Steampunk Fridays – Kickstart the Game- 1879 London Adventure and Sourcebook

Check out John McGuire’s The Gilded Age steampunk graphic novel on Kickstarter!

As a roleplayer, I’m always on the look out for games that I might get to play. Sometimes it’s because of the rule systems, sometimes it is because of the setting, and sometimes it’s just something that catches your eye. You know those games. The ones where you end up reading the sourcebooks cover to cover. You let your mind take it all in long before you ever break out a character sheet.

***

1879 London Adventure and Sourcebook

From FASA Corporation

Kickstarter campaign ends on Monday, August 21, 2017, at 9:00 AM EDT.

***

The Pitch:

1879 is FASA’s steamweird roleplaying game, that takes the place of Shadowrun in our cosmology. Due to a weird science experiment that opens a stable wormhole, Earth’s magic cycle gets jumpstarted in the late Victorian era, leading to a Gilded Age with elves, dwarves, snarks, and trolls. As the world adjusts to its new races, technological progress races forward, as the Age of Steam begins to give way to the Age of Electricity. Clockwork computers exchange data over telegraph wires, steam-powered airships chug through the sky, and industrial applications of magic churn out new wonders daily.

In the new world, the British army faces off against the Samsut, descendants of the Babylonians and Akkadians with their own Weird Science that allows them to raise the dead and use zombies as shock troops and skeletons as fire and forget munitions. The Saurids, the true native race of the Grosvenor World, aren’t happy about either Terrestrial civilization, and may yet manage to unite their fragmented tribes and create a second front.

Play it as steampunk corporate espionage if you like, or court intrigue, or lost world pulp adventure – yes, there are dinosaurs!

Adventure awaits!”

The Game:

This particular Kickstarter is actually for Book 1 in The Akkadian Trilogy (Big Trouble in Little Soho) and/or the London Gazetteer (London, or The Haunted City). In addition, at a couple of the higher Reward levels, you can get both of those as well as the Players Guide, the GM’s Guide, and the GM Screen ($138 and up).

Big Trouble in Little Soho looks to be the big jumping off point for a potential adventure path. The basic set up is that there is a drug that grants “explosive strength”… and it ends up “in  the wrong hands.”

“The book runs 96 pages, digest size, perfect bound, with a full-color cover and black and white interior art. Layout is complete; backers will receive immediate access to the galley proof.”

London, or The Haunted City is the breakdown of the city of London within the game. From the breakdown, it details the every piece of the city, with potential adventure hooks when the PCs decide they want to just wander around (as PCs always seem to do). Then there is a breakdown on the technology, the politics, and even the various criminals and activities they might… entice your players with.

In addition, you also get “a complete adventure, Baby Boojum, in which a kidnapping goes hysterically wrong.”

“The book runs 256 pages, digest size, perfect bound unless we meet our first Stretch Goal, with a full-color cover and black and white interior art. Layout is complete; backers will receive immediate access to the galley proof.”

Passenger Giffard by Yad Mui, vehicles artist

Final Verdict:

Since Steampunk kind of occupies this odd space where everything is potentially available to you within a band of a few decades (late 1800s…-ish), sometimes that isn’t enough to entice potential players. They are looking for something a little more than just (forgive me)… gears and corsets. They need a unique Divergent Point. They need to know why your world is more appealing than the next.

From the FASA Games website:

“The Silver Exhibition, London, 1876. Twenty-five years after the Crystal Palace Exhibition, another is held to showcase the technological wonders of Britain. An ambitious inventor shows off his device to view great distances, but something goes wrong and the machine explodes and vanishes. In its place is left a circular field of … something.

One year to the day of the incident, the field opens. The portal reveals a vast new world of great resources, wonders, and terrors. By 1879 the Empire has a foothold in this new world. A massive fortification named Fort Alice is established at the end of the passage, which has been dubbed the Rabbit Hole.”

So it is with great curiosity that in the 1879 setting we’re dealing with a pair of worlds… seemingly leaking into each other. Our world is on its way to steam power and technology booms while the world on the other side of the wormhole is one where more fantastic creatures and magic are accepted as the norm. A place where our world is the invaders but also potentially the saviors.

I love the idea that an adventure could start on our world and end up on the other side of the portal (or vice versa). That maybe things which work a certain way here might be upside down over there.

And the character roleplaying potential is there, cooked in the bones of this world(s). Do you want to play the fish out of water? Not a problem since probably half the time you’re not going to be on your home world. Want to learn magic? Want to see the wonders of this new technology? All of it is available to you.

Just pass through the Rabbit Hole.

***

For more information about 1879 and other FASA Games, check out their website here.

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novellas Theft & Therapy and There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

 

 

 

5 RPG Kickstarters You Should Back – Spire, HC SVNT DRACONES, Dark Obelisk, Sixty Mile Sky, and Befouled Maze of the Demi-Lich

The maze of a demi-lich, good dark elves, dark obelisk, mechs in space, and furries in space. Kickstarter is offering some variety in the RPG choices this week. Let’s count them down (and show some love to Battle for the Purple Islands and the Champion of Earth card game).

 

5) HC SVNT DRACONES: Sound and Silence by Weapons Grade Funk
Ends on .

“Sound and Silence is a comprehensive setting guide and lore expansion for the HC SVNT DRACONES role playing universe.

Sound and Silence is the first setting guide to the HC SVNT DRACONES role playing game. This is a lore book, full of beautiful artwork, expansive stories, and detailed information about the HSD setting and the roles players can embody there. For Guides, players, and fans alike, this book is the quintisential reference for culture, setting info, and history that didn’t make it into the rulebooks.

Sound and Silence is a single book broken down into two parts:

Sound is the name of the lore compendium intended for everyone’s use. It contains story ideas, descriptions of corp activity, layouts of cities, details on agent interaction so you can flavor your characters better, and a descriptions of unique grottos and universities for inclusion in your stories. Players and Guides can both go through this book without worry of spoiling anything in-game. Sound contains over 100 pages of content and is a great way to inspire people looking for character ideas for themselves of their NPCs.

Don’t know what this is… Other than weirdly awesome!

Silence is the second half of the book, containing detailed accounts of many of the aspects left vague in the HSD core rulebook. Things like the origins of the Palemen, what’s going on with Earth, and who the Shadow Presidents are. It has large sections on the nature of Transcendent technology and what humanity actually found when they made use of Hydra. This book is primarily for Guides, to give them fun things to let the players discover through play. It’s about 100 pages long and includes stories and behind-the-scenes info that make for great hooks in large operations.”

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

This campaign gives you the setting for the HC SVNT DRACONES rules system. The art for this project is beautiful. For most fans, sci-fi anthropomorphic decides their level of interest. In space, no one can hear you meow. At the gaming table, no one judges you. (Save the GM… literally part of their job.) A good rule set and a fun setting – like Sound and Silence appears to be – are going to go far toward creating a fun gaming night. Well worth checking out!

 

You can find HC SVNT DRACONES’ core rulebook here.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

4) Dark Obelisk: Druid Enclave (Pathfinder/5E RPG City Setting) by Infinium Game Studio
Ends on .

“A richly-detailed RPG city campaign setting, the Druid Enclave from Dark Obelisk 2 has NPCs, Quests, lore, >100 maps, and much more!

TL;DR: The Value Proposition

If you’re looking for a richly-detailed, lavishly-mapped city campaign setting with plenty to do and see, Druid Enclave is an outstanding gaming asset for any Pathfinder or 5E/Fifth Editiongaming context.

If you want to get on board with Dark Obelisk, or if you are playing any Pathfinder or 5Eadventure that involves any city or Druid context, and want a way of fleshing out some detail, this book will be valuable to you.

Art credit Jack Kaiser
Art credit Jack Kaiser

What is This Book?

This product is a 300+ page full-color PDF and hardcover roleplaying supplement that will enhance any Pathfinder or 5E campaign in any setting.

The Druid Enclave will be a richly detailed hardcover gaming sourcebook, and companion to one of the most ambitious and massive indie RPG adventures in recent memory.

Finally, if you’re new to it, this campaign is the quickest, easiest, and best-value way to get on board with thousands of pages of adventure.

Creative Input Add-Ons

  • $75 Muse: Design a Character: Name, and help design, a character. Your character will be included in the book, and have custom full-color artwork associated with him/her/it. These Add-Ons will be limited to 5.
  • $125 Vibrant Muse: As Muse, but the character will have a persistent role to play in the greater Realm of Aquilae mythology and Dark Obelisk Adventure Path storyline. These Add-Ons will be limited to 2.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

I’ve mentioned the Dark Obelisk series before. This outing is more great fantasy material for Pathfinder. This project continues Infinium’s streak of beautiful art which is made all the more awesome because you can opt to design a NPC and have it drawn.

 

Want to sample some of Infinium Game’s work, they have several free products on DriveThurRPG here.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

3) Sixty Mile Sky by Benjamin Arndt
Ends on .

“A game ruleset designed to run a Sci-Fi roleplaying game in a variety of worlds. This game uses a d10 system powered by the apocalypse.

What is Sixty Mile Sky?

There was a need for a sci-fi role-playing game that did not downplay the lethality of space, but remained story-focused and gave players a variety of explicit mechanics to deal with problems in non-violent ways. This game is build to fill that need.

Campaign design in Sixty Mile Sky is structured to create episodic sessions that all drive toward a main goal. That goal may change, or evolve as mysteries are solved or allegiances shift, but there is always a sense of overall purpose.

Mechanically inspired by games like Dungeon World, Blades in the Dark, and Dungeons & Dragons, Sixty Mile Sky is a d10 based game, where classes are equipped with moves to help guide the story and create dynamic answers to conflicts.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

This is a relaunch of the Sixty Mile Sky Kickstarter with a lower goal (already achieved). Everything that I liked about the original campaign is still in place. Still using the Powered by the Apocalypse system, still offering the option to design a NPC, weapon, or tool, and still a game that plays more heavily in sci-fi. Well worth a look.

 

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

2) Befouled Maze of the Demi-Lich, 5e DnD Adventure Module by Wyrmkeep Entertainment
Ends on .

“An adventure for 10th to 12th level characters who embark on a rescue mission against a lich and his bewitched maze.

Are you a gamemaster looking for an interesting and challenging adventure for your players that can be completed in one session? Well, I have just what you want: Befouled Maze of the Demi-Lich is a fantasy role-playing game mini-adventure module designed for a band of 6-8 5e DnD characters of 10th to 12th level.

A common saying among the wise is “Curiosity kills the rogue,” but sometimes interesting possibilities seek you out instead of the other way around. And so it is with a party of adventurers who decide to veer into the forest to investigate some strange lights. They find a small shine inhabited by a old, wizened man in grey robes.

He greats the travelers and reveals to them, via a tarot card reading, an intriguing side quest: saving a demigoddess’ beloved companion, who was kidnapping by a lich named Ulsus Malachite and held in a bewitched hedge maze.

The party is a little apprehensive about contending against a lich, even if the undead fiend is in a weakened state, but the old man’s hint of priceless rewards for a successful rescue, including one heart’s desire, makes the endeavor seem worthwhile.

Of course, this maze will surely be full of terrible beasts and devious traps ready to destroy the unwary, but such is way of the adventurer. Will the party survive to claim the prize? And what exactly does the lich gain by this kidnapping? So many mysteries…”

Egg’s Thoughts:

This game was on my radar to review and then the creator, Joe Pearce, reached out to discuss the book. I was happy he did (it’s nice to hear from the creators, especially the nice ones).

I love the OSR look of the project combined with 5e guts. The adventure revolves around a maze so the wanna-lancer* options are unique – dedicate a bench in the maze that offers a piece of the maze’s puzzle. I dig that it’s an out of the box vanity press reward. Well worth checking out.

*Wanna-lancer™ is a gamer questing to become a RPG freelancer.

 

Want to sample some of Wyrmkeep Entertainment’s modules, check out their DriveThurRPG here.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

1) Spire RPG by Grant Howitt/Serious Business
Ends on .

“Join the dark elf resistance against their cruel high elf overlords in this urban fantasy-punk tabletop RPG.

Artist's impression of the finished book

You are a dark elf. The touch of the sun burns your grey skin, and you hide from the light in twisting corridors, crumbling temples and the lawless undercity of the metropolis known as Spire. The high elves, rulers of the city, alien and capricious, allow you to live here as an underclass forced to beg for scraps.

Your religion, your culture, and your people are being destroyed all around you. You have seen your fathers, your mothers, your grandparents subjugated by the high elves, and you have had enough. You have joined the resistance: the ministry of Our Hidden Mistress, worshippers of a forbidden goddess.

You have sworn in blood that the high elves will fall, that you will destroy them through subterfuge, and insurrection, and terror.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Evil high elves versus good dark elves in a fantasy-punk world. The stylized art from Adiran Stone brings to life the idea of fantasy-punk with just the right amount of elves gone punk. Like so many projects, the art speaks volumes and this one puts me in mind of the setting.

For the wanna-lancers, their £165 pledge, Make a Mark, offers either an amazing deal… or they’re calling you a rube. You decide.

“You will be immortalised in the game as a hapless rube for the player characters to take advantage of, complete with a brief backstory and a suitably changed-up Spire name. We’ll work with you to make the NPC as gullible as possible (subject to final approval by the creators).”

 

Want to sample some of Serious Business’ games, check out their DriveThurRPG here.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

Spire RPG

 

* * * * * *

Signal Boosting

Why am I signal boosting projects from Kort’thalis Publishing and Shades of Vengeance? Because they speak to the RPG/CCG fan in me, and [DISCLAIMER the First] I am in the beginning stages of doing freelance work for each of these companies,  and [DISCLAIMER the Second] I have a small bit of material appearing in the Battle for the Purple Islands. Very excited about that last bit!

 

1) Battle For The Purple Islands by Kort’thalis Publishing
Ends on Thursday, August 10 2017 11:23 PM EDT.

“The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence returns; OSR scenario of warring factions competing for dominance in a purple world gone mad.

The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence has done well as an O5R campaign setting. I’ve been asked countless times if I’m ever going to go back to the purple islands.  Well, this Kickstarter is a resounding “YES!” to that query.

The purple islands (there’s three of them very close together, and are usually considered a single place) is an eldritch science-fantasy setting with gonzo sword & sorcery.  Both books will be usable with any sort of Lost World, Mars, Dream Lands, Hyborian Age, alternate Earth ruled by civilized apes or menaced by dinosaurs and sleestak, or a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

I covered this (and praised Venger) last week, it says it all. Well, not all… I have a small bit appearing in this Kickstarter. I’m proud of that.

Love. Me. Some. Venger. Through RPG, I’ve met a legion of incredibly nice folks. Jeff Duncan, Dan Davenport, Dan Dillon, Ed Jowett, Nathan Tucker, Chris Helton, Justin Halliday, BJ Hensley, and so many more that I’m forgetting. They’ve all been welcoming and I could not be happier to know them. High on my list of RPG friends is Venger. He’s helped me with direction, published some of my work via his recent NSFW Trinity of Awesome Returns series – Stairwell of V’dreenHis Flesh is Key, and High-Stakes Q’uay-Q’uar – and always been open to helping me along the path to RPG freelancer. When he launched his sequel to The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence, I was happy to support it.

Why should you check out Battle for the Purple Islands? Because it’s unlimited budget grindhouse glory in the form of a RPG! It may be purple, but Venger creates some dark games!

Why should you support Venger? Because, if you’re like Egg and you want to create fantastic games, reach out to Venger on Google+ or at his blog. He has worthwhile advice (and books of advice) to share. He’s open and direct with what works and what doesn’t. He’s worth talking to.

 

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

2) Champion of Earth: Robots & Cyborgs join the invasion! by Shades of Vengeance
Ends on Saturday, August 19 2017 6:59 PM EDT.

In the first expansion to our fan favourite card game, new enemies join the invasion! Defend the Earth with brand new weapons!

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

Shades of Vengeance is offering the core card game and/or their first expansion for it. It’s everything and the kitchen sink sci-fi which looks hilarious. I’m looking forward to the game.

 

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to DriveThruRPG.com.

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

 

* * * * * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * * * * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

3 Political RPG Kickstarters You Should Back – Top Secret, Misspent Youth, and Revolutionaries

This week, the Kickstarter gods rolled up three political [Editor’s Note – Using the term “political” is a stretch] RPGs that you should check out. Be a spy, be a rebel, or be a revolutionary! In this post we count down the latest political RPGs.

3) Top Secret: New World Order – the espionage roleplaying game by TSR Games
Ends on Thursday, July 27 2017 12:42 PM EDT.

“Top Secret: New World Order is the all-new tabletop RPG by Merle M. Rasmussen, creator of the first espionage role-playing game in 1980

TOP SECRET: NEW WORLD ORDER is the brand-new espionage role-playing game by Merle M. Rasmussen.

You are an agent of ICON, the International Covert Operatives Network. Working alone or with a team, you are tasked with the missions that other agencies can not, or will not, handle.

TOP SECRET: NEW WORLD ORDER is set in today’s world of shadowy organizations, shifting alliances, high technology, and unpredictable threats.

What’s in the box?

 

The writers’ guidelines for Top Secret: New World Order are available now! Get them here.

