All of these RPG crowdfunding projects end by August 13th. This week, while there are more than a dozen RPGs and dice options, I kept the focus on four projects, one RPG/board game hybrid, two sourcebooks for established properties, and one that offers a lot of bang for your buck.
Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall from Game and a Curry Games and Wet Ink Games
THE DARK EYE - GODS OF AVENTURIA (ENG) from Ulisses Spiele
The Fantasy Trip: Hexagram #5 and Ardonirane from Steve Jackson Games / Warehouse 23
A Dozen Frightening Rumors, for use with Fantasy RPGs from Philip Reed Games
RPG Quick Hits
Cartomancy from Smoke and Mirror Games
Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall from Game and a Curry Games and Wet Ink Games
- END DATE: Thu, August 13 2020 8:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $65 + S/H for the PDF and physical game
- NOTE: Morrus and Peter are joined on their podcast by Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim (here), Beth Rimmels interviews the creators at EN World (here), and I talk to them at High Level Games (here)
“An RPG of Chinese immigrants running the family restaurant by day, and dealing with the hauntings of Jiangshi by night! This is a collaborative, storytelling RPG about a Chinese family making their living by running a restaurant in one of America’s Chinatowns, circa 1920. Despite societal backlash and anti-Chinese laws, they have turned a profit and their quality of life has recently improved. Night, however, brings a new terror. Players take on the roles of members of the Chinese family (mostly from Guangdong province), spanning three generations, who face threats of jiangshi (hopping vampires) at night and racism by day. It has players balancing the responsibility of maintaining their family business with protecting themselves and their community from the dreaded Jiangshi. This is primarily a game about storytelling. Combat is limited, but horror, drama and sometimes comedy are the primary vehicles for driving the game forward.”
- END DATE: 08/11/2020 19:00 (GMT-4)
- SYSTEM(S): The Dark Eye
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $160 + $15 US S/H for PDFs and print books plus slipcase and cards
- NOTE: This project is available through GameOnTabletop
“Now, more than ever, Aventuria needs the help of the Demigods and the blessings of all Twelve Gods… Gods of Aventuria gives you lore details about Church Customs around the everyday work of a Blessed One. It describes the importance of the Blessed Ones for their community and the rites surrounding birth, marriage, and death. You will learn how to swear a binding oath and to lay a soul to rest. In addition to over 150 new liturgies and ceremonies, Gods of Aventuria provides you with Liturgical Enhancements to all liturgies and ceremonies from the Core Rules. They might enhance reach, duration, or even unlock completely new ways of using the liturgies. In conjunction with Ulisses Online Con 2020, we are proud to offer a special charity version of Gods of Aventuria. This edition comes in a special white leatherette cover, and we are donating all proceeds from the sales of these books, including our production costs, to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières).”
The Fantasy Trip: Hexagram #5 and Ardonirane from Steve Jackson Games / Warehouse 23
- END DATE: Mon, August 10 2020 6:54 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): The Fantasy Trip
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $90 + S/H for both books in PDF and print plus a deck of cards and a playmat
“The fifth issue of the Hexagram series and a new city guide for use with The Fantasy Trip roleplaying game. The Fantasy Trip: Ardonirane. This 72-page book, written by David Pulver and edited by Steve Jackson, describes the city of Ardonirane, ruled by Dhallak m’Thorsz Carn, the Thorsz, the ruthless warlord who built the Death Test labyrinth (as described in the boxed adventure of the same name). Hexagram, the official zine for The Fantasy Trip, started in early 2019 as a part of Kickstarter's Zine Quest event. Since that first issue, we have returned to Kickstarter twice for the creation of more issues (#3 and #4) and now, with your support, we will release the fifth issue in the series. As with previous issues in the series, Hexagram #5 comes in as an 8.5" x 5.5" 36-page B&W zine (not counting the covers).”
A Dozen Frightening Rumors, for use with Fantasy RPGs from Philip Reed Games
- END DATE: Thu, July 30 2020 4:57 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): System neutral
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $1 for all of the PDFs unlocked by the stretch goals
- NOTE: Read Michael Tresca’s interview with Phil Reed here on EN World
“A PDF of rumors that the GM may use as background flavor and inspiration. Unlocking stretch goals adds more PDFs to the campaign! With your support, we'll bring the third wave of the A Dozen . . . series to life. Starting with A Dozen Frightening Rumors, this latest Kickstarter campaign was designed around a single goal: To create more! Each rumor is designed to fit on a single page (with artwork), so that you may print only the page that you need for your next game session. A Dozen Frightening Rumors comes in at 14 pages and includes -- as you may have guessed from the title -- twelve different rumors + a cover page and a page outlining the anatomy of a rumor (as well as tips on using the rumors in your game). Stretch Goals: A Dozen Frightening Rumors, A Dozen More City Encounters, A Dozen Distressing Rumors, A Dozen Destructive Dragons, A Dozen Dungeon Encounters, A Dozen Dungeon Denizens, A Dozen Strange Locations, A Dozen Whispered Rumors, A Dozen Terrifying Rumors, A Dozen More Dungeon Treasures, A Dozen Peculiar Lizardfolk, and A Dozen More Strange Locations.”
RPG Quick Hits
Cartomancy from Smoke and Mirror Games
- END DATE: Sun, August 9 2020 5:00 PM EDT.
- “A RPG, A Card Game, A Gamer's Toolbox”
- END DATE: Thu, August 6 2020 10:12 PM EDT.
- “1001 Ways to Die In a Dungeon.”
- END DATE: Sun, August 9 2020 3:02 AM EDT.
- “An RPG that fits in your pocket that you can play with your pocket change!”
- END DATE: Mon, August 3 2020 12:16 PM EDT.
- “A thrilling new role-playing game (RPG), for teens and young adults. Rule book, magic cards, dice & quest consisting of 3 adventures.”
- END DATE: Tue, August 4 2020 6:44 PM EDT.
- “Nature has gone mad. Be the last possibility of Hashtakaar to survive. D&D 5e, Pathfinder and Pathfinder Second Edition compatible.”
- END DATE: Thu, August 13 2020 2:30 PM EDT.
- “Beautiful Hardback Horror Anthology filled with Stories, Stunning Art, bonus RPG Rules & spectacular Special Edition Movies!”
- END DATE: Fri, August 7 2020 4:14 PM EDT.
- NOTE: For those concerned about coverage of a project from a subsidiary of Frog God Games, I’m linking the Joint Statement of BJ Hensley and Frog God Games
- “5th Edition rules for alchemical creation of magical and mundane items in your 5th Edition game!”
- END DATE: Sat, August 1 2020 3:40 PM EDT.
- “Yes, you CAN put a d20 in your wallet and carry it with you every day - and you should. We attempt to prove it in this Kickstarter.”
- END DATE: Fri, July 31 2020 6:00 PM EDT.
- NOTE: This project is published by EN Publishing, the parent company of EN World
- NOTE TWO: I’ll cover this in more detail in the following weeks
- “A beautiful 5th Edition hardcover tome of legendary figures from Achilles to Robin Hood, Thor to Dracula, King Arthur to Baba Yaga!”
As an aside, I'm not a big DnD fan honestly. I'll snag this or that but by and large I'm more into other game systems even if I do think that 5e is the best version of DnD that they've ever produced. It's just not over all my thing as my main tabletop rpg system, I only mention this because I feel bad when I don't back EN's DnD products. Which is why I started supporting the website instead. I wanted to aid in supporting Enworld in general. 
