RPG Crowdfunding News – Skyraiders of Abarax, Planebreaker, Shotguns & Sorcery, and more

This week I look at RPG crowdfunding projects ending between November 16 though 25. This article shares a few 5e projects, though there are some other games covered. As always, this isn’t an exhaustive list, just highlights. Speaking of highlights, not too long ago, I looked at Tracy Hickman’s XDM: X-treme Dungeon Mastery, 2nd Edition Kickstarter. Last week, I mentioned Richard A. Knaak’s Rex Draconis series, this week, I get to share something new from Tracy Hickman. It’s a good time on Kickstarter for Dragonlance creators.

Skyraiders of Abarax: A 5E world from Tracy & Laura Hickman

• END DATE: Tue, November 16 2021 11:00 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooks
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $100 + S/H gets you the PDF and print of both books plus the app
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Tracy and Laura Hickman, Joe Manganiello, Larry Elmore, Matt Stawicki, and have a new 5e setting coming through this campaign. In the world of Abarax, you play the descendants of freed prisoners exiled to a prison island. The mainland cutoff communication and stopped sending their skyships centuries ago. The descendants of the former prisoners have formed a new society. As those descendants with your own skyships, you fly across the planet seeking fortune and adventure. This campaign offers a Skyraider’s Handbook for the players and the Skymaster’s Almanac for the GM. On top of that, there’s the Living Tome System app which allows the GM to share details of the campaign with the players. If you’re a fan of Tracy and Laura Hickman’s work, this is worth checking out.

Planebreaker—Explore the Planes for 5e from Monte Cook Games

• END DATE: Fri, November 19 2021 8:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and Cypher System
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $110 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of all three books plus more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? There is a moon hurdling through the planes and dimensions. Since before time, it has passed through the barriers separating planes, picking up pieces of those dimensions as it goes. Some people call the moon home, others travel to different planes using it as their vehicle. Among its visitors and citizens, a select few discovered its secret, the moon connects to every plane it has ever been through. Coming out as three books, Path of the Planebreaker, Planebreaker Player's Guide, and Planar Bestiary, this project will give you everything you need for a standalone setting or one that allows you to blend any setting into your game. This is a gift for GMs and players that want to bring multiple settings into a single campaign. If the idea of a blended world with new, unknown options from the mind of Monte Cook interests you, Planebreaker is worth visiting. From the campaign page, you’ll be able to download a free preview of the book. UPDATE: This project offers the rules for 5e or for the Cypher System.

Shotguns & Sorcery for 5E from Matt Forbeck and Atlas Games

• END DATE: Tue, November 16 2021 10:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book plus another book in PDF
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? With this campaign, Matt Forbeck and crew bring his setting, Shotguns & Sorcery, from the Cypher System to 5e. This book is 256 pages of fantasy noir in a city where humans survive under the protection of their dragon overlord. Outside of the city’s walls, hordes of undead rule the land. That dynamic has been the status quo for centuries; life within the city’s walls, death without. Yet life goes on. As do dungeon crawls. In this world of magic and speakeasies, you have to make your way in the last city on the planet. If the Cypher System version of this RPG interests you as much or more than the 5e version that the Kickstarter is funding, check out the Bundle of Holding to get the Cypher System version for a limited time. But if 5e is your jam, check out this campaign page.

Amazing Encounters & Places, Vol 1 (5e) from CZRPG

• END DATE: Thu, November 25 2021 10:50 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Adventure aid
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £36 for the PDFs of the book and 64 maps
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? If you’re looking for detailed drop-in locations, maps, encounters, monsters, and more, this 220-page offers a lot of possibilities. The artwork looks good, and the lore adds a bit of grounding to the scenario, meaning these maps and encounters should be useful. If you want to create the plot for your 5e campaign and use these to simplify building encounters, then check out this page.

Exquisite Crime from Hunters Entertainment

• END DATE: Tue, November 16 2021 10:01 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $40 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the game
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This week, I’m looking at Exquisite Crime by Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim from Hunters Entertainment. Last week, I reviewed another project by Banana Chan and Sadia Bies, Suburban Consumption of the Monstrous, from Pelgrane Press. Both of these games are unique experiences and I’m enjoying the innovation that they bring to tabletop. In Exquisite Crime, you are a paranormal investigator, detailing a vision that other players draw. It’s a game in which you’ll create art and the subjective quality does not matter, instead it’s a nice opportunity to create something as a gaming table as you craft a story and solve a crime. The idea is worth checking out. But let me segue from this discuss to Hunters Entertainment, the publisher, and a good customer service experience. I backed the Altered Carbon RPG Kickstarter. When the KS fulfilled, the hardcover arrived damaged, which happens and I’m not blaming anyone. That said, they were quick to replace my copy with a mint version, hassle free. The speed with which they addressed the issue was amazing and it lets me know they care and that I can order with confidence from Hunters Entertainment.