The guidelines are for:

  • Writers interested in being published by TSR
  • Publishing companies who want to release products compatible with Top Secret: New World Order
  • Writers planning to self-publish

The writers’ guidelines will be updated from time to time, so always visit http://topsecretnwo.com/writers-guidelines/ to make sure you’re viewing the most recent version.”

Want some more details about the game from the Q&A session they did with Dan Davenport? Click here.

Egg’s Thoughts:

Top Secret, the 1980s TSR RPG of spies, is back! This version is by the original creator, Merle M. Rasmussen. Do you want to spy? If so, it’s waiting for you to check out the Kickstarter and sling some dice. That alone is exciting, but what makes this a victory for wanna-lancers – RPG fans that want to become freelancers – is the free writer’s guidelines. You have the opportunity to write on Top Secret for TSGames or work on your own Top Secret content! With the free writer’s guidelines and a PDF of the core rules ($10), this is the wanna-lancing triple crown:

  • Work on D&D [Well, it’s not D&D, but it is one of TSR’s other hits, Top Secret!]
  • With Gary Gygax [or his sons, Luke and Ernie Gygax!]
  • At TSR [Sure it’s the spiritual successor to the original TSR, but it’s TSR!]

Who wants to be a tabletop RPG freelancer on TSR Games‘ Top Secret: New World Order – the espionage roleplaying game? This is the chance to fulfill that dream! You can find the link to their writer’s guidelines here.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

UPDATE – 2017-07-25 17:00 – The first third party production for Top Secret has been announced.
“Louis Porter Jr. Designs (LPJ Designs) is our first third-party publisher to begin the approval process for officially licensed Top Secret: New World Order missions. http://www.lpjdesign.com/

* * * * * *

Misspent Youth RPG Sell Out With Me

2) Misspent Youth RPG: Sell Out with Me! by Robert Bohl 
Ends on Thursday, July 27 2017 7:00 PM EDT.

“Misspent Youth: Teenage rebellion in a fucked-up future! Play the only kids that can stop some asshole from turning the world to shit.

The game

Misspent Youth is a tabletop RPG about friendship, standing up to bullies, and changing the world. The game is for 4 to 6 people, one of whom plays The Authority, the force that’s making the world a shitty place to live. The others all play Youthful Offenders (YOs), the only ones who can redeem the future from this pack of assholes trying to fuck it up.

Ever wanted to play The Hunger Games (but focused on friends), Clockwork Orange (but with heroic droogies), Hackers (but less goofy), Mad Max: Fury Road (but, again, with teenagers), or Avatar: The Last Airbender (but sci-fi)? This is the game for you. It’s fucking awesome; if you want to see for yourself how awesome, check out the full text of issue 1.1 on my site, for free download.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Fight the system! Whether that system is the government or your GM, fight it! [Editor’s Note – Fight the GM!]

As RPGs go, this game ranks among the most meta. You are fighting the Authority and the GM is playing the Authority. It’s very on the nose as to how many tables role-play (players vs GM). There could be a year’s worth of Knights of the Dinner Table about this system.

For wanna-lancers, the cover fee includes a chance to game with Misspent Youth creator Robert Bohl online, or Pax Unplugged 2017, or Metatopia 2017. It’s like getting to jam with the band… but not because the bassist quit on the day of the show and forgot to tell anyone and you happened to have your bass in the trunk of your mom’s car… nothing like that…

You can find this Kickstarter here.

* * * * * *

1) REVOLUTIONARIES — American War of Independence RPG by Make-Believe Games 
Ends on Tueday, August 1 2017 12:32 PM EDT.

“Revolutionaries is a tabletop RPG set during the American War of Independence, where history’s truths hide a secret war.

Travel back in time to colonial America and an age of high-stakes diplomacy and perilous revolution in this roleplaying game of colonial struggle for independence. Experience first-hand the gripping drama of the politics and the grim realities of the war and not only meet the founding heroes who helped a nation break free, but become one yourself.

In this storytelling game you make history come alive by bearing witness to the events that gave birth to a mighty nation. But before it was history, it was news. Tell your own story within the sweeping saga of the “shot heard around the world” and do something few games have allowed before: make the difference and change the course of history.

A front-row view of the revolution that changed the history of the world, Revolutionaries is the game every history buff needs to have in their collection.”

Want more details, read their press release here.

Egg’s Thoughts:

Want to create a revolutionary or a soldier or civilian from the American revolution? This game offers that vanity press option for you to write up a character that Make-Believe Games will weave into the mythology of the American Revolution. It’s an interesting offer.

For the game, I am curious how it will address the darker aspects of the founding of the United States? Slavery? Woman’s [lack of] rights? Native American genocide? The controversial nature of the Second Amendment? And, of course, zombies? [Several of the reward tiers bundle in the games I Am Zombie and Toxicity.] To find these out, I hope I can attend the online Q&A with the creators that Dan Davenport is hosting. If you’re interested in learning more about the game, check out Dan Davenport’s Q&A with Make-Believe Games on Friday, July 28th, 2017 from 20:30 to 22:30 Central Time.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

Let’s cover a bonus RPG.

BONUS) Overkill: The Action Movie Roleplaying Game by Joseph Barber 
Ends on Friday, July 28 2017 3:05 AM EDT.

“Overkill is a tabletop roleplaying game designed to make you feel like an action hero.

I have always loved action movies, since I was five and watching Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Though I haven’t loved roleplaying games quite as long, I started around 10 with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and have been fascinated with them ever since. I’ve played through all sorts of other systems, and while any number of them allow someone to play out various action movie scenarios, none of them seemed quite perfect for it.

Overkill is a system designed from the ground up to be easy to get into, and it’s designed to allow for rapid generation of characters and enemies meaning it can be less than half an hour from picking up the book to starting your first game. To help with this instead of using various different dice, the game uses playing cards, any old deck will do. This allows it to be played in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, on a plane, or at the classic basement table.

* * * * * *

Bigger Bad – New Zealand Dollars $150

A game like this is full of examples, and at this level you get to put your own ideas into the game. Make up a character using the rules in the book, and even improvise a little bit if you are feeling spicy. I will then add your character to the examples at the back of the character creation section. You also get all the previous stuff.

Biggest Bad – New Zealand Dollars $150

Have you ever wanted to be a game designer? Well now you don’t have to. I will talk to you through whatever means you want, email, skype, phone, and we will collectively develop a custom path, or a few feats, or whatever you want. This is for the creatively minded out there who want to have their own devious mind gunk put out there for all to see. And of course you get all the previous stuff as well.”

Want some more details about the game from the Q&A session they did with Dan Davenport? Click here.

Egg’s Thoughts:

For those that want to develop content, Overkill offers a new game system and, in this Kickstarter, you can design a NPC and/or a part of the game mechanics. You’ll work with Joseph Barber to create this and be a part of the fabric of this game. It’s an opportunity to be on the ground floor of a new system and leave your imprint on it.

You can find this Kickstarter here.

 

* * * * * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

13th Doctor Who: Roleplaying Game

“Jodie Whittaker is a woman and the 13th Doctor.” The most controversial event of July 16th, 2017. It split the inter-webs into two opposed camps:

  1. Greatest actor of her generation
  2. The “D” in “Doctor” stands for “Dicks”

Jodie Whitaker composed as Doctor Who from Metro.co.uk

I chose the Greatest Actress camp before turning my mind to what possibilities a female Doctor will create for Doctor Who: RPG? Will this be doom or opportunity for Cubicle 7‘s game series? Before I get into the peaks and valleys of my speculations, let me offer some background.

* * * * * *

BACKGROUND

Example Page from Sword & Wizardry

Tabletop role-playing games are synonymous with sword and sorcery. With so many fantasy systems to choose from, companies look for ways to make theirs stand out. Frog God Games came up with an elegant way to ensure that the 3rd printing of their retro-clone, Swords and Wizardry, had the broadest appeal possible. They hired Stacy Dellorfano (of ConTessa fame) to lead an all-female design staff for the newest printing of their ENnie Awardwinning game. What inspired this? Frog God Games shared this on their Kickstarter:

…we were talking with designer Stacy Dellorfano about the fact that many OSR games have a physical appearance and presentation that really targets the 40 year old guys who’ve been gaming since forever, and doesn’t have nearly as much appeal to younger or female gamers of the generations following that first wave of players from the 1980s. In point of fact, old-school games, with their light-rules aspect and emphasis on a game master’s “common sense” interpretation of situations, are actually a really good tool for anyone who feels like rules-lawyers may be spoiling the game by trying to be over-authoritative or even overbearing with a GM. But if the appearance and presentation make the game look like it’s purely a throwback and not a modern tool for good gaming, then there’s a real obstacle to the game’s push into the mainstream gaming community.

As a result of this analysis, we engaged Stacy as a designer to produce an edition that’s no less appealing to older male gamers, while being MORE appealing to younger and to female gamers. Stacy put together a team, all women, to address this dual objective. We think her team has done an awesome job, and when you see the design results, we think you’ll agree.

This project came out of a discussion largely about how to get more women interested in OSR games, and evolved into a request to create a product that would appeal to all genders and challenge the idea of what an OSR game should look like. For many of the women who illustrated the book, this is their first foray into freelancing in the tabletop RPG industry. By participating in this project, we’re raising their visibility and adding more female voices to the industry.

What this is not is an “RPG for women”. This is Swords & Wizardry the same as it’s been for the last two printings, just with new artwork and layout for the new printing.

Yet the naysayers say to me – “But Egg, can women – WOMEN?! – design the look of a REAL retro-clone?”

Absolutely, Mr. Naysayer! Stacy and crew produced an iconic S&W 3e! Every page looks phenomenal and the book flows! This printing is beautiful. 1,213 backers on Kickstarter agree.

“But Egg, that’s the drawings! What about the… the writings? What about the WRITINGS, Egg?!”

Since S&W kept the existing writing with upgraded art, let’s look at a different project, Atlas Animalia by Metal Weave Games. This book covers the biology, game hooks, and more for monsters designed for 5e, Pathfinder, FATE, and more, including OSRs. This is a book of terrifying beasts to slaughter, or be slaughtered by, for your RPG of choice and there are no men listed as writers or editors. The project looks first rate (as the image below shows). I was excited about this campaign (I covered it here) and I was not alone, 798 backers pledged their money on Kickstarter.

Atlas Animalia example page – LAND SHARK!

“Um, well… but Egg, how do those numbers compare to games designed by mixed gender or ALL-MALE creative teams? Egg, I bet if we whip’em out and compare, the number of S&W 3e or Atlas Animalia backers on Kickstarter will be WAY smaller!”

Ok, let’s compare the number of backers for some retro-clones, monster manuals, and remakes on Kickstarter. I’ve picked out a few games that are close in nature to S&W 3e:

Based on this limited sampling (it’s not even close to exhaustive), S&W 3e had two to six times as many backers as the other OSRs in this list. S&W 3e had more backers than some new editions of older games/settings (Alternity and Scarred Lands) while not as many as others (Torg: Eternity and Scion).

While looking for RPG products that are, more or less, apples-to-apples comparisons with Atlas Animalia was more difficult. Still, there were a few:

Atlas Animalia fell into the middle of the range for these campaigns. If these lists (OSRs and monster manuals) were blended, Atlas would be on the upper half of the combined listing.

While this is a drop in the ocean of market research, I’d still hypothesize that RPGs created and written by women do well in the gaming market.

Do you think Frog God Games and Metal Weave Games made the right choice for their respective products?

END BACKGROUND

* * * * * *

Jodie Whittaker is the 13th Doctor and Cubicle 7 makes Doctor Who: Roleplaying Game. When it comes time to produce the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space: The Thirteenth Doctor Sourcebook (2017-20??), should Cubicle 7 put a female lead designer/female writing staff in place to handle this project?

Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space:
The Thirteenth Doctor Sourcebook (2017-20??)
The first female doctor by [INSERT ROCKING FEMALE RPG CREATOR]

Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who from DoctorWhoTV.co.uk

This is the opportunity to hire a heavily female (or completely female) staff to deliver this sourcebook. Frog God Games and Metal Weave Games had successes with female crews developing their products. There’s no reason to believe that a female Cubicle 7 team would not produce yet another AAA Doctor Who product. The serendipity-by-design of this would be the way to market it.

That said, while they’ll likely update the core rulebook to include the 13th Doctor in the near-term, Cubicle 7 releases their Doctor Who sourcebooks after the current Doctor passes the torch. We’re years away from the release of their 13th Doctor sourcebook. This debate has time for nuance.

This article is not a condemnation of Cubicle 7. It’s the opposite. I’m a fan of C7. For Gen Con 50, I won the dream “date” to attend the ENnie Awards with them. I’m excited about meeting them at the show (and I hope they win some ENnies – Don’t forget to vote!)

As a company, they’re doing a rocking job with the Doctor Who RPG. As such, when I composed this article I hated to suggest that they mess with a winning formula. If they keep with their current creative teams, I know they will deliver an excellent product.

C7 has not announced their plans related to the 13th Doctor sourcebook and they should not until Jodie is ready to pass on the role. With the lead time that Cubicle 7 has on this, a company as competent as they are will gather together the perfect team to knock this out of the park! With their track record, I am confident they’ll make the best decision for their fans.

 

* * * * * *

 

SWORDS & WIZARDRY 3RD EDITION CHALLENGE!

Am I telling the truth about Swords & Wizardry 3rd Edition? Does it really look amazing? Can women design the look of a retro-clone? Why, yes they can, but you say you need proof, naysayer? The proof is in the product and the product is a single dollar in PDF format. Over at Frog God Games’ website, you can pick up the PDF for a buck and find out for yourself.

NOTE – When you’re doing the dropdown, it’ll say “-$33.99”. It’s confusing but you’ll see it’s one dollar at check out.

Frog God Games’ Swords and Wizardry 3rd Edition PDF

 

* * * * * *

 

Does S&W 3e and Atlas Animalia sound good to you but you wish there were a female-created board game? How about SPARKED: The hilarious and inspiring board game for women? A board game created entirely by women. 758 backers on Kickstarter.

 

* * * * * *

 

I’d like to thank every woman that ever gamed or created games or created art for games or thought kindly toward a gamer. You have made this world a better place. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I cannot say that loud enough.

Sincerely,

Egg Embry

 

* * * * * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

PRESS RELEASE – WILD SKIES: EUROPA TEMPEST

WILD SKIES: EUROPA TEMPEST RELEASE

Contact

Brandon K. Aten

Telephone

502-693-5319

Email

WetInkGames@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 14, 2017

Wild Skies: Europa Tempest Release

A complete Role-Playing Game by Wet Ink Games, LLC

Louisville, KY, July 14, 2017– Wet Ink Games, LLC has released a digital version of the all new complete RPG, Wild Skies: Europa Tempest.

Wild Skies: Europa Tempest, designed and written by Brandon K. Aten and Matthew Orr, is the core rulebook of the Wild Skies setting in which players take control of anthropomorphic animal characters in a post-World War I alternate history Europe. Pulp-style technology and unique animal abilities contribute to the narrative storytelling of the game.

The game uses the new Compass SystemTM which merges traditional alignment and experience systems, allowing players to integrate their character’s personal motivations with rewards of their own choosing. With 40 animal types, 20 careers, and 80 skill specialties, players have a wealth of options at their fingertips. The book also includes 16 ready to play characters.

Wild Skies: Europa Tempest is available from DriverThruRPG.com as PDF for $13.49, and will be available in Q3 as softcover for $34.99 and hardcover for $44.99.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Brandon K. Aten at 502-693-5319 or email at WetInkGames@gmail.com.

PRESS RELEASE – REVOLUTIONARIES FROM MAKE BELIEVE GAMES ON KICKSTARTER NOW!

REVOLUTIONARIES FROM MAKE BELIEVE GAMES ON KICKSTARTER NOW!

MEDIA RELEASE
7th July 2017

Revolutionaries: Now on Kickstarter.

Washington, DC (07/12/17): 

Make Believe Games is pleased to announce its latest game is now live onKickstarter. Revolutionaries is a tabletop roleplaying game set during the American War of Independence.

Travel back in time to colonial America and an age of high-stakes diplomacy and perilous revolution in this roleplaying game of colonial struggle for independence. Experience first-hand the gripping drama of the politics and the grim realities of the war and not only meet the founding heroes who helped a nation break free, but become one yourself.

MBG is pleased to have several amazing guest writers and artists involved as stretch goals in the kickstarter campaign. These include award-winning designers Owen K.C. Stephens and Matt Forbeck, as well as the dazzling cartography skills of Alyssa Faden.

Backers of the Kickstarter are also invited to participate in the Decipher the Code promotion! Decrypt and discover four pieces of Culper code over the course of the campaign for a chance to win a copy of Revolutionaries, the I AM ZOMBIE Field Manual, and Vampire: The Masquerade (1st ed.), all signed by Mark Rein-Hagen.

Become part of Washington’s spy network across the United States and throughout Europe. Conduct secret missions for the commander in chief and his senior wardens, Tallmadge and Hamilton. Help Benjamin Franklin recruit allies in France and other parts of Europe. Take the fight to the enemy and shake an empire to its very core.

Contact Make Believe Games:
Nathan Tucker
nt@makebelievegames.com
http://makebelievegames.com/

Find Out More

3 RPG Kickstarters You Should Back – Plush ConTessa Mascots, Era: Hitman, and Samyaza

We’re going to go from hitmen to stuffed animals as we look at tabletop role-playing games on Kickstarter you should back! Let’s count’em down!

