RPG Crowdfunding News – HULL BREACH, Limitless Heroics, Limitless Monsters, and more

This week I look at RPG project that end between January 19th to early February. With the holidays past, the first big books of 2022 have started. This week, I share one of them that’s comfortably into six-figures worth of funding as well as a variety of other projects.

Zine Quest 2022. I’ll return to this subject in February, but as Darryl Mott discussed last week in his news roundup, Kickstarter’s annual RPG initiative, Zine Quest which is largely responsible for the resurrection of RPG zines as a widespread publishing medium, is moving from February to August this year to coincide with Gen Con. This will have repercussions as many creators have been building towards a February launch and don’t have enough runway to adjust to the new date. But, we’ll watch how this goes in February and again in August.

HULL BREACH Vol. 1 from Ian Yusem

• END DATE: Thu, February 3 2022 10:00 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Mothership
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $45 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the anthology
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Hot on the heels of the Mothership 1st Edition Boxed Set Kickstarter (that raised over a million dollars), comes this hardcover anthology from an independent group of creators. At over 200 pages, this hardcover gives dozens of new modules, optional rules, tables, GM advice, NPCs, and a bestiary. In addition to the hardcover, there’s Breach of Contract, a 70-page wire bound handbook giving more GM advice and tearaway props for the game. There are other options like a fold out map and teamster cards. If you’re a fan of Mothership and looking for a major third party expansion, this looks promising.

Limitless Heroics: Better worlds via Dice & Disabilities 5e from Wyrmwork Publishing

• END DATE: Thu, February 3 2022 10:00 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 for the dyslexia-friendly PDF, audio, and POD versions of this book
• NOTE: This week, I’m sharing two third-party D&D sourcebooks that start with the term “Limitless.” This note is meant to reduce any name confusion between the two as I call out that they are separate projects from separate companies (and both look awesome).
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This D&D sourcebook brings something valuable to the table, inclusion through representation. For those who strive and thrive with a variety of diverse symptoms from disability to neurodivergence and more, it’s rare that their experiences are represented in RPGs. This book aims to change that with 450 symptoms divided into real and fantasy options including various levels of impact all via random tables, 93 new magic devices such as the “Braces of Blades,” 4 new monsters, and 3 new spells, but most important of all, thousands of real world examples. Designed for accessibility, this book will use dyslexia-friendly layouts, be fully screen reader accessible, and include an indexed audio version. This book was crafted by disabled, neurodivergent, and/or creators that have mental or chronic illness, including input from dozens of people with diverse symptoms. There’s a call to action in the campaign that speaks to me, a need to back this to “communicate to every game publisher on earth that disabled people exist and can easily be included in their games.” Representation matters and this book takes that mission head on and I respect their work. If you’re interested in sampling this project, the campaign page has multiple examples to download and try out.

War of the Magi from Gallant Knight Games

• END DATE: January 21, 2022 02:19 (Central Standard America)
• SYSTEM(S): Dark Streets & Darker Secrets
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• ENTRY LEVEL PLEDGE: $7 for the PDF of the book
• NOTE: This crowdfunding campaign is running via GallantFunding
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Last week, I mentioned that Gallant Knight Games planned to test out in-house crowdfunding through GallantFunding, and now it’s live. This campaign brings a supplement to Diogo Nogueira’s Dark Streets & Darker Secrets, this time exploring mages and their attempts to dominate mortals. Siting inspirations like the sorcerer school series, Highlander, and the World of Darkness, this 72-page sourcebook is a must for fans of DS&DS. If you’re interested in learning more, I reviewed the core rulebook for DS&DS in 2020 at d20 Radio. If this campaign speaks to you, check out Gallant Knight Games’ GallantFunding page to see what they are offering.

Limitless Monsters vol.2 (5e) from Limitless Adventures

• END DATE: Fri, January 21 2022 3:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 for the PDF and POD of the book
• NOTE: This week, I’m sharing two third-party D&D sourcebooks that start with the term “Limitless.” This note is meant to reduce any name confusion between the two as I call out that they are separate projects from separate companies (and both look awesome).
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Over 100 5e monsters from Limitless Adventures. If you’ve bought their products before then you already know their quality level, and this book looks like it’s going to exceed their normal standards by a good margin. Of the 100 plus monsters, 14 are by Bryan C.P. Steele (Shadowrun, Dungeon in a Box, and the Power Rangers RPG), all of the monsters have lore mechanics to give the GM deeper insight into what they do during battle and between battles. If you’re a fan of more monsters at your fingertips, this promises a fair amount of creature goodness for your gaming table.

The Tiny Tome of Dangerous Food from Xacur

• END DATE: Wed, January 19 2022 11:00 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: MX$20 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is a high concept project: A tome with six different types of food that require combat before digestion. For the six, there are two major categories: Aberration Cuisines and Magical Meals. Cuisines are extra-planar in origin and hard to detect until they attack. These include Killer Pie, Dragon Bread, and Evil Pizza. For the meals, they’re from this plane and easier to distinguish from normal food: Sorcerous Sausage, Tyrant Tomato, and Sneaky Sushi. If you need something odd for a surprise attack in your 5e game, these are interesting ideas.

