folks to test the game out themselves, and more!

Here's to hoping that this campaign goes the distance. The game sounds like a fun time.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Hi Grendel, I'm actually one of the creators of Eldritch Automata. Thanks for the feedback. It's actually very helpful, as this was our first KS campaign. We did update the page with a lot of those details and made it clear that one of the primary goals of the crowdfunding campaign was to fund art, as that's one of the pricier parts of TTRPG book production. While we're still trying to achieve our goal with this campaign, we do have a backup plan to relaunch, should the campaign fail, with some major updates, more information, a quick start for folks to test the game out themselves, and more!

Really glad to hear about that plan! I hope you guys make it this time, but if it doesn't work out it sounds like you've got a winner next time. Kickstarter is just very unforgiving as far as that initial window goes. Doesn't make sense, given how all-or-nothing pledge collection works, but when folks suspect something won't hit its goal, they tend to stay away.

 

[GothmogIV]

I Kickstarted "Evolved." Looks amazeballs!

 

[michaeljpastor]

They have a gaming swag auction that can only be paid for with XP. They pass out random power cards to each attendee that can be used during the con to, say, let someone re-roll a die. A collectible set of GamerCred buttons that can only be obtained through attending events, games, and other activities.

I certainly don't know anything about gaming cons (I usually go to comicons) but these ideas are genius! Have anything like these been done before at game cons? They're all "why hasn't anyone thought of this before?" kind of ideas. Have they started franchising yet?? ;-)