RPG Crowdfunding News – Triangle Agency, Swords of Meropis, Streets of Peril, and more

This week’s crowdfunding sampler covers campaigns ending between July 6 to 11. These campaigns can be found on Kickstarter, Backerkit, and IndieGoGo with options that range from RPGs to sourcebooks to plushies.

Triangle Agency, Paranormal Investigation TTRPG from Haunted Table Games

• END DATE: Thu, July 6 2023 11:59 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $90 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the core book, other books, dice, and box
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Do you need an RPG with work life balance mechanics? Many modern-day RPGs assume a movie/TV style of work life balance of all work because: Saving the world. Characters can ignore the need to connect with family, friends, pay bills, or cut the grass. In this RPG, you’re part of an SCP-style/Men In Black-style mega-corporation that finds paranormal beings and instances of supernatural and deals with them. You have powers, but you also have a life. Each player has their character and several key NPCs that the table will roleplay in order to give your mundane existence meaning. That isn’t to say that your campaigns will be centered on your daily life, supernatural is at the forefront. But the daily grind is a part of this package unlike some RPGs. Add to that, the game is designed with user interface in-mind, so the experience of character creation and in-game utilization should be seamless. Reading this and looking at their layout, I believe that they’ve achieved a visually engaging product that will let you experience a fuller range of character roleplaying. Check out the campaign page for a link to their demo.

Get Ready for RPG Squeeze Plush – Soft & Cuddly Dungeon Crawl Critters by Creature Curation

• END DATE: Jul 8, 2023 at 12:00am EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG accessories
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 + S/H for one plush
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Is your shelf or sofa bare? Do you or your kid need a plushy of a classic dungeon crawl monster to fill the void? If so, you can get bright, cheery kid versions of some of the deadliest creatures in RPG with this Backerkit. Choose from variations on the gelatinous cube, rust monster, strixbear, ooze, hellhound, and eyegors. If the idea of cute plushies that share your gamer hobby sound good to you, this campaign has a number of pictures to give you an idea of how these toys will turn out.

Loot The Body! 1000 Intriguing Items for D&D or any TTRPG from The Midnight Quill

• END DATE: Sat, July 8 2023 10:28 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, but really system neutral
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £3 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project gives you loot, the roleplaying kind. Think of the items that aren’t weapons, armor, magic items, or money; those non-stat types of items are what this book offers. More than mundane products, some of these are clever items that hint at a coincidental or semi-magical connection. Their example is a fortune teller’s deck of cards, but the images resemble your party. For every backer, another item is added to the mix meaning that they’re over 2,000 items at the time of this writing. At £3, it’s hard to argue with the amount of content offered here.

Swords of Meropis from Gallant Knight Games

• END DATE: Sun, July 9 2023 11:44 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $10 for the PDF and POD discount coupon
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? From Alan Bahr and Rick Hershey comes a second Greek mythology inspired RPG (the first was SYMA). This sword and sandals RPG uses a d12 plus another die system to determine outcomes. The primary die is the d12, the second varies based on skills. There’s a static chart to compare the results to. With class options to build out your abilities, the core book features rules and setting details for adventures in a Greek inspired world and underworld. As soon as you back, there’s a preview of the rules in the first update.

Streets of Peril from Broken Blade Publishing

• END DATE: Mon, July 10 2023 10:00 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Perilous D6
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $55 + S/H the PDF and print versions of the book
• TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Perilous D6 is free at DriveThruRPG
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This RPG brings the Renaissance to your gaming table with a unique system. Complete with magic, monsters, and missions, this is a world of danger and intrigue. The system uses colored d6 dice pools where some colors succeed on a 4 or more, some on a 3 or more, some on a 2 or more. It’s a little more than the standard any-ol-d6 system, but helps to measure your character’s competency in a visual way (which could be done with different sized d6s to address any instances of color vision deficiency). Check out the campaign page for a free copy of the rule system.

Overlooked Creatures of the Backwoods 5E Bestiary from Nat One Games

• END DATE: Thu, July 6 2023 7:32 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooklet
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $4 for the PDF of the booklet
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This book is for odd monsters, tiny or small 5e creatures that exist in fantasy forests. Their examples are the Zombie Flying Squirrel, the Devil Eyed Arachnid, Draros Slug, Lily Bass, and more. If you’re looking for something that is interesting over deadly, this might fit the bill. If you’re running a campaign of tiny fairies, some of these creatures might be that world’s dragons. Either way, it’s an interesting book for particular campaigns.