Bea the Eyeball Monster from the Plush ConTessa Mascots Kickstarter says “Fund me, Seymour!”

3) Plush ConTessa Mascots by Stacy Dellorfano of ConTessa
Ends on Sunday, July 16 2017 5:31 PM EDT.

“Support ConTessa’s mission of diversity in tabletop gaming by funding plush versions of our mascots!

For nearly five years, ConTessa has been changing the face of gaming through the awesome power of positive representation. To pay for all that, we sell ConTessa merchandise in the form of pinback buttons, magnets, lanyards, and t-shirts. Through these sales, we’ve been able to grow the program, allowing us to run bigger events at more conventions where we can reach even more people.

One of the most commonly requested forms of merchandise we’ve been asked for are plush versions of our adorable mascots, which we had commissioned years ago as illustrations for both merchandising and promotional purposes. Until now, that possibility was too expensive, but thanks to a combination of our growth, and the fine folks at Budsies, we’re finally able to offer up plush mascots – with your pledge!

We’ve set this Kickstarter up so we only have to sell 50 toys in order to create 100, so your purchase not only helps us create the toys, it also helps us build stock we can sell to fund our trips to conventions all over the US (and hopefully, someday, the world).”

Bea and Tessa.

Egg’s Thoughts:

Plush Bea-Holder!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

If this were QVC, you know my grandparents would already be dialing the 800 number! “I know lil’ Egg sure likes The Dee and Dees…” They’d get me Bea and Tessa plus the upsell fuzzy dice!

To get Bea the Eyeball Monster unlocked, this campaign needs to reach $5,000. Don’t let Bea down!

Ok, Egg, I love the plushes! But what do they have to do with your experiment? What can stuffed animals do for the wanna-lancers* around the world?

Glad you asked. This Kickstarter offers the opportunity to play a RPG with members of the gaming industry. This is a chance to put a face with the dice, so to speak. What better way to get to know someone than gaming with them? This is a golden opportunity to combine work and pleasure! The professionals and games are:

  • Stacy Dellorfano: Swords & Wizardry: Zaya’s Promise
  • Darcy Ross: Numenera: The Nightmare Switch
  • Senda Linaugh: Love & Justice (a hack of Lasers & Feelings)
  • Emily Morgan: All Outta Bubblegum: Attack of the Kraken
  • Pranks Paul: Star Wars Edge of the Empire: The Tail of Cat Bane

Ok, let me jump from what passes for Egg-humor to why this project is on my mind: These plushes are more than stuffed animals. They represent a real opportunity to help expand the gaming industry by making it as inclusive as possible. ConTessa is “…an organization dedicated to increasing diverse representation in tabletop gaming by running events led entirely by marginalized people, and enjoyed by everyone. We run our own conventions online, and attend popular conventions around the United States, bringing games, seminars, workshops, and panels using our innovative convention-within-a-convention format. We aim to provide open, inclusive, and safe environments that diversify what a leader looks like within our hobby.” This is for a good cause… whether that’s diversity or Plush Bea-Holder is entirely up to you.

 

You can back this Kickstarter here.

 

*Wanna-lancers are RPG fans that want to be RPG freelancers. In Egg’s case, he’s building a resume of RPG writing credits by backing Kickstarters offering rewards like creating NPCs, magic items, adventures, and more.

 

* * *

2) Era: Hitman by Shades of Vengeance
Ends on Sunday, July 16 2017 6:59 PM EDT.

“Be a super-powered assassin – Era: Hitman, now in Paperback!

The much-loved super-powered assassin RPG returns to Kickstarter to bring you a printed Rulebook for the first time!

In this game, you are a hitman, an assassin who eliminates targets for anyone paying the right amount. 

Whether your skill is stealth, approaching your enemies unseen, firing a bullet from a neighbouring rooftop, hacking automated defences or demolishing a building to eliminate everyone inside, you are always in demand. With the protection of the Guild, you need not fear retribution once you escape the scene of the crime – the scrubbers have your back. Every trace of you, every piece of camera footage, everyone who will testify that you were there will vanish without a trace. 

All that falls to you is the kill itself and, in that, you’re an expert.

Pledge £30 or more
ABOUT $38

Client

You get to submit an idea for an assassination mission, which we will put into the list of backup challenges on the Shades of Vengeance website, with credit to you for the idea!

You also get the Physical and Digital Versions of Era: Hitman, along with the Digital Extras!

INCLUDES:

  • Create a Session!
  • Digital Rulebook
  • Digital Extras – Bonus Campaign and Extra Material
  • Paperback Rulebook
  • Name on Contributors List”

Era: Hitman

Egg’s Thoughts: 

The concept for Era: Hitman is on the nose for RPGs are played – killing for cash. Maybe I’ve played at too many violent tables, but Era: Hitman’s lack of pretense spoke to me. Hack. All. Day. Long.

Perfect.

Building from that core, they’re able to seamlessly expand it with their wanna-lancer/vanity press reward, Client. The game’s about hitmen and in this reward, you’re the client and you create the mission. It is immersive and you can already envision the whole project from this reward.

Need more? They have a quickstart guide here.

 

You can back this Kickstarter here.

 

* * *

1) Samyaza: A Cyber-Fantasy RPG Roleplaying Game by Craig Gladden
Ends on .

“Samyaza is a table top role-playing game built to tackle a more technologically advanced world with magical and fantastic undertones.

Samyaza is a tabletop role-playing game setting using a mixture of cyberpunk, fantasy, and science fiction. The Samyaza setting spans from the years 1995-2230. I’ve built a setting that uses real world issues of today, what the 80’s thought the future would look like, and some fun twists to keep you on your toes. You will be able to explore the world’s newest marvel, Samyaza, the first city to take flight. Or, should you choose, fight on the ground in New York as the city rebels against it’s corporate overlords. You even have the option of exploring the new Martian front in the year 2230, as the “native” life pushes back. I wanted to create a setting that was flexible and allowed my imagination to really run wild.

I wanted to have the freedom to create whatever story I wanted and add any enemy without worrying about it not fitting within a specific setting. This brought me to Samyaza’s first campaign books, the Utah Saga. It’s a two part story built with cyberpunk at the helm but fantasy as it’s second mate.

“The year is 2079, our heroes find themselves in Salt Lake City, home to the mega corp The Church ™, a company that makes it’s money from the public’s fear of the after life. Just as the churches of old, this company has taken up the belief that God will forgive all of your sins, but for the right price. Yet there seems to be something more to them. They had been witnessed at recent sites which the news reported as comet crash sites, only to find that the news had been falsified and that the comets were, in reality, relics from the moon. Weapons made for the 1st Lunar War (2033), made of technology beyond their years. The relics seem to call out to the heroes, expressing a need to return to the moon. As the heroes look up towards the moon, they feel a shift in the wind. Maybe The Church ™ isn’t what it seems, maybe there are forces they don’t yet see at work fighting to change the very course of history.””

Samyaza Floating City

Egg’s Thoughts:

Samyaza is a new system and setting for a cyber-fantasy campaign. With this Kickstarter, you get that plus the opportunity to design a NPC, weapons, vehicles, cyber-enhancements, or a whole party. If you’ve been itching to make something for the near-future set, this may be the one for you.

For a fantastic Q&A about this game, visit Dan Davenport’s blog here. Dan hosts a range of RPG Q&As with game creators and they are a wealth of knowledge about the products.

 

You can back this Kickstarter here.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

8 Wanna-lancer Dream Dates for Gen Con 50!

Going to the ENnie Awards at Gen Con 50 in Indianapolis, Indiana? Need a date to the ENnies on Friday, August 18th, 2017? Then the ENnies have you covered – on eBay. There you can bid on eight dates with RPG companies and creators that are a wanna-lancer’s dream! Get gifts, meet the professionals behind them, and see them win awards all in one magical night!

The ENnie Awards Date Auction
Avoid going stag and get bonus swag!
[EDITOR’S NOTE – The slogans made up by Egg Embry are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the creative abilities of the editorial staff of the ENnies Awards.]

What swag? Owen KC Stephens comes with an autographed Starfinder Core Rulebook (system premiering at Gen Con 50).

What is Gen Con? “The largest gaming convention in the world held annually in Indianapolis, Indiana.”

What are the ENnies? “The Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (the “ENnies“) are an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying gaming. The ENnies give game designers, writers and artists the recognition they deserve. It is a peoples’ choice award, and the final winners are voted upon online by the gaming public.”

This year, the Mistress of Ceremonies for the ENnies is Stacy Dellorfano, one of the most prominent individuals in gaming and the founder of ConTessa.

What is a “wanna-lancer”? A tabletop RPG fan that wants to become a tabletop RPG freelancer (i.e., Egg Embry).

What are you getting yourself into by bidding on one of these dates? A cocktail reception, an awards ceremony, four-and-a-half-hours to pester your “date” for Gary Gygax stories, swag (some of which is highly sought after), and the chance to network with some of the largest tabletop RPG publishers and professionals in the gaming world. If you want to talk with Chaosium, Cubicle 7, Monte Cook Games, and Pelgrane Press, or gain industry insights from Sean Patrick FannonStacy Muth, and Owen KC Stephens, these are the wanna-lancer dream dates for you!

 

1) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Cubicle 7
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet the staff of Cubicle 7.
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with them during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive their first three Adventures in Middle-earth books!

Why do I wanna date Cubicle 7

Publishers of:

  • The One Ring
  • Adventures in Middle-Earth [Tolkien’s world for 5e]
  • Doctor Who RPG
  • and more here

Egg’s Thoughts:

How much value is this? The cover price of “their first three Adventures in Middle-earth books” in US dollars is nearly $120. Until the eBay bids reach above that level, meeting the staff of Cubicle 7 is gravy. The books are almost – almost – the win. But keep in mind, meeting Cubicle 7 is going to be good gravy. Do you love Tolkien-based RPGs? Do you love games featuring The Doctor? Is this a no-brainer? Trust them. They’re The Doctors [of RPG].

You’ll be at the table with Cubicle 7 when they learn if they won ENnie Awards for:

Go here to bid on this ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Cubicle 7

 

* * * * *

2) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Sean Patrick Fannon!
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet Sean Patrick Fannon!
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with him during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive swag!

Why do I wanna attend the ENnies with Sean Patrick Fannon

Creator/contributor on:

  • Brand Manager for the Savage Rifts
  • Savage Worlds – Shaintar: Immortal Legends
  • Savage World – Primeval Thule (Thule is always near and dear to my wanna-lancer heart)
  • Star Wars RPG
  • and many more here

Egg’s Thoughts:

Sean Patrick Fannon has been making a living gaming for going on 20 years. He’s worked for, helped run, and created with a who’s who of the major players in the games industry. Based on the games he’s created, he knows how to make an engaging product for the whole table to play. Your bid lets you sit down with him and hear about his journey or pick his brain for more good game design tips than you could learn in a year of production.

You’ll be with Sean when he learns if Pinnacle Entertainment Group won ENnie Awards for:

Go here to bid on this ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Sean Patrick Fannon!

UPDATED on 13:25 2017-07-11 – From Sean Patrick Fannon Facebook post: “Plus I promise good swag, even if it’s from my private stock.” To help make the ENnies a success, Sean is going above and beyond for this.

 

* * * * *

3) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Monte Cook Games!
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet the design team of Monte Cook Games!
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with him during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive swag!

UPDATE: On Jul-11-17 at 11:57:25 PDT, seller added the following information:

We promise the Dream Date swag bag will contain really cool, high-end, one-of-a kind items.

Why do I wanna date Monte Cook Games

Publishers of:

  • Numenera
  • The Strange
  • The Cypher System Rulebook
  • No Thank You, Evil!

Egg’s Thoughts:

I really want to play No Thank You, Evil! for my EN World column about games for all ages. Also because I hear it is everything that is good in this world. If that makes it into the swag bag, so much the better! [Just putting that into the atmosphere… <wink, wink>]

If you win this auction, you’ll have a chance to politely inquire about Numenera or The Strange or Cypher System or game design or marketing or STUNNING art or what’s coming next? Do not miss this table!

You’ll be with Monte Cook Games when they learn if they won ENnie Awards for:

Go here to bid on this ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Monte Cook Games!

 

* * * * *

4) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Owen KC Stephens!
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet Owen KC Stephens!
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with him during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive:

  • a signed hardback copy of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game
  • the Starfinder GM Screen
  • the Starfinder Player Character Folio
  • the Starfinder Core Rulebook Pawn Collection

Why do I wanna attend the ENnies with Owen KC Stephens

Creator/contributor on:

  • Starfinder Design Lead
  • Developer at Paizo
  • Pathfinder Developer at Green Ronin Publishing

Egg’s Thoughts:

What comes with this “date” is just shy of $115 worth of Starfinder products. It’ll save you standing in line to get them, and I think that’s going to be a LONG line at Paizo’s booth. Why will it be a long line? Because Gen Con 50 is the launch of Paizo’s Starfinder. Those books are likely to be on many must-have lists. The debut is going to be the defining memory for many attendees of this convention. For one winning bidder, they’ll get to sit with the design lead for the system. That’s going to be its own story. “Yeah, at Gen Con 50 I got to attend the ENnies with Owen as Starfinder was dropping. Oh, let me tell you what happened…” and stories shall follow.

You’ll be with Owen when he learns if Paizo won an ENnie Award for:

Go here to bid on this ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Owen KC Stephens!

 

* * * * *

5 and 6) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Table 1 of Pelgrane Press!
and ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Table 2 of Pelgrane Press!
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet the staff of Pelgrane Press and sit with them at [one of their two tables]!
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with him during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive  autographed copy of Cthulhu Confidential and a t-shirt!

Why do I wanna date Pelgrane Press

Publishers of:

  • 13th Age
  • The Yellow King [Currently wrecking Kickstarter]
  • Trail of Cthulhu
  • and many more here

Egg’s Thoughts:

Not to take away from Pelgrane’s other products, but The Yellow King is making itself known on Kickstarter. It’s doing impressive numbers! For the winning bidder for the Pelgrane dates (there’s two), they’ll get to sit down with the Pelgrane staff and find out more about that game as well as the rest of their catalog. I’m looking at you, 13th Age.

As an added bonus, Pelgrane Press is up for ENnie Awards for:

NOTE – There are two different opportunities to “date” the lovely Pelgrane Press staff!

Go here to bid on these ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Table 1 of Pelgrane Press!
or ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Table 2 of Pelgrane Press!

 

* * * * *

Russ Morrissey of EN World and the ENnies promises “some exciting new ENnies stage dressing!” Come see it!

7) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Ennies Judge and new Business Manager!
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet Stacy Muth, our new business manager and one of our judges for 2016!
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with her during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive swag!

Why do I wanna attend the ENnies with Stacy Muth

Publisher and hosts of the ENnie Awards.

Egg’s Thoughts:

Do you want to be an ENnie’s judge? How is it done? How many games do you get handed to judge? What goes into the legwork of picking the award nominees? What’s the business side of awards like? Stacy will know.

Go here to bid on this ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Ennies Judge and new Business Manager!

 

* * * * *

8) ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Chaosium!
Ends on Friday, 7/14 at 3:00PM EST

This year, the highest bidder will meet the team of Chaosium!
If you win, you will meet up at the cocktail reception starting at 6:30pm and sit with her during the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony taking place at Gen Con on Friday, August 18th, at 8:00pm in the Grand Ballroom of Union Station.
You will also receive swag!
Swag Will Be: In honor of Gen Cons’s 50th and to celebrate the 40-odd years Chaosium has had a booth at Gen Con, we offer up a nostalgic mix of old and new goodies from the vaults and also hot off the presses.

Included in your swag box will be:
1. Call of Cthulhu 7th edition slipcase set.
2. An additional CoC slipcase you can fill with any of our 7th edition releases of your choosing.
3. Chaosium “tuxedo” black t-shirt
4. Cthulhu for President Y2K Kit (1999)
5. Mint Copy of Lords of the Middle Sea (1978)

Why do I wanna date Chaosium?

Publisher of:

  • Call of Cthulhu
  • Runequest
  • Heroquest
  • and more here

Egg’s Thoughts:

Sanity check. The items they’re giving away are worth a pretty penny (several hundred dollars worth). I can’t predict the final bids but this auction may give you enough swag that meeting the Chaosium team is just a wonderful bonus. You’ll have enough Cthulhu product to make you something like a minor young one… right? Right? No? Ok…

Chaosium is up for 10 ENnie Awards. Between them walking up to get their awards, you can ask about Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest and more. With this many awards, this is going to be an adrenaline rush of a night!

You’ll be at the table with Chaosium when they learn if they won ENnie Awards for:

Go here to bid on this ENnies Dream Date for GenCon 50- Chaosium!

 

* * * * *

 

So, what company or creator is your dream RPG date?

 

* * * * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

3 RPG & 1 Comic Kickstarter You Need To Back – Torg Eternity, The Lost Citadel, Triten, and Angelica Reigns

Need a genre-crossing tabletop RPG system and setting? Want to read supernatural fantasy? Interested in a wanna-lancer opportunity or concrete steps to expand gaming? I’m counting down four Kickstarter projects that range from fantasy zombie apocalypse to samurai on motorcycles and all of them look awesome!

 

4) Triten Gaming System by David Prizio
Ends on Thursday, June 29 2017 2:31 AM EDT.