Battlemaps Ready to Play, maps for TTRPGs, D&D from ND Hobbies

• END DATE: Wed, January 19 2022 11:00 AM EST.
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG maps
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: MX$60 for the PDF of two sets of battlemaps
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Coming with print-ready and VTT options, this project gives two locations with over 10 battlemaps each. The maps can be combined or truncated to fit your desired setup. This offers maps for a temple dungeon and a tavern/inn. If you need a set of semi-customizable battlemaps, this is a good option.

Disaster Hamsters 2 from Plot Hooks

• END DATE: Thu, February 3 2022 8:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $40 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Did you want to play as anthropomorphic hamsters in 5e? If so, this sequel to Disaster Hamsters gives you everything you’ll want from rules to a setting, a sanctuary with several locations within it, and a campaign covering levels 1 to 3. The book comes with standard font options or OpenDyslexic typeface to make reading easier. If the concept of adventuring as hamsters speaks to you, this may be a good option for your gaming table.

Mage Forge - Magic Items for 5th Edition from Nerdarchy

• END DATE: Thu, February 3 2022 9:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG accessory
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 for the PDF of the cards
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Want a deck of 250 magic items as Tarot sized cards? Something easy to randomly pull, or hand out to players so they can have a magic item without having to pass around the book? This project offers large cards, original magic items, and a chance to randomly generate some loot for your campaign, if that appeals, check out the campaign page for more details.

The Adventurer's Guide to the Bible for 5E from Red Panda Publishing

• END DATE: Sat, February 5 2022 10:01 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $70 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book and map plus additional cards and books
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project offers something outside the norms of fantasy RPG: The Bible turned into plot points and stats for use with 5e. To be clear, this is 350 pages of The Bible as an RPG campaign setting. This project might be worth serious examination of its mechanical content (maps, 100 NPCs, adventure module that runs for 10 levels set in 26 AD, 4 new playable ancestries, 6 subclasses), but the chances it will lead to fallout in the comments section means I am not providing any strong opinion one way or the other. I’ve included the project here because this project as a whole is news (see Morrus' thread and its comments for an example of this book as news). At the same time, I'll link to EN World’s terms and rules and request that any discussion around this book remains civil.

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[lyle.spade]

I'll take the bait.

The idea of using the Bible as source material for a setting and campaign is fascinating, and setting a story within the events on which the New Testament are based makes sense (there are plenty of other eras in the OT that'd work, too). Recasting classes in ways that connect the story to the mechanics is clever - connect the setting to the rules through the characters. And, they're offering a setting, character options, and a campaign connecting both. I've bought too many sourcebooks that lack a story, or campaign books that require a heap of other materials to run.

Give these folks credit: the book looks to be of high production value, too. And put aside any preconceived ideas about the source material: "three powerful wizards go off on quest following signs & portents and fail to return" sounds like a solid teaser to a campaign (and, in keeping with DnD silliness, it's the 1st level noobs who head off to figure things out!).

I do wish the KS included a link to a teaser download - I'd like to see some of what they're proposing in more detail. Give me an NPC or one of the class mods, please. That's always helpful when considering whether to back this or that.

A day later edit: I read some of the FAQs from this KS and am even more interested now. They've set the campaign around the year 26 AD - that is, outside of biblical accounts. Thus, there is the birth of Christ, and then a few decades later his ministry - that's all covered in the NT. But his childhood and young adulthood are not addressed in detail (not really addressed at all aside from a few lines), and that's where this KS places the campaign, which makes sense from a story angle and for the sake of avoiding headaches. For the story, if the kicker is "where did the magi go?," then a search for them, lost years before, could take place and have no bearing on what's written in the NT...that is, it wouldn't be dependent on it at all. Same setting; same foundation of groups and issues; totally original story. It also heads off headaches that would naturally come up if the campaign took place during the events of the NT...from people who took issue with their creative license or interpretation of those events.

It also makes for a more interesting campaign possibility, given that it does not risk being a parallel sightseer's tour of NT events...which, even to a believer (that's me!) would be a really lame adventure, and would smack of "campaign as shabby cover for preaching." Incidentally, the authors are clear about their desire to not make this preachy, but rather to make it an interesting campaign for 5e.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

This is entirely off-topic. But does anyone know how the hell Landon Jamieson is? I keep seeing him posting stats about kickstarters non-stop in the comment sections whenever I go check comments for information on the products.

 

[ART!]

Limitless Heroics is at the top of my list of things I'm thinking about backing, and I don't back a lot of things. Is there any mention of who's doing sensitivity and diversity reads or consulting on this project?

The Tiny Tome of Dangerous Food is low-priced and looks like good fun, so I'll probably back that.

