This week, I review Kickstarters and quickstarts that end between November 14th through December 2nd. While there’s plenty of fantasy and 5e, this week sees a nice uptick in sci-fi RPGs including one that’s likely to join the million dollar club before its campaign is over.
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed Set from Tuesday Knight Games
Mother of Monsters: DnD 5E adventure inspired by Greek myths from Legendary Games
Battlelords RPG & Fully Armored: Gear Manual from 23rd Century Productions
SCP: The Roleplaying Game - Foundation Edition from Giga Mech Games
Shanty Hunters from Molten Sulfur Press
THE PLAGUED CRYPT OF HELVETE from Polyhedra Games
Goatlands Adventures Omnibus from Fainting Goat Games
Between Sun & Shadow: Realms of Adventure from Blue Oxrat
Stolen Crown ｜ An Adventure for Lancer RPG from Laurie O'Connel Games
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.
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed Set from Tuesday Knight Games
- END DATE: Thu, December 2 2021 9:00 AM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Mothership
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rule boxed set
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $99 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of six books in the boxed set
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Mothership: Player's Survival Guide is PWYW at DriveThruRPG
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In this award-winning sci-fi horror RPG, you play as simple people trying to survive a hostile universe. As one of the most popular new sci-fi RPGs, taking the long road has paid off. By long road, I meant they gave away the core rules for free and built an audience before offering a crowdfunding opportunity to get print versions of the core rules. Let me talk about the pre-campaign for a moment. Tuesday Knight Games put so much prep work into getting the word out and it paid off with $523k on the first day and $147k on the second. Those numbers don’t come out of nowhere, they require a lot of work to spread the word and prepare fan interest. For a non-5e Kickstarter, these numbers are an amazing start. If you’re looking for topnotch sci-fi horror, this project is worth pulling up.
Mother of Monsters: DnD 5E adventure inspired by Greek myths from Legendary Games
- END DATE: Wed, November 24 2021 6:59 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Mother of Monsters Free Preview PDF (5E) is free at DriveThruRPG
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $55 + S/H for all three books in PDF and print
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Legendary Games has another 5e campaign setting for you, this one based on a magical ancient Greece. Coming with three books, you’ll get a 60-page Mother of Monsters Player’s Guide, a 32-page Mother of Monsters GM’s Guide, and an introductory adventer for levels 1 to 5, the 108-page Stone Mother's Assault. If you’re looking for a Greek based 5e setting from a company with a long track record, try out this project.
Battlelords RPG & Fully Armored: Gear Manual from 23rd Century Productions
- END DATE: Sun, November 28 2021 1:16 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Battlelords of the 23rd Century
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book plus other PDFs
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Battlelords of the 23rd Century QUICK-START RULES (Kickstarter/7th Edition) and Battlelords of the 23rd Century Interior Preview (Kickstarter/7th Edition) are free at DriveThruRPG
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? In the future, humans and aliens band together to survive the techno-organic arachnids, a group of world destroyers. The RPG is a tactical, military style game set in the 23rd century. This campaign offers the 196-page Gear Manual that let’s you get deeper into the hardware for the game. In addition to weapons and systems, you’re going to get new rules and more timeline to advance the narrative. If you’re looking for sci-fi military combat, check out the campaign page and free previews to see if the Battlelords RPG is right for your table.
SCP: The Roleplaying Game - Foundation Edition from Giga Mech Games
- END DATE: Sun, November 14 2021 12:01 AM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $95 + $10 S/H to the US for the hardcover, the GM screen, and dice
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Check back on November 12th for Michael “Talien” Tresca’s reporting on this setting
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Sorta X-Files, Delta Green, Cthulhu, and its own thing, SCP is a Creative Commons setting open to anyone to create content for. The RPG has a separate license discussed, but keeps the spirit of the open creative options. The game uses an original system in which you roll a dice pool, pick the two highest dice and total their results with any modifiers to determine their success. If your table wants a world that they can save from paranormal threats while also contributing to the fan created universe, this offers a lot of possibilities.
Shanty Hunters from Molten Sulfur Press
- END DATE: Thu, December 2 2021 10:00 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): GUMSHOE
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $55 with free shipping to the US for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project as a specific premise. It’s 1880, sail ships and their sea shanties are fading away. You are traveling the world to document them. However, an evil spirit works against you determined to sink your ship before you can share these sea songs with the land dwellers. Like I said, specific. Using the GUMSHOE system, you’re searching for the songs then have to survive them as they play out. If those old songs and their consequences interest you, this project is worth checking out. It’s got a nice mix of scholar, adventure, and supernatural danger to make it an interesting game for the table.
THE PLAGUED CRYPT OF HELVETE from Polyhedra Games
- END DATE: Tue, November 30 2021 10:53 AM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): MÖRK BORG
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 + S/H for the PDF and softcover
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? A new adventure designed for MÖRK BORG by the creator of Justice Velocity, an RPG I reviewed here. In this adventure, a plague beast must be dealt with and you’ve been hired for the task. The adventure gives you a comic book introduction, a hook, and a plague demon and plague tokens that the party has to overcome. If you’re a fan of hi-octane adventures, this is likely to scratch that itch.
Goatlands Adventures Omnibus from Fainting Goat Games
- END DATE: Tue, November 16 2021 4:29 PM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $7 for the PDF and POD versions of the RPG
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Over at d20 Radio, I talked to Jason Tondro about the project
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 110 pages of adventures set in Fainting Goat Games’ Goatlands. There are four adventures to carry your party from levels 1 to 5 from Jason Tondro, Senior Developer at Paizo, Jim Seals, a contributor to Paizo, and artist Ade Smith, this project offers top tier creators working in 5e. If you’re looking for professional adventures at a reasonable rate, this project offers a lot of bang for your buck. Check out the campaign or my interview about the adventue to learn more.
Between Sun & Shadow: Realms of Adventure from Blue Oxrat
- END DATE: Tue, November 16 2021 8:00 AM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Tiny Dungeon 2E
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 for the PDF and POD versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Alan Bahr’s TinyD6 system was licensed for this project, a fantasy world where the planet is divided between eternal daylight and perpetual night. This book expands on the world offering new rules, new monsters, NPCs, organizations, adventure locations, and more. If you’re a fan of easily defined fantasy worlds and the elegant simplicity of the TinyD6 system, this is worth a look.
Stolen Crown ｜ An Adventure for Lancer RPG from Laurie O'Connel Games
- END DATE: Tue, November 16 2021 10:03 AM EST.
- SYSTEM(S): Powered by Lancer
- PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £9 for the PDF of the zine
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The Lancer RPG is one of those indy gaming success stories that really found a supportive audience. Using a rules lite approach, this system offers sci-fi, mechs, and more as you have adventures that are less about the hit points and more about the connections and narrative. This third party RPG zine takes that system and offers an adventure set on a frozen planet. Facing off against an ancient remnant, you have to deal with an injustice and learn about the planet’s violent past. If you’re a fan of the Lancer RPG, this is worth checking out.
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.