“The Triten Gaming System is a fun and innovative new framework for tabletop Pen & Paper RPG’s designed to be simple and robust.

The Triten Gaming System is a whole new system of Pen & Paper RPG mechanics designed from the ground up to be both straightforward and robust, allowing for a relatively simple set of rules to work for an extremely diverse set of circumstances.  The Fantasy Manual is the first version of the Triten Gaming System which is focused on medieval fantasy.  Along with the manual, all you and your friends need are some polyhedral dice, pencils, paper, and your imagination!

Triten uses a skill-based structure instead of a level-based structure of character advancement.  Individual experience points earned as a character progresses through the world can be directly applied to any of dozens of different broadly-used Skills and additional specific, individual abilities called Talents.  Characters can also craft or purchase a wide variety of equipment and learn hundreds of different spells over 7 unique schools of magic.

This system has been in development for many years and has been though numerous playtesting campaigns with a diverse group of experienced Pen & Paper gamers who have dedicated countless hours to making this the best system it could possibly be.  The manual is now complete and is in the final stages of editing, layout, and illustrations!  We are confident that new and experienced Pen & Paper gamers alike will love this system as much as all of our playtesters have.  We just need your help to bring Triten to market!”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Let’s start with this – David Prizio, creator of the Triten gaming system, is a nice individual. I was not aware of Triten until I met David through #rpgnet. We discussed my wanna-lancer experiment and he shared his Kickstarter that happens to have some vanity press options with it. For the wanna-lancers of the world, this campaign offers the chance to create a NPC using their proprietary system and have a custom illustration done. Immortalize your character at the ground floor of a new RPG. A lot of opportunity with this. But what is the Kickstarter for? Triten is a single system that will span a variety of settings. For the opening, they’re offering a fantasy setting. I recommend checking it out if for not other reason than David is a good guy.

You can find the campaign here – Triten Gaming System

 

* * *

3) Angelica Reigns #1 by SFC
Ends on Thursday, June 29 2017 1:05 PM EDT. 

“Angelica Reigns: The Faith is a 22 page, full color action comic about a young woman being hunted by an ancient religious cult.

What are you Kickstarting?

Angelica Reigns is the first solo series of the SFC Comics line. SFC is world of super powered sports entertainment. These solo series are a chance to get to know the characters outside of the ring.

The Story: Angelica is trying to establish a life outside of the shadow of her mother’s cult and Qakare’s power. She’s a young woman in a new city making new connections. All of that is put on hold when she becomes prey to a secret society called, The Faith. They are a faceless, timeless, and secret organization with roots that go back to the crusades. Their mission is to bring purity back to this world. They have ways to track and monitor dark magic.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Let’s do another guy post – Marcel Dupree is one of the most pleasant people in comics, and the writer of Angelica Reigns. If you float around enough Kickstarters, you’ll find some incredibly likeable people. Marcel is near the top of my list. He pinged me on Facebook one day to see if I’d look at his Delilah Blast #1 Kickstarter. I did and it sold itself. Since then, we talk here and there and I follow his comic wisdom and crowd participation insights. If you are interested in knowing how the sausage of indie comics is made, I’d suggest following Marcel on Facebook.

I could talk about Angelica Reigns but Tessera Guild-mate John McGuire already has here. Let me quote him:

“This one has the feel of maybe a Buffy style of story for Angelica. A young girl, fighting against supernatural forces bigger than herself, and, from the looks of it, has a couple of friends to help her on her travels. Consider me intrigued by the overall idea.

In addition, the work Federico Sabbatini is doing on the various images they’ve shown on the Kickstarter page are very nice, almost as if someone took a series of animated cells from a tv show or movie and put them on the page.”

You can find the campaign here – Angelica Reigns #1

 

* * *

2) Torg Eternity by Ulisses Spiele
Ends on Friday, June 30 2017 9:00 PM EDT. 

“The classic cinematic multi-genre RPG returns with updated rules, settings, full-color art, and a whole new Possibility War!

Torg Eternity is a table-top roleplaying game based on the original 1990 version of Torg created by West End Games. It has been re-imagined and updated for the Near Now.

The “High Lords” came from other cosms—other realities—conquerors joined together to steal the Earth’s living energy…to consume its very Possibilities!

Each Reality Raider brought his or her own reality, or “cosm”…

…from the dark fantasy of Aysle

…to the technological oppression of the Cyberpapacy

…the savagery and exploration of the Living Land

…the diabolical pulp villains of the Nile Empire

…the Gothic horror of Orrorsh

…the action and intrigue of Pan-Pacifica

…and the terrifying, demon-ruled wasteland of Tharkold!

The High Lords impose their reality and transform everything within, draining the Earth of its Possibilities in the hopes that one of them will become an ancient and all-powerful being called the “Torg!””

Egg’s Thoughts:

While this RPG does not include any wanna-lancer/vanity press rewards, it doesn’t have to, it’s Torg! A branching from the original Torg RPG (1990s), this Kickstarter is a re-launch/expansion with revised mechanics, yet they do not invalidate the previous meta-story of Torg 1e. Not only do they have 2e available, this campaign includes everything that was ever published for Torg 1e.

I picked up the Free RPG Day Torg Eternity quickstart. It’s a variation on the upcoming Torg 2e rules. Made without using any cards (they play a large role in the standard game), this version of the rules still gives a feel of how much potential this game has. It’s an interesting concept combining genres into a single world. If you’re looking for an in-depth view of this, I attended an online Q&A with Darrell Hayhurst about Torg Eternity and Dan Davenport has the questions and answers on his blog. Read about the game from Torg Eternity game designer, Darrell Hayhurst.

By the by, Dan Davenport is as nice a person as you’ll meet. Darrell Hayhurst was extremely pleasant during the Q&A.

You can find the campaign here – Torg Eternity

 

* * *

1) The Lost Citadel — Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Roleplaying by Green Ronin Publishing
Ends on Monday, July 3 2017 3:00 AM EDT.

“Fifth Edition roleplaying in a world ravaged by death and undeath.

                                 The city is called Redoubt.

                     And as far as anyone knows, it is the last.

(map by Andrew Law)
(map by Andrew Law)

Seven decades ago, there were cities upon cities.

Kingdoms and nations; the remains of ancient empire. Cultures at war and cultures at trade. Humans, dwarves, elves, and others. Magic and monsters, rare but real. And so it was for millennia, through two dynamic ages the lorekeepers and scribes called Ascensions. 

Until the world ended.

Most call it the Fall, but whatever term a given people choose to use, it marked the time when everything changed. 

Nations crumbled. Races died. Magic sputtered. Nature sickened.

The dead woke.

Egg’s Thoughts:

When Green Ronin Publishing first discussed this product, it was in conjunction with an opportunity for women to freelance on The Lost Citadel. They didn’t talk so much about the product as what they wanted it to offer, greater diversity. I was excited about the possibility. More female representation in gaming everything benefits us all. More gamers, more GMs, more stores, more designers, more publishers, more ideas. For me, this contest is the chance to expand the industry in a real way. Green Ronin is embracing a huge swath of humanity and gaming as a whole will benefit from it. To see Green Ronin, a major 3PP (third party publisher), do this is inspiring. And I want to say congratulations to the winners: Kate Baker and Anna Landin. [EGG’S NOTE – I wish I could continue the “nice person” theme of this article but I have never spoken with K. Baker or A. Landin. That said, I’m sure they’re outstanding people. They’re certainly keeping good company.]

Beyond that freelancer opportunity, this is a 5e setting/expansion. It seems like it will be a moody combination of The Walking Dead meets Attack on Titan. Last fantasy city in a zombie apocalypse. Tragic, hopeless, dark fantasy. This Kickstarter does an excellent job of conveying the feel of the product they’re creating. I am looking forward to reading this setting and the adventure that Kate Baker and Anna Landin are designing. And I hope to see more opportunities to expand the industry coming from all quarters.

You can find the campaign here – The Lost Citadel — Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Roleplaying

The Lost Citadel – Amarset, God of the Dead

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

4 RPG & 1 Comic Kickstarter You Need To Back – Monarchies of Mau, Buccaneer: Through Hell & High Water, Route 3, A Delve in the Cave, and The S’rulyan Vault II

Want to immortalize your cat (in art)? Design a pirate or a townie NPC? Ever want to read a comic about the road trip from Hell? Need a map through the mega dungeon? Want to meet fun tabletop gamers? If you answered, yes, then you might be building a RPG resume to go from wanna-lancer to freelancer and these are some of the best vanity press crowdfunding rewards that help you learn the RPG ropes. Let’s count these campaigns down!

 

* * *

 

5) Monarchies of Mau Fantasy Tabletop RPG by Onyx Path Publishing
Ends on Thursday, June 15 2017 12:00 PM EDT. 

“Contribute to help us create a beautiful traditionally printed fantasy game book featuring cat monarchies – and get it into stores.

We want to talk to you about Monarchies of Mau. It’s a complete tabletop roleplaying game that acts as a companion game to, and is totally compatible with, my first RPG, Pugmire. The Monarchies of Mau is a nation of cats tenuously comprised of six city-states.”

Monarchies of Mau

Egg’s Thoughts:

Cats with Swords!

You either raised an eyebrow and want to click the link to the Kickstarter for this anthropomorphic cat-people in a feline fantasy setting OR you rolled your eyes and thought, “Puss in Boots… bah, Antonio Banderas! My arch-nemesis strikes again…” Clearly, you’re either pro-Planet of the Cats or you’ll be canned as Fancy Feast! There is no third option!

[EDITOR’S NOTE – Don’t listen to Egg. He wrote “cats with swords” and felt it was defining. Make your own decision on this one because he’s going to be Fancy Feast no matter what.
As always, may Gary Gygax keep and protect your dice.
]

As an added bonus, Monarchies of Mau has a pledge level in this campaign to name a feline (or canine) NPC and have it illustrated to resemble your pet. It’s an opportunity to immortalize a member of the family.

Check out Cats with Swords… er, Monarchies of Mau Fantasy Tabletop RPG by Onyx Path Publishing here.

 

* * *

 

4) 5E Adventure: A Delve in the Cave by Jamie Chambers
Ends on Friday, June 16 2017.

“A curse. A cave. A crawl. 5E fantasy adventure by Jamie Chambers!

Returning to my personal and professional gaming roots with a short adventure for 5E of the original fantasy roleplaying game—a cavern crawl built to please hack-and-slash groups and storytellers alike!

It All Started When …

I accidentally wrote a 5E fantasy RPG adventure! Wanna help me print it? This is a short campaign … it ends on June 16, 2017.”

Jamie Chamber’s Gaming Table

Egg’s Thoughts:

Due to the limited number of details about this cave crawl – it’s for 5e, there’s a curse, and a cave – you’ll need to decide on this project based on the strength of who Jamie Chambers is. So, who is he? Jamie Chambers runs Signal Fire Studios, home of the revised Metamorphosis Alpha RPG, he was a designer and line editor for TSR’s Dragonlance, and a former Vice President on the board of directors for GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association). So, who is he? He’s a gamer with a resume that speaks volumes about his skill. Top that with the fact that I discussed his IndieGoGo campaign last week and suggested that, in a perfect world and since he’s local to me, it’d be cool to meet him. He read the article and said we should make plans. Like so many folks I’ve met through wanna-lancing and gaming and comicing, Jamie’s a nice guy and for that alone this campaign is worth backing.

But, because I’m a wanna-lancer, let me add this reason to back the campaign over and above his resume and affable personality, you can create a NPC and/or playtest this adventure online with Jamie. It’s a nice extra.

You can find the IndieGoGo campaign here.

 

* * *

 

3) Route 3 by Robert Jeffrey II and Sean Damien Hill
Ends on .

“Centuries old prophecies. Shadowy government conspiracies. Super heroic action. Just a typical day for teenager Sean Anderson. Route 3.

Route 3 is a super-powered road trip from hell. A Stone Mountain, GA teen finds out he’s been granted with a set of spectacular abilities, that he knows nothing about. He’s now on the run from a wide array of folks in a sort of super powered arms race across the Southeastern United States. Explosions, gunfights, telekinetic feats of awesomeness, and a little personal growth are all thrown into the mix.

We’ve collected all three issues of the first story arc into a superb collected edition that also includes a cover page gallery, “DVD” extras, and a forward by the talented artist/ writer Takeia Marie (Contributor to Rosarium Publishing’s APB: Artists Against Police Brutality).”

Route 3

Egg’s Thoughts:

Because Robert Jeffrey is our guildmate, and we love him and Route 3, we’ve shouted out this Kickstarter as much as possible on the Tessera Guild. It’s exceeded its goal (so the collected first story arc is coming) and the campaign is moving through stretch goals. I’m a fan of the series and ready to read more of Sean Anderson’s adventures!

Check out the Kickstarter here – Route 3

 

* * *

 

2) Buccaneer: Through Hell & High Water for Savage Worlds by Fabled Environments and Yellow Piece Games
Ends on Tuesday, June 20 2017 9:00 PM EDT.

“Pirates, Vodouisants, and Witch Hunters battle each other and beasts of legend in the mystic waters of the Caribbean. Climb aboard!”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Are you a fan of Savage Worlds (2003 Origin Gamers’ Choice Award for best role-playing game)? Oh, you don’t own the rules? Well, Pinnacle Entertainment has you covered because the core rule book is $9.99 in softcover.

To compliment the game and price point, Yellow Piece Games is kickstarting their pirate setting for Savage Rules. For $15, you get a PDF of the setting and customized rules and also a PDF of pirate NPCs that you get to contribute to. For my wanna-lancer resume, this adds experience with Savage Worlds and another NPC, all for a low price point.

Check out the Kickstarter here – Buccaneer: Through Hell & High Water for Savage Worlds.

 

* * *

 

1) The S’rulyan Vault II by Kort’thalis Publishing
Ends on Thursday, June 22 2017 10:46 AM EDT.

“This project is a file/PDF for a high-resolution, printable map in both old school module blue and white, as well as, parchment color.

Basically, this is a continuation of the first S’rulyan Vault which funded on Kickstarter just over a year ago.

The S’rulyan Vault II is more of the same… but different.  Obviously, there will be a totally new dungeon layout with lots of interesting things going on.  The files can be printed off so you’ve got one massive map or four quadrants in order to easily mix and match them with each other and the previous S’rulyan Vault.

This is the DriveThruRPG product listing for the original S’rulyan Vault.

Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design will be doing the cartography, layout, and file preparation.

As for the accompanying PDF full of useful random tables and such for creating and running your own damn megadungeon!  On the fly, if you wish.  Here’s an example from Draconic Magazine.”

Example Map from the S’rulyan Vault II

Egg’s Thoughts:

Kort’thalis Publishing’s CEO (Cthulhu Excreted Officer) Venger Satanis is another nice soul. When I mentioned that I wouldn’t mind a RPG mentor in an article, Venger reached out and offered helpful advice, wanna-lancing opportunities, and, if everything works out, freelance RPG work.His help has been awesome and I cannot ask for more from a RPG professional.

Through Kort’thalis Publishing, Venger is making RPG magic. His current Kickstarter is an old-school megadungeon map. Do you need one or two system agnostic megadungeon maps? Yes. Yes, you do, and Venger has you covered.

Venger is also offering another opportunity – paid GM’ing. If you go to a con and run 8 hours of games using one of his systems/settings – Alpha Blue, Crimson Dragon Slayer, CDS 1.11, or The Outer Presence – he’ll pay you for in swag or money. You’ll need to read the description first and talk with Venger about it before you go, but being paid to GM is a cool job.

Check out the Kickstarter here – The S’rulyan Vault II. Check out his offer of paid GM’ing here.

 

* * *

 

There are a lot of great Kickstarters out there so let me add one more to the pile:

Grond 3

Grond #3 by Michael Phillips
Ends on .

“Grond is now Kallok. Obberoth is dead. Valara’s fate is decided by Ugreth. Oublar is close to getting what he desires, being Mok’Dar.”

Catch up on the back issues and support the creation of the current issue on Kickstarter here – Grond #3

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Dark Obelisk & A Delve in the Cave

Sometimes (all of the time), wanna-lancing is about gaining the experience needed to become a tabletop RPG freelancer. Other times, it’s about meeting people in the industry. This week, I look at crowdfundings that offer one of each scenario.

Dark Obelisk:Artifacts & Artifice Collection (Pathfinder/5E) by J. Evans Payne
Kickstarter campaign ends on Monday, June 12 2017 8:47 AM EDT.

Dark Obelisk – Artifacts & Artifice

“200+pp color PDF/hardcover with a wealth of magical items, each with quests, backstory, NPCs, and integration with the Dark Obelisk AP.

TL;DR: The Value Proposition

If you play Pathfinder or 5E/Fifth Edition, this book will be valuable to you.

On the fence? Check out the sample magical item, Abhorrent Naginata, available for free only during this KS campaign. It’s 10 pages of lavishly-detailed goodness, all dedicated to a single, nifty magic weapon. It’s a good example of what to expect… times dozens of items!

Obelisk-Shard Dagger illustration credit Jack Kaiser

This product is a massive, 200+ page full-color PDF and hardcover roleplaying supplement that will enhance any Pathfinder or 5E campaign in any setting.