The Adventurer's Guide to the Bible appeals to mylove for non-Eurocenteric 5E sourcebooks, and looks like it will be of good quality, so I'm tempted.

 

[Egg Embry]

Limitless Heroics is at the top of my list of things I'm thinking about backing, and I don't back a lot of things. Is there any mention of who's doing sensitivity and diversity reads or consulting on this project?

The Tiny Tome of Dangerous Food is low-priced and looks like good fun, so I'll probably back that.

The Adventurer's Guide to the Bible appeals to mylove for non-Eurocenteric 5E sourcebooks, and looks like it will be of good quality, so I'm tempted.

Good question. For sensitivity, they list:

• Naomi Hazlett: Copy Editor, Sensitivity Consultant
• Melissa Critchley, Sensitivity Consultant

On the campaign page, they have full bios for each consultant.

 

[Kretz]

Speaking as someone with a physical disability (bone cancer on my right umerus 15 years ago, nearly lost the arm, after three surgeries I ended up with severe movement restrictions and minor sensorial loss) and a neuroscientist I am quite conflicted about "Limitless Heroes". I don't know how other people with disabilities feel about it, but I have no desire whatsoever to see my limitations "represented" on RPGs, quite the opposite.

I will never be able to lift a greatsword above my head. I'll never be able to wrestle a foe. I'll never be able to climb a wall. Heck, I have a hard time switching a light bulb or even shaking some one else's hand! When I play D&D I want to be able to go above and beyond such limitations. I want to play a barbarian who punches his way out of troubles or a Rogue who can pick pockets swiftly.

I can't help but feel that this kind of supplement is condescending with people with disabilities, as if the authors meant to say "hey, look, we acknowledge your existence and value your efforts! See, now you can feel represented just like us, normal people! We think you are special too!". I hate being treated differently over my limitations and to me such a work does exactly that. A magical prosthetic arm would be swell if I could have one in real life, but since I can't, well, I see no point in roleplaying a character wielding one.

Also, the article quotes this: “communicate to every game publisher on earth that disabled people exist and can easily be included in their games”. Yeah, I can't speak for others, but I can hardly see someone with my disabilities entering a dungeon to fight monsters in a Fantasy setting. Not my case, but I doubt a warrior on a wheelchair, like the one portrayed on the cover, would fare much better, unless it was something like a floating throne, in which case wheels would be merely decorative, kind of insulting if you ask me.

Also, as a neuroscientist, I don't quite like the term "neurodivergent" as it is not a technical term and might mean tons of different things, but that's a minor issue even to some as pedantic as I am.

Kudos, however, for actually making the book accessible to visually impaired and dyslexic individuals.

I know tons of people will disagree with me, but I thought it would be interesting to share my perspective here.

 

[ART!]

Speaking as someone with a physical disability (bone cancer on my right umerus 15 years ago, nearly lost the arm, after three surgeries I ended up with severe movement restrictions and minor sensorial loss) and a neuroscientist I am quite conflicted about "Limitless Heroes". I don't know how other people with disabilities feel about it, but I have no desire whatsoever to see my limitations "represented" on RPGs, quite the opposite.

I will never be able to lift a greatsword above my head. I'll never be able to wrestle a foe. I'll never be able to climb a wall. Heck, I have a hard time switching a light bulb or even shaking some one else's hand! When I play D&D I want to be able to go above and beyond such limitations. I want to play a barbarian who punches his way out of troubles or a Rogue who can pick pockets swiftly.

I can't help but feel that this kind of supplement is condescending with people with disabilities, as if the authors meant to say "hey, look, we acknowledge your existence and value your efforts! See, now you can feel represented just like us, normal people! We think you are special too!". I hate being treated differently over my limitations and to me such a work does exactly that. A magical prosthetic arm would be swell if I could have one in real life, but since I can't, well, I see no point in roleplaying a character wielding one.

Also, the article quotes this: “communicate to every game publisher on earth that disabled people exist and can easily be included in their games”. Yeah, I can't speak for others, but I can hardly see someone with my disabilities entering a dungeon to fight monsters in a Fantasy setting. Not my case, but I doubt a warrior on a wheelchair, like the one portrayed on the cover, would fare much better, unless it was something like a floating throne, in which case wheels would be merely decorative, kind of insulting if you ask me.

Also, as a neuroscientist, I don't quite like the term "neurodivergent" as it is not a technical term and might mean tons of different things, but that's a minor issue even to some as pedantic as I am.

Kudos, however, for actually making the book accessible to visually impaired and dyslexic individuals.

I know tons of people will disagree with me, but I thought it would be interesting to share my perspective here.

Thanks for posting this.

This was my concern when I came across this project on Kickstarter initially, and why i asked about sensitivity readers in an earlier post. It seems like the concept is fraught with these kinds of issues. Do people with disabilities want to play their disability in a game? Do people with one disability want to play another disability in a game. Is it weird for people without disabilities to play characters with disabilities?