Women are Werewolves, a nonbinary story game from 9th Level Games

• END DATE: Wed, November 24 2021 2:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 + S/H for the game
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? At Origins Game Fair 2021, I talked to Chris O’Neill of 9th Level Games about this project and I’m into the concepts of Women are Werewolves. Every full moon, the women in your family transform into werewolves. However, you’re nonbinary, and through this game you deep dive your family’s assumptions about gender and gender roles. You’ll draw cards and answer questions about why specific traditions exist even as you challenge them. If creating a character, a werewolf mythology, and redefining antiquated beliefs interests you, check out this game.

Earthdawn 4th Ed: Vasgothia and Champion’s Challenge Vol 2 from FASA Corporation

• END DATE: Fri, November 19 2021 9:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Earthdawn 4th Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $52 + $12 US S/H for the PDF and print versions of both books
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Earthdawn is a fantasy RPG in its 4th edition. Its core rules and multiple sourcebooks have already been published. That allows this campaign to focus on Vasgothia, a 256-page sourcebook detailing one of the lands of to the west of Barsaive. In addition, the campaign offers a new Earthdawn graphic novel, Champion's Challenge Vol 2. If you’re a fan of Earthdawn, it’s worth checking out the campaign to see this sourcebook.

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition from EN Publishing

• END DATE: Fri, November 5 2021 7:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebooks
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £120 + £17 S/H to the US for the PDF and hardcover of the three core books plus the PDF and softcover of the adventure
• DISCLAIMER: EN World is a subsidiary of EN Publishing
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? I covered this project over the last several weeks. This week, I look at the last core book, Monstrous Menagerie, 550 pages of 5e monsters leveled up. Expect 600 monsters, variants, and more with revised math and a variety of enhancements. If you’re backing Level Up, this book is key to getting the most out of the RPG.

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[Lord Mhoram]

Just a note that Planebreaker is also for Cypher System, you just have to note your preference in backerkit when that goes out.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

Shotguns & Sorcery cover is , wonder what the heck is going on there! EDIT - saw full picture on KS page - love it!

Interesting concept for sure.

'Listen up you undead screwheads, this is my boomstick!'

 

[marroon69]

Just so people know "Planebreaker" also supports the Cypher system too

 

[Egg Embry]

Just a note that Planebreaker is also for Cypher System, you just have to note your preference in backerkit when that goes out.

Lord Mhoram and marroon69, thanks for the heads up. I appreciate the information and I've updated the article.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Lord Mhoram and marroon69, thanks for the heads up. I appreciate the information and I've updated the article.

Yeah, it isn't in any of their ad copy, but in the middle of the kickstarter, easy to miss.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Is anyone surprised that Planebreaker hasn’t been bigger in terms of total backers and funds raised?

I mean, don’t get me wrong, $270k and 2,500 backers is absolutely fantastic, but I honestly expected this to be another million dollar Kickstarter and it doesn’t look like that will happen. I guess the interest for Planescape is a little more niche than I thought it was.

 

[Egg Embry]

Is anyone surprised that Planebreaker hasn’t been bigger in terms of total backers and funds raised?

I mean, don’t get me wrong, $270k and 2,500 backers is absolutely fantastic, but I honestly expected this to be another million dollar Kickstarter and it doesn’t look like that will happen. I guess the interest for Planescape is a little more niche than I thought it was.

Olaf the Stout,

Let me echo everything you said. I feel the accomplishments here are fantastic. That said, I could see this doing even bigger numbers. This concept speaks to me and I would love to see more of it. Fingers crossed that there's a well-deserved spike in funding at the end.

 

[dave2008]

Olaf the Stout,

Let me echo everything you said. I feel the accomplishments here are fantastic. That said, I could see this doing even bigger numbers. This concept speaks to me and I would love to see more of it. Fingers crossed that there's a well-deserved spike in funding at the end.

Well, It has passed its goal 5x, so I think it is doing OK. Also, maybe people think an "official" 5e planescape is on the horizon and are waiting for that?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Olaf the Stout,

Let me echo everything you said. I feel the accomplishments here are fantastic. That said, I could see this doing even bigger numbers. This concept speaks to me and I would love to see more of it. Fingers crossed that there's a well-deserved spike in funding at the end.

I really wonder what it is that has stopped it from going nuts like several other RPG Kickstarters. I mean, it has Monte Cook, who has a strong fan base, impeccable record of delivering on Kickstarters, and plenty of experience in RPGs, Planescape and Kickstarter. It has Bruce Cordell who wrote Manual of the Planes among many other things. It has Sean K Reynolds, another long time and very well known RPG writer and developer. Plus it seems to be “Planescape” in everything bar the official name, a setting that is spoken about as one of the most loved in D&D history.

It seems like it has all the ingredients for a massive Kickstarter campaign, yet it’s only done good, but not great so far, and I’m totally at a loss as to why that is.