 

Artifacts & Artifice will be a richly detailed hardcover gaming sourcebook, and companion to one of the most ambitious and massive indie RPG adventures in recent memory.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Infinium Game Studios is offering a free sample of the type of product that they’re developing through this Kickstarter. If you need major items for your campaign along with detailed backstories, related NPCs, and adventures, this has got you covered. Add to it, you can design a NPC related to one of those items or a magic item to appear in one of their two books or you can design both and an adventure. Lots of vanity press options. For these books, they’re a good mix of RPG crunch and wanna-lancing opportunity.

You can find the Kickstarter campaign here.

* * *

5E Adventure: A Delve in the Cave by Jamie Chambers
IndieGoGo (originally on GoFundMe) campaign ends on Saturday, June 17 2017.

“I accidentally wrote a 5E fantasy RPG adventure! Wanna help me print it? This is a short campaign … it ends on June 11, 2017.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Jamie Chambers wrote more on his GoFundMe page [UPDATED – This has moved from GoFundMe to IndieGoGo here. The GoFundMe total counts toward the overall total] detailing the experience of/reason for writing this adventure, not so much about the adventure itself. Let’s assume it’s a good dungeon crawl for 5e and it’s worth entertaining a quick inspection of it and its crowdfunding campaign.

From a wanna-lancing point of view, this campaign offers the opportunity to help craft a NPC and/or playtest the product with the creator. This offers the potential for face-to-face contact instead of everything between you and an established pro being type, type, type, type, type, type, and more type.

For Egg, there’s one additional opportunity here. While looking up Jamie Chambers, it turns out he lives a town or two away from where my humble home. One of the challenges of any type of entertainment freelancing is location. Live too far from where the wider professional community sits and you’re dependent on computer and phone contacts. Face-to-face causes some professionals/editors/publishers to become more invested in you as a person and creator. Human contact and all.

For my end, I live in Georgia, which has taken on a degree of prominence in the TV production world. But, for many other creative endeavors, it’s pretty far from where the action’s at. The potential to meet a local creator to network with is an opportunity to break out my rusty speaking skills instead of typing… Always typing. Will Jamie want to meet me? That’s CLEARLY not part of the crowdfunding campaign so I have no illusions that he’s dying to meet a dude named Egg. Heck, he’s not too far away, he may know some Embry’s and be feeling Hatfield toward McCoy, you know. Still, an interesting possibility of an “extra”. When looking at wanna-lancer opportunities, this is a bonus. The potential to meet someone in the industry outside of a convention is worth looking into.

You can find the IndieGoGo campaign here.

 

* * *

 

 

My Tessera Guild-mate, Robert (Route 3) Jeffrey II, is still running his Kickstarter as is my friend and publisher, Michael (Grond) Phillips. I cannot recommend checking out these Kickstarters enough!

Route 3

Route 3 by Robert Jeffrey II and Sean Damien Hill
Ends on .

“Centuries old prophecies. Shadowy government conspiracies. Super heroic action. Just a typical day for teenager Sean Anderson. Route 3.”

Check out the Kickstarter here – Route 3

Grond 3

Grond #3 by Michael Phillips
Ends on .

“Grond is now Kallok. Obberoth is dead. Valara’s fate is decided by Ugreth. Oublar is close to getting what he desires, being Mok’Dar.”

Catch up on the back issues and support the creation of the current issue on Kickstarter here – Grond #3

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

200 Word RPG – Memories

In my experiment to jump from tabletop RPG wanna-lancer to freelancer, there are games and games and games that need to be read and played. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Every new game is a chance to learn or a chance to be awed. Today’s inspirational game is a find from the 200 Word RPG Challenge. Since 2015, the 200 Word RPG Challenge solicits game designers to create a full RPG using only 200 words. For the uninitiated, most RPGs can’t get across their full rules in 200 pages. Putting a hard limit on the number of words you can use to describe the game rules, and setting that number lower than a post-bankruptcy credit score, makes this difficult in the extreme. To design any coherent game with that word limit is an amazing accomplishment. Santiago Eximeno’s Memories doesn’t just answer the challenge, it offers a game that is an emotional roller coaster. That’s delivering so much in so small a package that I had to share this game and take my hat off to the creator’s accomplishment.

Santiago Eximeno‘s Memories, reprinted in its entirety under the CC-BY-4.0 License.

Memories • 2017rpgwinner

Santiago Eximeno • www.eximeno.com

You are elderly people in a Nursing home. No one comes to see you anymore. You want to talk with others, tell them about your life, your dreams, and your memories.

Sit around a table. Get nine matches and an ashtray. Cut a paper sheet in nine pieces and write a word in each piece. These words are your conversation topics.

CHILD  LOVE  SPOUSE  WORK  FRIEND  GAME  TRAVEL  GRANDCHILD  HOME

One of you take a piece of paper and begins to talk about the topic in it. While speaking he lights a match and set fire to the paper in the ashtray. All of you talk about the proposed topic until the paper is consumed. Then a new elder takes another piece of paper and proceeds in the same way, but all of you have forgotten your memories related to the previous topic. You cannot use them in the new conversation. If the memories are necessary (for example, you must have CHILD in order to have GRANDCHILD), you must justify it in another way.

Finish when the nine pieces of paper have been burned —and, with them, all your memories.

 

200 Word RPG Challenge judge Brent Newhall called this game a “gut punch”. I’ve never played a game that crafts this amount of emotion through the rules. I’ve had emotional gaming sessions but the rules rarely drove the sentiment. The flames and the burning of memories while you are trying to maintain a coherent character and personality is a challenge that calls for a special kind of player. The frustration that the player experiences as they realize that they cannot use that prior memory because it’s gone evokes the exact atmosphere this game dwells in. Memories is a well-considered and realized approach to gaming in 200 words. It proves that amazing games are not just found in thick tomes, that the execution of the concept is what matters. Clearly, this would not be an easy game to play from an emotional point of view but one that may generate a lasting memory.

Santiago Eximeno’s website is here and find Memories on his website here. The 200 Word RPG Challenge, with more free entries to play, can be found here.

 

 

* * *

 

 

My Tessera Guild-mate, Robert (Route 3) Jeffrey II, is still running his Kickstarter as is my friend and publisher, Michael (Grond) Phillips. I cannot recommend checking out these Kickstarters enough!

Route 3

Route 3 by Robert Jeffrey II and Sean Damien Hill
Ends on .

“Centuries old prophecies. Shadowy government conspiracies. Super heroic action. Just a typical day for teenager Sean Anderson. Route 3.”

Check out the Kickstarter here – Route 3

Grond 3

Grond #3 by Michael Phillips
Ends on .

“Grond is now Kallok. Obberoth is dead. Valara’s fate is decided by Ugreth. Oublar is close to getting what he desires, being Mok’Dar.”

Catch up on the back issues and support the creation of the current issue on Kickstarter here – Grond #3

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Maximum Mayhem Dungeons: Monsters of Mayhem #1 & Opilan: Destiny Rising

Want to expand your tabletop RPG writing and resume? In the process of broadening your horizons, do you want to create an alien superhero near-god? Want to make a monster with a wicked twist and have it drawn? Then these role-playing game Kickstarters offer just the opportunities for you.

* * *

Opilan Destiny Rising

Opilan: Destiny Rising by Andrew Gillies
Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday, June 4 2017 9:01 AM EDT.

“A Superpower Tabletop Pen and Paper game with heavy mytho-scifi overtones. Prove your worth, become a God!

What is Opilan: Destiny Rising?

Intended to be a superhero pen and paper roleplaying game, this original idea has been taken to a new level, involving 12 distinct races (including humanity), a pantheon of 11 gods, and a galactic setting of intrigue and lore. The game is highly variable for Narrators (GMs) who want to have truly unique campaigns that cross genres and levels of technology in their campaigns. Mythos, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Superhero are all fair game in ODR. We wanted to make the game that we wanted to play and so we drew inspiration from our favorite games, movies, comics, myths, and stories into this original concept. Chances are if you want to make a character parallel to your favorite character from any media, you have that option. With an engaging system that grows in complexity as characters do, the pace of play and breadth of your adventure comes down to what kind of experience you want to gain.

Find out more at deadlydemongames.com

The System

The game utilizes a complete D6 (six sided die) system and builds in complexity at higher levels for characters in a natural progression which won’t bog down beginners. Central to the entire game are the Methods and Powers which make up the Origins of characters who are not limited to perusing only one avenue to true greatness. In order for players to feel like a superhero, and to further the sense of growing power, damage has a multiplier, specific to a character’s prowess. To accelerate character progression and further engage players, we added a means of gaining experience for each action performed without bloating the system. Incorporated into the system are rule-sets which can adjust the standard rules. These can be taken whole, or piecemeal, allowing a Narrator to tailor the game to their specific group of players.

Opilan Destiny Rising

Tier 6 to 8 Contributors includes:

  • Player’s Handbook – Hardcover
  • Beta Narrator’s Guide – PDF
  • Beta Story Arc – PDF
  • Tier 6 – Create a Character – Cameo ($50)
  • Tier 7 – Create a Character – Serial ($100)
  • Tier 8 – Create a Monster ($150)”

* * *

Egg’s Thoughts:

The setting appears to mix religion and powers and sci-fi to create a universe of options. The gods provide some powers while technology provides others. The odd race out are the humans… What is this species origin? Evolution or divine creation or something else?

With Opilan: Destiny Rising, you get to work within a brand new role-playing game system and create a NPC or monster from a literal universe of options. It’s the ground floor of a new creative endeavor and the chance to go wild with a character/creature that does not have to be from the “logic” of our world, this is a winner! The possibilities make this a system worth checking out.

 

Find this Kickstarter campaign here – Opilan: Destiny Rising

 

* * *

 

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons- Monsters of Mayhem #1 Cover

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons: Monsters of Mayhem #1 by Mark Taormino
Kickstarter campaign ends on .

“Monsters supplement used with OSRIC or adapted to 1st Ed AD&D, 5e, DCC, Pathfinder, D20, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry

Are you a DM looking for something offbeat and different than the usual monster supplements? Do you like our Maximum Mayhem classic old school dungeon modules with outrageous villains, over the top monsters and wicked encounters? Do you want some cinematic, fun, memorable, challenging monsters to coldly and callously toss at your players to crush and destroy them in awesome and humiliating ways?

If you answered “HELL YES!” to those questions then Maximum Mayhem Dungeons: Monsters of Mayhem #1 is the supplement for your campaign and adventures!

MONSTERS OF MAYHEM #1 is 32+ page SOFTCOVER PRINT BOOK or PDF ONLY BOOK of new monsters with stats, descriptions and lots of cool original artwork! This supplement contains dozens of new creatures written with the usual Maximum Mayhem style humor and wickedness with hit dice ranging from 1 to 14. These all can be played with the OSRIC system or easily adapted to AD&D, D&D 1e to 5e, Pathfinder, D20 System, etc or any fantasy role playing system you may want to use!

Example art for Maximum Mayhem Dungeons- Monsters of Mayhem

Pledge $75 or more

MAKE A MONSTER AND GIVE ME IT ALL!

You get to create a monster in the supplement! (pending Dark Wizard Games overall edits and approval) You will get the PDF file of our Maximum Mayhem Dungeons: Monsters of Mayhem #1 book and ALL FOUR of our previous Maximum Mayhem Dungeon PDF modules: Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen, Secret Machines of the Star Spawn, Villains of the Undercity and Vault of the Dwarven King! Each PDF module will also include the PDF rewards associated with the respective module as well! You will also get a poster size 24″ x 36″ PDF file of the front cover of the supplement and our PDF of SIX different classic player character sheet designs!

Their tiers above this also include monster creation.”

* * *

Egg’s Thoughts:

Want to design a monster? Something twisted and worthy of the gaming table? Believe in yourself because you know you have one (or a dozen) of them in you… Hmm, that might be a real concern… Sorry… I shouldn’t judge your inner-internet-troll… Nevertheless, this is the opportunity to share it with the world! Design an in-depth monster and let the world see it!

ART! This Kickstarter is not shy about sharing their art and it ranges from cartoony to serious pen and ink. That’s a good choice on their part because this campaign stands out for its beautiful artwork that recalls superhero comic books and Frank Frazetta’s pencils and inks. It gives the products a unique, sharp look.

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons- Monsters of Mayhem

Because of their art, the sweet spot for this Kickstarter is the $125 pledge level – get the book, PDFs, design a monster, and they’ll draw it! As stellar as their art is, it’d be worth the extra money to see your monster fully visualized. Of course, that means you need to step up the visuals of your monster. No gelatinous cubes will work here. This needs to be a monster that is as visually scary as it is psychologically engaging at the gaming table and something that an artist will enjoy bringing to life.

 

Find this Kickstarter campaign here – Maximum Mayhem Dungeons: Monsters of Mayhem #1

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Kickstart the Game – Heroes of the Great War: Limanowa 1914

Since the start of writing words on the Tessera Guild, I’ve focused my column on tabletop RPG Kickstarters with a vanity press reward level. It’s helped me to build a RPG resume, write amazingly fun content, participate in contributing content for a Kickstarted project, obtain freelance work, get to co-write a comic book one-shot as well as a mini-series, and, best of all, get to talk to new folks across the world about gaming of all types. Being a wanna-lancer has been a win for me and will continue to be as I write articles about my experiment.

However, this week, I’m kicking off another series – Kickstart the Game (thanks for the title, John). This series will focus on gaming Kickstarters that look like they’re worth every penny and then some but do not offer any vanity press options. Instead, they make up for it awesomeness.

To kick this series off, I took a suggestion to look at a WWI board game…

Heroes of the Great War: Limanowa 1914 by Gladiator Games
Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday, June 2 2017 6:00 AM EDT

Heroes of the Great War Limanowa 1914

“Command genuine Great War units, cooperate with your allies and rewrite history in this tactical-scale war board game for 1-4 players.

Heroes of the Great War: Limanowa 1914 is a tactical board game set in the Eastern Front of World War I, focusing on the events near Krakow and the region of Galicia in December 1914. This territory was under heavy attack by the Tsarist Russian Empire, which tried to break through the ever thinner lines of the Austro-Hungarian armies. Over two-thirds of the well-equipped Russian forces were pushed against this front, winning victory after victory, occupying city after city, gaining the infamous name, the Russian Steamroller. In November 1914 the Austro-Hungarian High Command planned a desperate counterattack, by taking advantage of what seemed to be an error in the Russian maneuvers.

Heroes of the Great War Limanowa 1914 – Example Miniatures

Players can choose to assume the command of both fighting sides, either leading the VIIth or VIIIth Russian Corps to victory or facing the enemy with either the Hadfy Group or Szurmay Group. With the help of their combat units, each represented by highly detailed 28mm miniatures, players lead skirmishes, plan maneuvers over various terrains, set traps using secret battlecards and lay sieges to fortified towns. The units are based on real life Great War-era military units, mimicking their functionality and looks as much as possible. Except of some smaller scenarios, the armies are accompanied by one or more Generals, each based on battle hardened men of their own time, coming with combat abilities special to them.

Heroes of the Great War Limanowa 1914 – Map

The Hussar Colonel Box is our all-in-one offer: it includes the base game, all miniatures and stretch goals, and a Kickstarter Exclusive, metallic Acting Player badge – a total value of £90 for the price of £70. This box is only available during the Kickstarter campaign, and won’t be released in retail – this is your only chance to get one!”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Irma Dalakanitzkova pointed out this board game and Kickstarter in the comments of another article I did here on the Guild. I wanted to launch a side column that focuses on non-vanity press Kickstarters and this board game felt like an excellent start.

Heroes of the Great War: Limanowa 1914 follows a key, but underreported, World War I battle that could have hastened the outcome of the entire conflict. Like so much of WWI, the battle had the potential to change the world but, instead, of knocking the Central Powers out of the war before 1918, it led to more slaughter, no immediate victory, and stagnation.

As a subject, WWI is the study of carnage and mismanagement of such epic proportions it is morbidly fascinating. Setting a strategy game of this quality (and apparent cost) among a war famous for its trench warfare and general lack of strategic execution is bolder than Lawrence’s attempts to ignite an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. By having Heroes of the Great War focus on a campaign from the Eastern Front, the creators have the opportunity to show a different view of the war with both sides moving and operating at a reasonably effective and lethal ability when engaging each other. The game offers a number of gaming options (versus, solo, cooperative) in a product as professional looking as the British Expeditionary Force at the start of the Great War.

Heroes of the Great War – Example Figures

If you’re curious about how the game will be presented and play, there are a number of video examples of what you’ll receive and how it’ll work on your tabletop. The miniatures and map look crisp and offer a view of the level of quality they’re striving for. This game has the potential to remake the perception of WWI as *just* a trench war and shed light on the other major front and the strategy utilized there.

If you’re looking for a board game that allows you to re-create history, check out the Kickstarter for Heroes of the Great War: Limanowa 1914 by Gladiator Games.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Three Gaming Kickstarters You Need To Back (by May 24th, 2017)

Ever want to role-play a western? Want to make your 5e fighters even more lethal? Got a board game idea and you just need the pieces to get it started? If that’s the case, Kickstarter has a game and two game aids that end by Wednesday May 24th that are begging for your attention! The countdown is on!

The White Box

 

3) The White Box: A Game Design Workshop-in-a-Box by Gameplaywright
Ends on Wednesday, May 17 2017 9:00 PM EDT.

Who wants to build a better board game? Or any board game? Need the components and some pointers from the professionals? The White Box is the product for you. Get the parts you need to build your game, a book of professional essays on the subject of game-making, and make it happen!