Sherwood: The Legend of Robin Hood 5E from Battlefield Press International

• END DATE: July 11, 2023
• CROWDFUNDING ON: IndieGoGo
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $40 + S/H for the print version of the book
• ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Coming tomorrow, I talk to Adam R. Thompson of Battlefield Press about the company after the passing of co-founder Jonathan Thompson
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The people are robbed by their government and only the merry rogues hiding in Sherwood fight against the abuses. Free of Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham’s schemes and led by Robin Hood from their wooded hideout, they fight against these agents of corruption. The book contains 5E classes designed specifically for Sherwood as well as new feats, equipment, and legendary monsters secreted within Sherwood Forest. Based on Jonathan Thompson’s 2007 Savage Worlds and 2016 Pathfinder 1e offerings, this version updates the rules to 5e. As one of the last projects Jonathan completed before his passing, his brother, Adam, is bringing this project to the world as a tribute to his brother.

Immense Dungeons - Digital Maps for Discerning Game Masters! from Loke Battle Mats

• END DATE: Tue, July 11 2023 6:59 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG accessory
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $30 for the digital maps, tiles, tokens, 5e adventure, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This campaign is for VTT maps for Roll20 and other online platforms. Loke Battle Mats participated in Free RPG Day 2023 with an adventure and maps (Heist at the Museum) that I ran for the event. That adventure and its map really went over with the players. This campaign will bury you in dungeon maps, which is a good thing. If you’re interested, check out the campaign page for free sample maps.

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[overgeeked]

This is a fun gimmick, but I have a lot of questions how sustainable this is from a writing standpoint.

I mean, maybe. You can get a lot of mileage from random generation. Four columns with ten entries each yields 10,000 unique results. Pick the most interesting 2-3000.

 

[thullgrim]

I’m kinda interested in Streets of Peril. At least interested enough I’ll check out their free rules set.

 

[overgeeked]

I mean, maybe. You can get a lot of mileage from random generation. Four columns with ten entries each yields 10,000 unique results. Pick the most interesting 2-3000.

As an example, the DCC RPG has various charts to generate magic swords.

The categories and number of results are: type 4, alignment 3, characteristics 24, bane 30, effect 26, purpose 17, natural powers 20, combat 22, and magical 15. Not counting subtypes, repeat rolls on chart, etc...that yields more than 25.2 billion unique results.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You can get a lot of mileage from random generation. Four columns with ten entries each yields 10,000 unique results. Pick the most interesting 2-3000.

In that case, I have a lot of questions about the overall quality of the product generally.

I can roll on a table myself. I don't need to pay someone else to do it for me.

 

[Silver Griffin]

This is a fun gimmick, but I have a lot of questions how sustainable this is from a writing standpoint.

Midnight Quill seems to be a very creative person, who fortunately wrote more than 1,000 items in advance. I say she seems to be very creative because every couple of days she has backers post 2 words, she picks 4 of them, and produces a minor magic item. She has picked several weird combinations & come up with some interesting stuff several times. Sometimes within minutes of somebody saying something.
She has shown awareness of her limits already. She had tiers (that sold out) where people could have her design an item for them. She is not making more of those because she is afraid too many will cause the project to be delayed.
So based on the above, I would say that she isn't likely to have a problem coming up with all the items. It might get delayed though, but that's really common for kickstarters. Especially wildly successful ones.

overgeeked:
I mean, maybe. You can get a lot of mileage from random generation. Four columns with ten entries each yields 10,000 unique results. Pick the most interesting 2-3000.

Based on the examples she has given and her game of developing items based on 2 words suggested by her backers, I would say that she is just very creative. That she made over 1,000 quirky items and still feels that she could make more gives us reason to hope.

 

[Silver Griffin]

I always like how D&D-centric the hobby is that people think a fantasy treasure book is useful for "any TTRPG". Because fantasy treasure is of course going to be super useful for modern, SF and superhero games...

Midnight Quill actually addressed this in one of her updates. She is planning on having sections that are focused on things besides a medieval style world, including modern. But the focus is going to be mostly on fantasy RPG stuff. I admit, saying that it's system agnostic might have been a better phrase. But I suspect she wanted TTRPG in there so kickstarters algorithms would be sending it out to the right people.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Midnight Quill actually addressed this in one of her updates. She is planning on having sections that are focused on things besides a medieval style world, including modern. But the focus is going to be mostly on fantasy RPG stuff. I admit, saying that it's system agnostic might have been a better phrase. But I suspect she wanted TTRPG in there so kickstarters algorithms would be sending it out to the right people.

Its still one of those things that's in essence, false advertising, but its so common I can't get too concerned.

 

[Silver Griffin]

Its still one of those things that's in essence, false advertising, but its so common I can't get too concerned.

I agree with you, especially about it being so common. At least Midnight Quill is addressing this by making non fantasy sections so that it is more broadly usable.