My write up of this product is here and the link to the Kickstarter campaign is here.

Fifth Edition Fighter Folio

 

2) Fifth Edition Fighter Folio & Condition Cards by Total Party Kill Games
Ends on Monday, May 22 2017 12:59 AM EDT.

Want to make your 5e fighter the best they can be? Want to use ideas from a company called Total Party Kill Games that strives to live up to their name? The Fifth Edition Fighter Folio & Condition Cards are for you! I am proud that I had the chance to contribute some ideas to this product and I can’t wait to read them in print!

My write up of the folio is here and the campaign is here.

 

1) Aces & Eights: Reloaded by Kenzer & Company
Ends on Wednesday, May 24 2017 12:00 AM EDT.

Want to role-play in an alternate history wild west? Want to “relive the glory days of the ‘West that never was’?” Aces & Eights: Reloaded is the second edition and 10th anniversary edition “of the world’s best selling, state-of-the-art, game-of-the-year wild west role playing game”. This isn’t just the game of western shootouts, this is the game of the 1800s with all professions open to you. This is the game could answer how the west was won.

For those looking to add a wanna-lancer, vanity press RPG credit to their resume, this campaign has several options to immortalize your NPC in a supplement or the main book. You can create an original Woman With No Name and have her live out countless stories across the wild west from the tabletops of gamers everywhere.

You can reach the Kickstarter campaign here.

Aces & Eights Reloaded

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – The White Box: A Game Design Workshop-in-a-Box

Do you want to create a board game? Have an idea but need the board and pieces to test it out? Looking for design ideas from professionals? This may be the option you didn’t even realize you needed.

The White Box: A Game Design Workshop-in-a-Box by Gameplaywright

“From savvy advice to myriad bits, The White Box has everything you need to start creating the game in your head.

Almost everyone who’s ever played a game has had an idea for how to make it better. To tweak it, improve it, or even build something new from its miniatures, cards, cubes, and concepts.

At Gameplaywright and Atlas Games, we think making games is awesome. We believe it’s one of the most challenging, fun, rewarding things you can do. If you’ve ever thought about making a game of your own, we want to help.

We made The White Box for you.

The White Box is a learning, planning, and prototyping tool for tabletop game designers.

It contains a book of 18 essays on game design and production, covering subjects like where to find a great concept, how to use randomness, what to ask playtesters, and whether it’s wise to self-publish.

It includes an abundance of components to get you started right away, from cubes and meeples to dice, discs, and chits.

Maybe you have a golden idea inside you burning to come out. Maybe you want to tell a story or explore a problem. Do you dream of seeing your name on a box at your local game store? Or perhaps you see game design as a path to fame, fortune, and a satisfying career.

The White Box is for aspiring professionals, creative young people, and literally anyone who’s ever wanted to build their own game without having to plunder their game library for bits.

If you believe creating games is awesome, The White Box is for you.

 

* * *

 

The White Box

Egg’s Thoughts:

Let’s step away from my usual topic – vanity press tabletop RPGs and resume building – and look at a board game. Not a playable board game, but one you’ll create. If you want to construct your own board game, this is going to simplify the process by giving you all of the building blocks.

The White Box offers all the parts you’ll need to design your own game. No need to cut out pieces to play with or get poster board game maps that cannot be folded up or spend time addressing the components needed to play instead of, you know, playtesting your idea. With the White Box, you have the pieces needed to go right into rolling dice for your ideas, all in one box. Add to that, a book loaded with design philosophy and you’re ready to hit the ground running.

Like the Kickstarter says, “[y]ou have a golden game inside of you” and I agree. I have one that’s been in my head for about a year and the White Box will help to bring it into the physical world. For the price – $38 shipped in the US – you can take a chance and design that game that’s been waiting to leap out of your head.

 

* * *

 

Fifth Edition Fighter Folio by TPK Games

 

Let me shift the focus from board games back to my usual love, RPGs. In this case, the Kickstarter for TPK Games’ Fifth Edition Fighter Folio & Condition Cards. Through my wanna-lancing, I contributed some fighter subclass ideas for this project and I can’t wait to read the finalized versions. Last week, I did a write up of my involvement here. Take a moment to check out their Kickstarter. This is going to add flavor and challenge enough to your gaming table to live up to the company’s name – Total Party Kill.

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Fifth Edition Fighter Folio & Condition Cards

One of the tabletop RPG Kickstarters that I backed and did a vanity press contribution to – Slaughter at Splinterfang Gorge by Total Party Kill Games – led to an opportunity to contribute ideas to their latest Kickstarter project, the Fifth Edition Fighter Folio. Want to amp up your 5e fighters? Read on.

Fifth Edition Fighter Folio by TPK Games

Fifth Edition Fighter Folio & Condition Cards by Total Party Kill Games

“We are making a Fighter’s Handbook character resource and Condition Cards compatible with 5E Dungeons & Dragons.

Fight for glory… fight for honor… but know HOW to fight!

Total Party Kill Games presents The Fighter Folio, a player and GM sourcebook compatible with the fifth edition (5E) of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game. Also included is a gorgeous set of our 5E condition cards, giving you four of every condition, including the ones from TPK’s hugely popular Fifth Edition Options title.”

Preview of Fifth Edition Fighter Folio Pages 11 and 12

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

TPK Games 5e Products

Total Party Kill Games has a list of 5e products. The one I’m most familiar with is Slaughter at Splinterfang Gorge. This adventure was a hard slog that was well worth the price of admission. That is what TPK Games is known for, hard fights, no cakewalks.

I had the chance to contribute some magic items to Slaughter at Splinterfang Gorge. Those items led to an invitation to contribute sub-classes to the Fifth Edition Fighter Folio. I was honored to be allowed to contribute to both products. With their latest Kickstarter, I expect the Fifth Edition Fighters Folio to add a new level of challenge to 5e.

While I am biased (I had a lot of fun working on both projects), I recommend checking out Fifth Edition Fighter Folio & Condition Cards by Total Party Kill Games. I am ready to add the finished product to my gaming table.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Alternity 2017 and Green Ronin Publishing Talent Search

Ready to design a planet? Seriously, a planet. Your business card could read, “[INSERT NAME], Planetary Architect and Wanna-lancer”. If that, or trying out for Green Ronin Publishing’s female-centric RPG talent hunt, appeals to you, read on.

Alternity from Sasquatch Game Studio

Alternity 2017 – A Science Fiction Roleplaying Game by Sasquatch Game Studio LLC
Kickstarter campaign ends on Thursday, May 4 2017 11:59 PM EDT.

“A modular Science Fiction Tabletop Roleplaying game limited only by your imagination. Choose your future!

Alternity is back—and it’s better than ever!

Strange new worlds and deadly aliens? Mercenaries for hire? Post-apocalyptic survival? Explore your favorite visions of sci-fi adventure in the new Alternity Science Fiction Roleplaying Game from Sasquatch Game Studio.

Many Worlds, One Game: The Alternity Core Rulebook includes a wealth of campaign-building guidance and a modular rules design so that you can model your favorite SF setting or create your own. We’re also launching with one “pre-built” setting, our Protostar universe . . . but we’ve got plans for more worlds if you want ’em! We plan to unlock at least one more setting through our stretch goals for the project.

Alternity Rule Books

What’s your future?

In 1997, Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker created the original Alternity game—a powerful tabletop RPG engine for science fiction adventure across a wide range of genres. Now, twenty years later, Sasquatch Game Studio is creating a new sci-fi RPG inspired by the original game. We’re rebuilding the game mechanics to take advantage of 20 years of advancement in the art of game design. We’re marrying bold new ideas and exciting new subgenres to the original scope and vision of the Alternity game. And we’re bringing it all together in a convenient, full-color, handsomely illustrated Core Rulebook with supporting adventures and sourcebooks.

But don’t wait for the Kickstarter to finish! A Beta Test release of the Alternity game is currently available as a free download on DriveThruRPG! The Beta release includes an overview of the rules, an introductory scenario, and a sample adventure. We’ll be collecting feedback from testers and backers throughout the coming weeks to make Alternity awesome!

Want to see more about the development process? Visit our website at: http://www.sasquatchgamestudio.com/Alternity and check out our Alternity Design Blogs!

* * *

Alternity or Primeval Thule? Alternity is going to look amazing!

Sasquatch Game Studio is the design team behind the Primeval Thule Campaign Setting and the Princes of the Apocalypse campaign adventure for 5e. Our Alternity team includes the creators of the original game published by TSR. You can learn more about us and our products at www.sasquatchgamestudio.com.”

* * *

Egg’s Thoughts:

Sasquatch Game Studio, the designers behind Primeval Thule Campaign Setting, produced the first vanity press purchase I participated in. That setting – best described as Conan meets Cthulhu – stands tall among the 5e products I’ve bought along the way. The quality of their production (writing, direction, and art) is second to none.

Using Primeval Thule as a guide post, I think Alternity will be one of the best sci-fi products available. Being a new, wholly original iteration of the original TSR game, Alternity will provide both a retro-fix and break new ground.

As an added bonus, they have a vanity press pledge level that allows you to name and design a planet for their Protostar Mission Guide, the first campaign setting for Alternity. Ever had a whole sci-fi planet you wanted to design? Here’s your chance to do that and work with some of the top talent in the RPG industry. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this enough.

* * *

Green Ronin Publishing’s Talent Search Submissions are open!

“This is just one part of Green Ronin’s larger and ongoing diversity initiative. In this specific case, we’re interested in hearing from women-identified and non-binary individuals with a passion for dark fantasy. What we’d like to see are writing samples that illustrate a grasp of the elements typically involved in RPGs: rules design, world-building/setting write-ups, character profiles, and fiction vignettes, as well as writing that aims to hybridize these elements. Familiarity with the Lost Citadel property is not a requirement at this stage.

We will be accepting your submissions from today until May 15th and the winner will be announced to the public as part of our Lost Citadel Kickstarter on June 6th.

  • Submissions should be no longer than 3,000 total words.
  • Submissions should be sent with an introductory email that includes your name and contact information; during the evaluation stage we will be stripping the submissions of identifying information and assigning each a code number as part of a blind reading so they can be judged without regard to name, existing reputation (or lack thereof), or anything other than the quality of the work.
  • Submissions should be saved as a document file and sent as an email attachment to lostcitadelrpg@greenronin.com. Don’t worry about heavy formatting, tone-appropriate font choices, or other stylistic flourishes.

While the setting is dark fantasy and its core expression will be in 5E, you are NOT required to adhere to those specifics in your submissions. We welcome submissions featuring mechanics from any edition, or those for our in-house system (AGE), or even those featuring other popular systems you feel might be dark fantasy-appropriate.

Green Ronin Publishing – Lost Citadel

Keep in mind that this is not a math test disguised as a talent search. While submitting a well constructed Pathfinder stat block may be acceptable, it doesn’t go very far toward showcasing one’s talent and/or ability as a writer, only one’s ability to do math. Remember, the idea is to make a strong impression with your writing.

By submitting your work for evaluation, you represent that you are the sole author of the material being submitted, agree that Green Ronin and its agents have the right to read your submissions for the purposes of this search, and acknowledge that Green Ronin is under no obligation to use, buy, license, or adapt your talent search submission for any other use.”

* * *

Egg’s Manplanation:

Green Ronin Publishing is a Top Five RPG publisher. To be picked by them during this talent search would be a career jumpstart. Add to that, they’re targeting the expansion of the RPG industry by getting more women behind the keyboard. If you meet the above criteria and want to test out the freelance RPG waters, this is the talent hunt for you.

* * *

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Wanna-Lancer Opportunity – EN World Freelancer

This week, I’m looking at a success – I translated my wanna-lancer credits into a freelance opportunity and you can, too. Become a freelance RPG journalist through the open call on this major RPG news site. Read on for more details.

* * *

EN World – Freelance Columnists Required!

EN World, one of the largest “DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and PATHFINDER RPG news” websites in the world, is looking for new contributors for their community-generated content program. They’re requesting pitches for ongoing 500-word articles examining RPG news, industry coverage, commentary on gaming and the gaming community, gamer-interest profiles, and focused reviews of games. It’s an exciting offer because, if they accept your pitch, it’s freelancer work that grows your RPG profile.

If you want to write about games and be paid for it, you can find their open call for freelance columnists here. Their guidelines and how to contact them are here.

* * *

My favorite piece of art from the FirstFable Guide Book. Art by Charlie Bates

After reading about this opportunity, I pitched several column series ideas, and my wanna-lancer resume, to EN World. A portion of one of the ideas caught the submissions editor’s interest. He asked for a new pitch focusing on reviews for children’s games. I was stoked that he spotted a diamond in the rough. I re-wrote the pitch, he approved it. I wrote my first article, he had only short, helpful notes. I adjusted the article and the review, entitled Gaming at the Kids’ Table: The FirstFable RPG, can be read on EN World here.

My blog series on the Tessera Guild is about buying and building my RPG resume to move from a wanna-lancer to a freelancer. A big piece of the puzzle has been filled in with this freelance column on EN World. Does this mean that wanna-lancing is over? No. One assignment does not a freelancer make. But, it’s a positive step.

I want to thank EN World for offering this opportunity. A big thank you to Submissions Editor Christopher Helton for seeing something worth publishing. I also want to thank the Tessera Guild for letting me write here. Every article exercises the writing gears and helps get me ready for future assignments.

Thank you all!

* * *

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Wanna-Lancer Opportunity – Kickstarter for Sorghum & Spear

Why do I invest in RPG Kickstarters? Beyond the products, it’s to get the experience and writing credits to build a tabletop role-playing game resume. This week, I’m looking at a way to translate my wanna-lancer credits into an opportunity – a fantasy comic book series that seems designed with RPGs in mind.

[Ok, ok, ok… really, I’m looking for a way to push a worthwhile comic by a nice guy!… But there will be the potential for a RPG tie-in.]

Sorghum & Spear Art by Welinthon Nommo

Sorghum & Spear by Green County Creative
Kickstarter campaign ends on Monday, April 17 2017 7:00 PM EDT.

John McGuire did a fantastic write-up of Green County Creative’s Kickstarter for their comic book, Sorghum & Spear on the Tessera Guild. I’m a fan of the property, I’ve met creator/writer Dedren Snead at the Atlanta Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo (super nice guy), I was happy to back the project, and I’m ready to read this comic book.

What is Sorghum & Spear? Sorghum & Spear is a fantasy saga that follows a group of amazing young girls who are called upon in a time of war to become the last line of defense against the Spora; a pantheon of demons bent on destroying their people and conquering the Eternal Realm.

Green Country Creative is producing an amazing comic for everyone to enjoy while dedicating it to people of color. Through this Kickstarter, Dedren is on a mission to make the world a better place. The Kickstarter has a charitable element that gives to Project Have Hope “to empower women in the Acholi Quarter of Uganda by providing education to both the women and their children and assisting the women to establish business opportunities to promote economic stability and sustainability.

Sorghum & Spear – Marlannah.         Dedren Snead and Welinthon Nommo’s character designs would be perfect for a RPG character sheet.

In the comic book, the story is a fantasy tale of young warrior women maturing into their independence and life juxtaposed against demons and war and last hopes. High fantasy told in comic book form.

The centerpiece of any comic is the artwork. Welinthon Nommo’s art for the covers, posters, and concepts elevates this sword and soul comic series. His work has enough dynamic power to leap off a comic book store shelf and go home with a happy reader. Like White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade used Tim Bradstreet’s art to define the aesthetic of their World of Darkness, I hope to see Green County Creative use Welinthon’s work as their baseline. Its kinetic imagery combined with cell shading colors really makes the world feel vibrant and the characters pop. Just the few images available through the Kickstarter sold me.

Sorghum & Spear – Namazzi.        Dedren Snead and Welinthon Nommo’s character designs would be perfect for a RPG character sheet.

The property, with its story and art style, is ready to jump medias. They’re exploring animation and Sorghum & Spear has a back-of-the-napkin plan to expand into RPGs.

Now, don’t let me put words into other company’s months. Dedren has not launched an official RPG or, as far as I know, conceptualized the game. But the Kickstarter for the comic book has already reached its goal and continues to grow. That’s the first sign there’s real interest and that can translate into additional products.

Because that’s a positive sign, we’ve exchanged a few words and, assuming the RPG morphs from thought to form, I believe we’ll talk again about what I can do to bring this property from comic books to tabletops. If all goes well, I hope to collaborate with Green County Creative on a module or other RPG options. I’m looking forward to that day.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Underworld Races & Classes

Playing in the subterranean underworld in 5e or Pathfinder? Need some more races (monsters), societies, and classes? AAW Games has the Kickstarter for you!

Underworld Races & Classes – Funglet

Underworld Races & Classes — 5th Edition & Pathfinder RPG by AAW Games
Kickstarter campaign ends on .

Help us put our Underworld Races & Classes into a massive tome with new racial traits, feats, archetypes, magic items, and spells!

The Underworld Races & Classes tome for 5th Edition and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (two separate books) includes devious drow, deep mining svirfneblin, psychedelic funglets, beautiful, semi-crystalline colliatur and more: a total of 14 new races and over 25 classes clocking in at 250+ pages!

In 2014 AAW Games released the ENnie Award nominated Rise of the Drow mega-adventure along with various source books, injecting a huge dose of the wonder of spelunking back into the deep realms of the games we all know and love.

Critical acclaim and fan demand prompted the creation of individual books, featuring new races and classes born from the darkness and alien splendor of the caves below as well as detailed notes on the cultures and histories of these proud people. 

The frontier of the deep, its black horizons with their phosphorescent lights, deserves unique heroes and villains to populate the crystal-studded caverns, black subterranean lakes and mushroom jungles.

Using feedback obtained from numerous fans, play-testers, and reviewers we have completely revised and expanded upon all of our races & classes and combined them into one rock-solid volume for each system, suitable as darker, weirder and more insidious companions to your Pathfinder RPG and 5th Edition core books.

 

* * *

 

Underworld Races & Classes – 5e Layout

Underworld Races & Classes – Pathfinder Layout

 

Looking at these layouts, AAW is clearly thinking about how the source systems should be presented and not doing a simple copy and paste with only the stats tweaked.

Underworld Races & Classes – 5e and Pathfinder Cover Mock-Ups

 

While this Kickstarter does not feature any vanity press options (my usual barometer for pledging for RPG Kickstarters), I’m featuring it because:

  • it offers more races and classes – all of them specific to the underworld – to expand your game. The art and the write ups look great and you can’t – CAN’T – go wrong with fungus folk! [EDITOR’S NOTE – Mileage may vary on one’s love of fungus-based PCs… and fungus-based players.]
    • 14 Underworld Races
    • Detailed discussions of each of the race’s society and interactions
    • 25+ Underworld Classes
    • Additional Drow Domain Details (AD&D&D?)
  • I had an opportunity to do an early review of the Kickstarter and offer suggestions on it. The version of the Kickstarter that is posted now is more dynamic than the first two versions I read and better showcases the products that they are offering. Add to that it was funded in the first hour and you’ll realize that AAW games is knocking these books out of the park.

This is basically the Underworld Player’s Handbook and any campaign set underground will benefit from this resource.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Three RPG Kickstarters You Need To Back (by March 31st, 2017)

Looking for adventures, or maps, or a whole new tabletop RPG experience? Want to create an emotion-driven supervillain, or a weird magic item, or a custom dungeon map? Well, Kickstarter has three tabletop role-playing games that end this Friday, March 31st that cover all of that and more. The countdown is on!

3) Trinity of Awesome Returns! by Kort’thalis Publishing

Ends on Friday, March 31 2017 12:01 AM EST.

Get three adventures (one fantasy, one 80s sci-fi, and one pulp horror) for $7 or get the adventures and write content for them for $17. This Kickstarter is funded and close to reaching its first stretch goal! Want more details on the vanity press option, click here.

Trinity of Awesome Returns Art

2) Sensational: A Superpowered RPG where Empathy Matters by Thomas Constantine Moore

Ends on Friday, March 31 2017 3:48 PM EST.

A full superhero tabletop role-playing game for $5 or create content for it starting at $20. The core mechanic – your character’s powers are based on their emotional state – is destined to inspire in-character role-playing at the gaming table! Funded and working on the stretch goals! Looking for a more details on how Hulk Mad = Hulk Smash? Click here.

1) The Big Book of Maps (for Tabletop Roleplaying Games) by Justin Andrew Mason 

Ends on Friday, March 31 2017 10:oo PM EST.

Over 150 RPG fantasy maps served up three ways (several GM and player versions) starting at $10 or get a map commissioned for $80 (with lots of options in-between). Fully funded and wrecking stretch goals (adding sets of map icons)! This one may cover every lair and encounter your party will crawl for the foreseeable future. Need to see some samples and a little more detail on the custom map? Click here.

The Big Book of Maps

If you have the spare coin and love tabletop RPGs or, if you’re like me and building a RPG resume to jump from wanna-lancer to freelancer, these offer golden opportunities!

* * *

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Sensational: A Superpowered RPG where Empathy Matters

Want to make a supervillain? Want to have others play your villain and use her/him/it in their adventures? Want to see your villain published in a new tabletop role-playing game? Want to be credited for it? If you answered yes to any of these, read on.

Sensational: A Superpowered RPG where Empathy Matters by Thomas Constantine Moore
Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday, March 31 2017 3:48 PM EST.

You’re a 19-year-old runaway in an unfamiliar city. You have superpowers–but you can only use them when you’re happy. So yeah… you might be screwed.

Jump into a superhero RPG unlike any other, where your character’s powers can only be accessed through a specific emotion. Lift cars over your head, heal your friends, punch holes in the Moon, but only if you’re sad, or sickened, or surprised.

* * *

Pledge $25 or more

The Hole You Punched in Your Wall

You were so angry, you decided to make a supervillain about it.

INCLUDES:

  • Name and Design a Canon Villain in the Core Setting
  • ‘Backer’ Credit in Core Rulebook
  • PDF of Core Rulebook
  • Digital Shout-Out on Twitter

Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions

Name and Design a Canon Villain in the Core Setting: You can choose the name of a villain, as well as their power set, background, characterization, etc. The villain will appear in the Setting chapter of the Core Rulebook, and you will be credited by it. This includes a half-hour video chat meeting with me to discuss your villain’s design, probably in June.

Stretch Goal Note: If this campaign reaches $2,000 or more in funding, then it will unlock the Villain Illustrations.

I will commission illustrations of all the canon villains as well. Same deal if you chose the “The Hole You Punched in Your Wall” Pledge Level.

* * *

Pledge $30 or more

Your Support Network

Without people like you, it would be really hard to get through the day.

INCLUDES:

  • Name and Design a Canon Faction in the Core Setting
  • ‘Backer’ Credit in Core Rulebook
  • PDF of Core Rulebook
  • Digital Shout-Out on Twitter

Name and Design a Canon Faction in the Core Setting: You can choose the name of a faction, as well as its purpose, notable members, power structure, and logo. The faction will appear in the the Setting chapter of the Core Rulebook, and you will be credited by it. This includes a half-hour video chat meeting with me to discuss your faction’s design, probably in June.

* * *

Thomas Constantie Moore Character Sheet

Egg’s Thoughts:

For $25, you name a villain, create their powers, design them (emotionally and physically), have a call with the creator of the game, and, possibly, be a part of a custom illustration of the character. If you want to do a whole faction, it’s $30. For the money, it’s an amazing deal.

For my quest to become a role-playing game freelancer and my RPG resume, this adds another unique gaming system, puts me on the ground floor with a new publisher, and lets me unleash a villain on the world of Sensational. This is a good opportunity no matter how I slice it.

Let’s talk about the system and its unique feature. Thomas Constantine Moore is thinking beyond the dice to create a system that pushes role-playing over stat min/max-ing. He’s matching superpowers to emotional states. Hulk Mad = Hulk Smash! It’s easy to equate anger to punching harder. But what if you expanded on that ala Geoff Johns’ take on the Lantern Corps of the DC comic universe? The DC Green Lantern idea matched colors to emotions and created factions for each color/emotion. Sensational will match emotions to powers levels so the deeper the character is into the emotion – the more emotional that the player plays the character – the more powerful they’ll be. The concept speaks to me.

Egg Whine! Egg Most Powerful Whiner of Them All!

(John McGuire and J Edward Neill can testify to that in court.)

I think this project will be fun and I am interested in seeing what the mechanics he creates look like. Out of the gate, his system is about emotions and his pitch and rewards have put a smile on my face so that tells me he’s on the right path.

* * *

I gotta shout out Thomas’ website. His resume is a character sheet (storyteller system). $#%&ing genius. When I re-do my bio, it’s because his idea was too good to not mimic.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: Resume Credit – Deep Magic 9: Ring Magic

We can all agree that your resume should be factual and that every experience listed on it should be able to be corroborated. For tabletop role-playing games, verification generally requires opening a book to find your name. However, occasionally there are too many contributors to itemize on a project and your role – playtester in this week’s instance – is not spelled out. Not to denigrate playtesting or playtesters, but the heavy lifting of RPG is the design, development, editing, and art. From that perspective, not listing the playtesters is acceptable. However, since I am building a RPG resume, the credit has meaning for me. Thus, this article is my corroboration.

Deep Magic 9 – Ring Magic

Deep Magic 9: Ring Magic by Kobold Press
Available for purchase here or as a stretch goal reward from the Midgard Campaign Setting Kickstarter

Their Pitch:

Deep Magic of the Dwarf-Rings!
Since the dawn of the world, dwarven smiths have fashioned rings of surpassing beauty—but it is not for the sake of beauty alone that these rings are made. There is power in them, which can be unlocked by the wise. Ring magic practitioners channel their magic through these rune-etched metal bands, increasing the devastation wreaked upon their foes; and can even imbue them with spells that someone else can unleash later.

Deep Magic: Ring Magic brings the secrets of ring magic into your 5e campaign, featuring:

  • New ring magic feats, and a new Ring Warden arcane tradition
  • 12 new spells, including enchant ring, curse ring, and create ring servant (with monster stats for this new construct), and more!
  • New magic items: molten fire forge, oathbound ring, warden’s link, and Karrek’s Bastion
  • The history of ring magic, the dwarves who are its masters, and the secrets of their legendary stronghold

Deep Magic 9 – Ring Magic: The Ring Warden

Journey deep within the earth, to places where molten rock flows like rivers, and the sounds of hammers never cease. Here you will find the true power of the rings—learn their ways, and use them wisely and well.

What Egg Did:

I playtested the Ring Warden, an arcane tradition for the wizard class in 5e. I received an early version of the subclass, made a character, leveled it through a few adventures, and provided feedback. The most rewarding part of this experience was comparing the playtest version to the printed version to understand the evolution of the concept that the designer went through.

Egg’s Thoughts:

The book has a new subclass, related feats, spells, magic items, history, and a monster that is so integrated into this arcane tradition that it creates its own story. It touches on how this is dwarven magic, a corner of fantasy that is rarely delved into. This type of sourcebook is composed of parts that tie together and create a greater whole. Deep Magic 9: Ring Magic will inspire amazing characters, backstory-related adventures, and good nights around the gaming table.

The Ring Servant

This book was designed by Dan Dillon. I read his comments on social media frequently, and have reached out for his feedback once or twice. In every instance, he proves to be a knowledgable and friendly gamer. He has a clear understanding of the 5e ruleset and can explain the rules and the logic behind them in short, easy to understand morsels. Add to that impressive skill a list of products that are well thought out with potential stories threaded throughout and you have a RPG writer worth following. I appreciate what he designed on this project – an inspiring slice of Midgard.

This is an excellent book and I’m proud to add this one playtester credit to my tabletop RPG resume.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – The Big Book of Maps (for Tabletop Roleplaying Games)

The treasure? Tabletop RPG freelance work.
The Indiana Jones? Lil’ Egg Embry. [NOTE – I weigh, like, five Harrison Fords. There ain’t no whip ever made that’s strong enough for me to swing on!]
The map? This blog series about building my RPG resume with credits from projects like The Big Book of Maps (for Tabletop Roleplaying Games) on Kickstarter.

What vanity press options does a book of maps offer? Read on to see!

 

The Big Book of Maps (for Tabletop Roleplaying Games) by Justin Andrew Mason 
Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday, March 31 2017 10:oo PM EST.

 

A cartography collection of more than 130 full-color full-page tabletop roleplaying game maps w/ high-resolution + VTT-ready versions.

Here’s your chance to get a collection of full-color, full-page (8.5″ x 11″) high-resolution (600 dpi) tabletop RPG maps (including VTT-ready digital versions) for less than 14¢ each!

The Big Book of Maps – Cavern Map by Justin Andrew Mason

  • Need a treasure trove of maps at the ready for the adventure or campaign you’re writing?
  • Want a ready-to-use codex of over 130 maps to utilize on-the-fly when player characters take an unexpected turn?
  • Each map has a VTT version and two non-VTT versions (Player version and GM version). A great solution for “discovered” treasure maps.
  • All maps are formatted in high-resolution digital format perfect for importing into your favorite Virtual Tabletop (VTT) platform!
  • All of the digital maps make beautiful poster-size print maps scaled for use with tabletop miniatures. Check out this update for more info and a demo of a poster map!
  • Labels on the maps are language-ambiguous (numbers and single letters only), making the entire map collection useful no matter the native language of users.

The Big Book of Maps – Crypt Map by Justin Andrew Mason

The Big Book of Maps is a cartography collection of more than 130 full-color tabletop role-playing game maps that is being created by Justin Andrew Mason. These maps are being created on a twice-weekly basis throughout the creation phase of the project (April 2017 – March 2018).

Each map will be provided to those who pledge $20 (or more) in digital format (JPG) for integration into any tabletop RPG with alternate virtual tabletop (VTT) versions provided simultaneously with each map release.

Most maps will be geared towards a fantasy setting, though a few will likely have potential of crossing genres. The focus of this collection will be dungeon maps, but may include various subterranean complexes, crypts, tombs, castles, caverns, tunnels, mines, etc.

* * *

Update #4 – Thanks to Supporting Bloggers, Podcasters & Channel Managers!

As a way of showing thanks to all the webmasters, bloggers, podcasters, and video channel managers helping to get the word out about this project, I’ve decided to offer free advertising in The Big Book of Maps (for Tabletop Roleplaying Games) PDF release. This free advertising will be via a section of 4.25” x 2.75” block ads. This section will accompany our backer “Thank You” page in the back of the PDF.

The Big Book of Maps Banner Ad

Their vanity press rewards:

The Big Book of Maps – Dungeon Map by Justin Andrew Mason

$50 (Early Bird) or $80 

Your Own Custom Map

The cartographer will create one completely custom full-color, full-page (8.5″ x 11″) dungeon map to your specifications along with a special VTT version. These custom maps will also be included inside the PDF & print versions of the book. You also retain the non-exclusive rights to utilize the map created for you (royalty-free) in your own personal or professional projects. These custom maps will be created as time allows throughout the creation phase of the project and will be done in the order of first pledged. The cartographer reserves the right to refuse to make specific elements on any map (the map must be PG-13 and suitable for inclusion in this collection). Backers at this pledge level will receive their map in digital format (including VTT-ready version). This limited pledge level also includes everything provided by the $20 pledge level.

• Custom Map Design
• Digital Map Downloads (weekly releases)
• PDF of Completed Book
• Print Book at Production Cost + Shipping
• Map Icon Packs (when unlocked)
• Your name in the book’s “Thank You” section.

My initial sense is to regard these custom maps as commission works, and thus credit backers custom maps as “Commissioned by…” – From the first update.

* * *

The Big Book of Maps – Hideout Map by Justin Andrew Mason

Egg’s Thoughts:

Over 130 maps (and counting). 1 map that I’ll be credited with a “Commissioned by…” to add to my resume. That commissioned map can be re-used in my publishing. And by doing this blog that you are reading, the Tessera Guild will get a free ad that will be seen by everyone that gets the PDF of these maps (over 400 backers and counting). I could have been eaten by a zombie, have no brains left, and still pull the trigger on this deal, it is a no-brainer.

This sells itself. I’m in and the hardest decision I have left is what map do I want?

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Tessera Guild at the Atlanta Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo 2017 – March 11 and 12

Come meet the members of the Tessera Guild at the third annual Atlanta Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo on March 11th and 12th, 2017.

North DeKalb Mall in Decatur, GA. Admission is free.

Robert Jeffrey IIJohn McGuire, and Egg Embry, along with Sir Leland Beauchamp, will host four panels over the two days:

 

I AM BlackSci-Fi.com
Saturday, March 11th from 3:00 to 3:50 EST

Hosted by Robert Jeffrey II as well as William Satterwhite

“Since its inception BlackSci-Fi.com’s goal has been to be “the premier site for the latest updates on Sci-Fi, Sci-Fact and Fantasy entertainment, news, people, places, and events and the measure of their impact on the African-American community, while also seeking to inform and inspire the imagination of individuals who aspire to live beyond the boundaries of everyday life”

Join Editor-in-Chief Robert Jeffrey II, and contributing writer William Satterwhite as they discuss the in’s and out’s of working for BlackSci-Fi.com, the websites goals and future plans, while touching on the general state of Black speculative fiction.”

 

You wrote something. Now what?
Saturday, March 11th from 5:00 to 5:50 EST

Hosted by Robert Jeffrey II as well as Bobby Nash and Milton Davis

“Join writers Bobby Nash, Milton Davis, and Robert Jeffrey as they discuss what happens after (or during) writing a book (novel, comic, short story, etc). Enjoy this insightful look into each writers path to becoming a published author followed by a Q&A session.”

 

John McGuire co-hosting: Freelance Writing and the 9 to 5

Freelance Writing and the 9 to 5
Sunday, March 12th from 3:00 to 3:50 EST

Hosted by John McGuire, Robert Jeffrey II as well as Nicole Kurtz, and William Satterwhite

“The Ups, the Downs, and Everything Between
By day, mild-mannered 9 to 5-er, but by night they create worlds! Join freelance writers as they discuss keeping a balance between the daily rigors of their 9-5s and writing careers.”

 

Sir Leland Beauchamp co-hosting: Dice, Kickstarter, Cash-in

Dice, Kickstarter, Cash-in
Sunday, March 12th from 12:00 to 12:50 EST

Hosted by Egg Embry and Sir Leland Beauchamp

“Role-play, write-up, and crowdfund your RPG adventures!
Have an original adventure, series of monsters, or tabletop game? Interested in crowdfunding its publication? Join Egg Embry and Leland Beauchamp for a a beginner’s guide to monetizing your tabletop RPG products. We’ll create a D&D creature to take through a hypothetical Kickstarter (idea to pitch to funding to production to delivery to what comes next).”

 

Egg Embry co-hosting: Dice, Kickstarter, Cash-in

For directions to North DeKalb Mall and this free convention, visit the ASFE website here.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Missed the show? Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Trinity of Awesome Returns!

There is an open call to work with the Tessera Guild. When the offer to join was presented, I’m glad I accepted. My vanity press RPG series on the guild has led to several connections that are shaping my [hoped for] freelancer future. Among those contacts is Venger As’Nas Satanis of Kort’thalis Publishing. Several weeks ago I reviewed Goodman Games’ Kickstarter for How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck. In the write-up, I mentioned that I do not have a mentor. Venger hunted me down on Google+ and offered to be a RPG mentor to me. That made my day, that’s for sure!

Eh? There’s another Venger? In WISCONSIN?!

In the brief amount of time that I’ve known him, Venger has been nothing but generous. He’s provided me with samples of his company’s products to research, advice on what steps may benefit my tabletop role-playing game journey, and offered professional feedback on anything I choose to share.

Now he’s pitching his tenth RPG Kickstarter and it includes a vanity press option for an incredibly economic price.

I’m all-in!

***SOME LINKS NOT SAFE FOR WORK***

Trinity of Awesome Returns! by Kort’thalis Publishing [WARNING: NSFW]
Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday, March 31 2017 12:01 AM EST.

Their Pitch:

More Trinity of Awesome… fantasy, sci-fi, and pulp / investigative horror RPG adventures from the slimy pen of Venger As’Nas Satanis!

Trinity of Awesome Returns Art

[TL;DR:  I’m making three scenarios, 10-page PDFs… back it if you like awesome!  Also, some of the images may not be safe for work.]

Welcome back, my friends!

It took me a little while to get things settled.  As some of you may know, I took about 4 or 5 months off in order to devote all my time and energy to family.  Our twin boys are 3 months old, healthy and happily spitting up breast milk on my wife and I.

As I type this [2/21/17], I just got back from having a vasectomy.  That’s how committed I am to being there for all Kort’thalis Publishing’s fans, supports, detractors, and casual observers!  Actually, we simply decided that 5 kids was enough.  😉

So, what’s this Kickstarter all about then?  Do you remember my last Kickstarter Trinity of Awesome? Here’s the link.

Well, this is more of the same.  I’m creating one eldritch science-fantasy scenario (Crimson Dragon Slayer), one retro sleazy sci-fi scenario (Alpha Blue), and one pulp / investigative horror scenario (The Outer Presence).

The S’rulyan Vault

Each of these adventures will be approximately 10 pages in length and will include color covers and 2 or 3 pieces of original b/w interior art.

Sometime down the road, these scenarios will most likely be included in a print-on-demand softcover.  But for this Kickstarter, I want to focus on making them awesome rather than the fulfillment of physical books.  Sending out PDFs is easy by comparison.

If you’re unfamiliar with those rules/systems, I’ve got some good news for you – each scenario will be between 80 – 90% system neutral, perfect for hacking, re-skinning, or converting to your RPG of choice.

Each scenario is mostly going to be setting, hook, NPCs, tricks/traps, creatures, treasure, and weird shit happening.  Expect lots of random tables.  That’s what I’m known for.  Ask around!”

* * *

Their vanity press reward:

The Outer Presence

Pledge $17 or more

Infamous 

You get 3 PDFs, one for each genre/system. Additionally, your name will be included in the front-matter of all three PDFs as a Kickstarter contributor! If you’d like to submit creative content, I’ll try my best to work it in.

* * *

Egg’s Thoughts:

This will sound mercantile, but this is as cost-effective as expanding your tabletop role-playing game resume gets. For $17, you get 3 ten-page adventures for three different genres and you get to add content to them.

This could be the hard sell or this could be, “Hey, it’s $5.67 a resume credit. You in?”

Ok, let me dial back the dollars and get to the important part – Will it be fun?

Slaves of Tsathoggua

As I mentioned above, I’ve spoken with Venger a few times and he’s a super pleasant dude. He’s done a number of RPG Kickstarters and other RPG-related projects. His original gaming system is so intuitive, I can explain it after a glance at the rules. His adventure ideas are gonzo. They exude fun! Add to that, he has three settings to choose from in this Kickstarter so you can pick your genre – fantasy, sci-fi, or pulp horror – and contribute what you want to.

But don’t just take my word for it. Eric Fabiaschi wrote his own review at Sword and Stitchery. Still need something else to convince you? Try out Kort’thalis Publishing’s system in Crimson Dragon Slayer 1.11 for free.

There is no downside that I can see. Join the Trinity of Awesome!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Dusk City Outlaws

Building a RPG resume? I am. To do that, normally I buy RPG writing assignments via Kickstarter. This week, I’m switching up my plan just a bit. I’m not buying a credit, I’m looking at the chance to create third-party content for a new gaming system.

Why a new system? Dungeons & Dragons dominates the tabletop role-playing game market. Since it is the best selling RPG by leaps and bounds, and has an open game license allowing anyone to write supplements for it, third party D&D products dominate the third party market. But it’s not the only tabletop role-playing game.

Which new system? Dusk City Outlaws is just coming out so the market for 3PP content is not saturated or even started. DCO content will stand out because it has no competition for eyeballs. The big fish, the small pond, you get the idea.

Let’s talk about stealing the gaming industry’s attention using a game about stealing anything.

Dusk City Outlaws Art By Joy Ang

Dusk City Outlaws by Scratchpad Publishing
Kickstarter campaign ends on Tuesday, February 28 2017 12:02 PM EST.

Their Pitch:

A roleplaying game of heists & other thievery by Rodney Thompson. Play as members of 8 criminal cartels in a massive fantasy city.

Dusk City Outlaws is a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by books, TV shows, and movies like The Lies of Locke Lamora, Leverage, and Ocean’s Eleven, where players take on the roles of thieves belonging to the eight cartels that rule the criminal underworld of a massive fantasy city. The players come together to form a crew and take on a job, planning and executing a criminal scheme and earning the respect of their peers.

Dusk City Outlaws Art By Jordan Grimmer

The game comes as a boxed set, with all the game materials needed for an entire gaming group to start playing. The game is designed to be easy to start playing, even on a moment’s notice. Once all of the players are familiar with the rules, it takes only minutes for one player to read through the scenario while the other players quickly make characters.

Dusk City Outlaws Box Set Mock Up

Dusk City Outlaws has a streamlined rules set that uses a sleek narrative dice system and player-empowering special abilities to let the players craft a story about a daring heist or a long con without slowing the game down to consult a rulebook. Everything the players need to know stays on the table in front of them for the duration of the game. For the Judge, the game’s setting is a fantasy city sandbox, and the game provides a resource system that lets the Judge easily react to player actions and providing interesting challenges and plot twists without the need for advanced preparation.

The game hits the table quickly, plays fast, and gives the players the freedom to come up with their own plan and then make it happen!

Dusk City Outlaws Art By Justin Oaksford

The Digital Creator Pack Upgrade

If you’re anything like me, one of the first things you do with a new roleplaying game is start figuring out how to create your own material for it. Got an idea for a scenario that you want to put out there for other people to play? Want to create your own cartels? Add new specialties? Hack the game into a completely different setting or system? This upgrade gives backers access to digital files used in the creation of the Dusk City Outlaws game, making it easier to produce new material that looks just like the contents of the boxed set.

The digital creator pack includes:

  • Digital files for all artwork used in the game
  • Digital files for all page backgrounds in the game
  • Adobe InDesign templates for scenarios, cartel sheets, and specialty sheets
  • Any digital templates and artwork produced for stretch goals
  • License to create and distribute for free Dusk City Outlaws content

I want you to take this game and make it your own, make your own content for it, share it with others in the community, hack it, and get as much out of it as you can. This pack should help you do so, and help make the material you create look as close to the original game as possible.

All backers can add this upgrade to their rewards by increasing their pledges by $25.

***

Dusk City Outlaws Art By Joy Ang

Egg’s Thoughts:

This is a variation of what I normally write about. My goal is usually a printed credit in a book. This, on the other hand, is the opportunity to create original content and does not guarantee a credit unless you create a product.

Because my quest is printed credits, I might have bypassed this if the minimum cost was not so reasonable, $45 ($20 for a PDF copy of the game’s many parts plus $25 for the license to create and distribute free content along with art and templates). Skipping this would be a mistake. Because this is a new product, there’s an excellent chance that any 3PP work produced will be seen by the creators – Rodney Thompson, John Rogers, Saladin Ahmed, Susan Morris, Steve Kenson, Mike Krahulik, and Jerry Holkins.

It’s a risk compared to many projects I’ve joined. This is no lock that my name will appear in the book unless I produce. This only pays off if my free content, whatever it may be, is well-received by other industry professionals and fans. That said, if it succeeds, under the smaller pond scenario, the potential for it to lead to contacts is better than many. If I can steal their attention, then this plan will pay off.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Midgard Campaign Setting: Dark Roads & Deep Magic

Two weeks ago, I discussed picking up a RPG playtester resume credit from Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts and Book of Lairs Kickstarter. This week, I’m looking at Kobold Press’ 5e campaign setting, Midgard, the early access to playtest materials that they’re offering, and their stretch goal that will open this campaign setting up to let anyone write and publish in it.

Midgard Campaign Setting

Midgard Campaign Setting: Dark Roads & Deep Magic by Kobold Press

Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday February248th, 2017 at 4:00 PM EST.

Their Pitch:

Five years have passed; high time to update the Midgard Campaign Setting, and add Deep Magic, adventures, and player options galore!

Welcome to Midgard’s shadow roads, traveler! The way is winding and dangerous, but the rewards are great for the adventuresome and bold.

The rewards for the Midgard Kickstarter include 3 primary books, plus a slew of thrilling adventures and crunchy expansions! The core rewards include these volumes:

Dusk Queen of the Shadow from the Midgard campaign setting

Midgard Campaign Setting for 5th Edition and Pathfinder RPG: A 300+ page volume describing the Midgard regions, from the Northlands to the Western Wastes, and from the Southlands to the Crossroads. With detailed locations, cities, rulers, heraldry, plots, and adventure hooks galore, plus full details of the various pantheons, masked gods, and dark gods, there’s enough here to fuel years of adventuring!

In this updated edition, you’ll get the expanded Blood Kingdom of Morgau and updates to Zobeck, the Cantons, the Western Wastes, and other regions. If we meet our goals, we’ll also  add the Shadow Realm and Blood Kingdom as standalone chapters, and may even open the golden gates of Khandiria… It’s a rich and standalone edition of the setting.

This book is available in both a regular cover and in a special limited edition with leatherette cover, bookmark, and stamped gold foil, plus a handbound leather edition.

Midgard Heroes Handbook for 5th Edition: Full details for Midgard races, variants, archetypes, and backgrounds—everything you need to play trollkin, ravenfolk, kobolds, and others! You’ll also get more than a dozen new cleric domains, new weapons and equipment, and Deep Magic spells and traditions such as Clockwork Magic and Ley Line Magic. Stretch goals will add even more Deep Magic to the book, plus expanded races and broader options for existing ones.

Midgard GM’s Screen

Midgard Player’s Guide for Pathfinder RPG: Collects all of Midgard’s racial lore, class options, feats, and equipment under one set of covers—plus new material for ley line magic, and more. We hope to expand it with shadow magic and other stretch goals. Developed by Paizo staff developer Amanda Hamon Kunz.

Eldritch Lairs: A series of short 5th Edition adventures written by James Haeck and other designers, somewhat like the Prepared! collection of one-shots. This starts as a set of PDF stretch goals, and it will become a print volume included with the premium tiers once the collection is big enough (it will be an add-on for Basic pledge tiers).

***

Pit of the Dust Goblins from the Midgard campaign setting

Their tenth update: Open World of Midgard

From the earliest days, the Midgard Campaign Setting has been an open world: pre-Kickstarter, patrons brainstormed elements of Zobeck, the Margreve Forest, and the horrors hidden beneath the Ironcrag Mountains. Over the years we’ve kept that door open, with an open freelance submissions policy and frequent design contests to bring new talent into the field.

Well, now we’re taking a big step beyond that. If we get enough backers on this Kickstarter, we’ll launch Midgard as an Open World on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

What will it mean for Midgard to become an Open World? Glad you asked! Like the Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft in the DM’s Guild program, Midgard will be open for anyone to use and publish locations, adventures, characters, lairs or other playable material (under certain conditions). In this case, it would cover supplements that are compatible with 5th Edition, Pathfinder RPG, and 13th Age RPG.

Midgard Table of Contents

How close are we to that goal? We need 2,000 backers to form a strong enough nucleus of new designers to attempt it; we’re currently at just over 1,000 backers, with a little more than 2 weeks left. That means we definitely need your help to make it happen. It’s possible, but it’s not a slam-dunk.

What gets us there? Every backer of the project counts toward this goal, regardless of dollars pledged or rewards chosen. That means if all 4 players in your local game pledges $1, we’re 4 backers closer to the Midgard Open World. Any and all of those backers get first peek at Backer Updates in this project, which might also inspire them to roll up some homebrew encounters or build out that archetype they’re always talking about. It’s up to them.

Why Open Midgard? The reality of a small press is that we can never keep up with the demand for new material, and we’re always scouting talent. This approach helps with both, by providing additional Midgard adventures and resources, while opening up a way for talented-but-unknown designers to be recognized. Our hope is that participants in an Open Midgard will also become freelancers who keep the setting vibrant and join the Kobold crew on future official releases. That’s the plan; all we need is a large enough set of backers to launch it!”

***

Midgard Open World

Egg’s Thoughts:

I’m building a RPG resume by purchasing creator opportunities on Kickstarter. This Kickstarter has pledge levels that offer early access to playtest materials for one of the largest third-party publishers. As a bonus, if the campaign reaches 2,000 backers then Kobold Press will make the Midgard setting an open world.

What’s an open world? In this case, it’s a RPG setting that you can publish content for (with certain restrictions). Want to set an adventure and characters in the Midgard’s Ironcrags and publish it for profit? If this stretch goal is achieved, that will be an option.

In a perfect kickstarted world, I’d want to playtest as much of Midgard as possible and use that knowledge to create worthwhile new content within the Midgard setting. With every new backer on this project, we’re getting closer to my goal.

***

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer & Artist
  • Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts for 5e available at KoboldPress.com – Playtester

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

No vanity-press-buy-a-RPG-creator’s-credit this week. Instead, let’s focus on a publication to improve my RPG adventure module writing skills.

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck by Goodman Games
Kickstarter campaign ends on Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 at 11:50 PM EST.

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

Their Pitch:

“Advice on how you can write great adventures – from the company that has published more than 200 top-notch adventures!

Many years ago, when Goodman Games was first starting out, many sage elders in the industry gave Joseph Goodman advice on what to publish. The most common advice received was: “Don’t publish adventure modules. They don’t sell.”

What we have learned since then is that advice is largely true. Poorly written, uninteresting, uninspired adventure modules do not sell.

But the good adventure modules – the exciting ones – that ones that read well and play well at the table – they become treasured memories for us all. They become legends. These adventures are the shared experience that builds our community. We remember our exploits, ask each other how a different group handled that encounter, and lament the secret doors we may have missed. We tell our friends about the climactic finale; we are in turns surprised and devastated and thrilled as we navigate the encounters. And most importantly, if an adventure is fun to play – if the game master and the players both have a blast – then we tell our friends, and they play, and they tell their friends, and that adventure becomes a community builder. It is played thousands and thousands of times. It becomes a legend.

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

This book is about how to create tabletop RPG adventures that become those legends. This book is about how to write great adventure modules – the ones that gamers can’t stop talking about.

This is the primer that every game designer needs to have on his bookshelf. I’ve been in the role-playing game design industry for more than forty years. In many of those years my products were the best selling products out that year. I learned many new things from this set of articles. I have learned things that have improved my design skills, so I know they will improve yours as well.

The essay writers include:

Jobe Bittman, Mike Breault, Anne K. Brown, Timothy Brown, Stephen Chenault, Casey Christofferson, Chris Clark, Michael Curtis, Chris Doyle, Joseph Goodman, Allen Hammack, Jon Hook, Kevin Melka, Brendan J. LaSalle, Lloyd Metcalf, Bill Olmesdahl, Steve Peek, Jean Rabe, Merle M. Rasmussen, Lester Smith, Harley Stroh, Jim Wampler, James M. Ward, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

I want to be a tabletop role-playing game freelancer. I have some creator credits and experience that I’ve bought through RPG Kickstarters. What I don’t have is a mentor. HtWAMTDS is not that, but it is written by individuals that would be ideal mentors. The book promises to share their thought process for designing modules and adventure paths.

The cleverest part of Goodman Game’s Kickstarter is the updates, they’re samples of the book’s philosophy. Unlike so many projects, this one creates a clearer and clearer picture of what you are purchasing every time they add a new post.

To be clear, there are no vanity press rewards here. Instead, for as little as $12, you can get the PDF of HtWAMTDS and learn from those that have gone before and made money in this industry. Seems like money well spent.

***

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer & Artist
  • Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts for 5e available at KoboldPress.com – Playtester