Stories don’t want to be confined to our desk drawers or to our computer hard drives… they want to be out in the world where they can be consumed and absorbed into the minds of readers and creators.
***
Cat & Mouse #1
Writer – Roland Mann
Penciller – Dean Zachary
Inker – Barb Kaalberg
Colors – Kevin Gallegly
Kickstarter Campaign ends on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 12:00 PM EST.
***
The Pitch:
Cat & Mouse is a crime action-crime-drama, set in the city of New Orleans, presented to you in saddle-stiched comic book format! Cat & Mouse #1 contains 22 pages of story and art.
The Story:
When Brett’s ex-girlfriend asks him to go to New Orleans to find her runaway sister, Bobbi, he stumbles on to a human trafficking operation run by Ms. Johnson, known on the streets as The Widowmaker. Brett has to figure a way to rescue Bobbi, and maybe take down the entire organization. Fresh out of the police academy, is he up to the task? Brett will seek the help of his friend, Jesse, an officer on the New Orleans police department, and will also receive help from … some unusual sorts.
John’s Thoughts:
I never read the original Cat & Mouse series, but I love the idea that a creator is able to take something from thirty years ago and bring it back to life through Kickstarter. As much as anything else, we all have these ideas and projects that have a bit more story left to tell. These creators have decided to do something about it, which is all sorts of awesome!
As to the story itself… well let’s see: it looks like we get a mixture of crime story, mixed with super-heroics in the form of martial art fighters/heroes. I’m only going to assume that is going to lead to some pretty nice all-out fight scenes… with ninjas!
Page 15, Cat & Mouse #1
The Rewards:
The good thing is that this project has already hit its goal (currently $3,610 at the time of writing). The bad thing is that a few of the rewards are no longer available. Luckily, there are still plenty of ways to get the comic in pdf ($4) in print ($10) and signed by the entire team ($20). I’m also a big fan of projects, especially when you read the credits on each of the creators, that offer up and coming artists/writers/inkers/colorist an opportunity for a critique ($50). Sometimes all we need is just a little direction from an outside viewpoint to truly make that last leap from good to great. On the higher end of things, you can own some original artwork ($100+) from selected interior pages to the cover.
Mock-up of the RETAILER cover.
The Verdict:
This is one of those no-brainers. The artwork reminds me of some of those 90s style artists that I loved to pick up their books because I knew they knew how to tell a story. Each of the sample pages shown only reinforces that feeling for me. In addition, given that each of the team has worked professionally for decades, this seems like one that will certainly get done.
I’d say give it a shot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
***
To find out more about Roland Mann, check him out here.
In this week’s list, the three RPG Kickstarters I spotlight are a tour de force of art! These three have inspiring images that key in on the feel of the worlds and their mechanics. Each Kickstarter is an original system, each one a fantasy setting, and each one as beautifully rendered as one could desire, read on to see.
“A dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying game about the fall and resurgence of humanity.
In the days when Babylon was the greatest city on Earth, mankind lived in placid ignorance of the grandeur, vastness and horror of the cosmos. Following cataclysmic events on Earth the fragile veil between reality and the Void was shattered and the truth of existence revealed. As mankind cried for salvation they were torn from their homeworld by Void-torrents and the surviving peoples of Earth were scattered among the stars. Countless were lost and mankind seemed all but perished. Over the decades the survivors, stragglers and ragged remnants of mankind’s tribes struggled for their lives across countless uncaring worlds. However, a few managed to go beyond mere subsistence and travel the Void-currents to congregate in fabled Llyhn, epicentre of the cosmos.
BLACK VOID is a dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying game revolving around the fall and subsequent resurgence of humanity after cataclysmic events have torn them from Earth. Pursuing power, prestige and enlightenment – humanity is struggling to find a new place and purpose in a vast and unfamiliar cosmos. Players can focus on the personal struggles and stories of their characters or expand their scope putting emphasis on the fate of humanity as a species and the part they play in this.
BLACK VOID core book: A high-quality, 400+ page, full colour and hardcover book with everything you need for players and game-masters. The book is filled with original art, novel species and monsters, extensive descriptions and rich lore, detailed maps and much more bringing the BLACK VOID to life.
Game themes: The game takes place in a distant past which is both familiar and outlandish in its dark and exotic ambience. As descendants of the survivors of Earth, characters can adopt many roles such as:
Serving as emissaries, defending the enclaves and last remnants of human civilization.
Travelling the Void-currents as explorers seeking riches and glory across the cosmos.
Venturing to find Earth, the long lost cradle of humanity.
Seeking influence and claiming a new home for mankind, taking their rightful places as leaders of mankind.
Diving into the intrigues of Llyhn or perhaps building an empire in the dark depths of the city’s underworld.
Discovering the true essence of existence finding enlightenment beyond the veil of reality; in a Void filled with mindless abominations.
Game Concept: At its core the game is about the exploration, struggle for survival and will-to-power of humanity as it encounters an outlandish, bizarre cosmos. This is not a typical game of “good versus evil”. Rather, it takes a less rigid approach and probes the grey areas where morals are point-of-view. The game revolves around three main concepts:
Into the unknown – How does humanity fit into a cosmos it knows little about and where the possibilities are endless? In a cosmos where humanity’s ideals and tenets are insignificant mankind needs to adapt or succumb!
Beyond the horizon – Exploring the cosmos and faced with adversity, political intrigue and cultural tension on a scale unknown to humanity, players must cope or risk becoming collateral damage in the struggles of uncaring factions. In the end humanity must claim its place in the cosmos or perish trying!
What is humanity – Humanity is exposed to strange and oftentimes bizarre philosophies and ideals. As a result the characters must define, establish and decide what humanity is and what its place will be in the cosmos!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Dark and dangerous! A beautiful artistic contrast to Overlight (below). For the game concept, it’s a fantasy past where you’re an explorer in a deadly world. There are, perhaps, cosmetic similarities to Shattered Tower RPG (also on this list), but the theme feels darker and the world feels less safe. Should you dig in? You can get the quickstart BETA – “But don’t just take our and others’ word for it – go HERE to download the sample BETA-quickstart for free and judge for yourself. – Chris, Black Void Games”
“Mythpunk RPG set in an hostile world, built on the ashes of an older and forgotten one, focused on survival and exploration.
Welcome Fearless Adventurer,
We’re extremely proud to get in the ring with Shattered Tower, our brand new project: we’re talking about a Myth Punk RPG, straightly focused on discovery, survival and exploration.
That could sound same ole same ole, but – trust me – with this concept, this idea, this game… we wanna bring REAL ADVENTURE to the table.
Of course there is adventure in every big RPG we know, love and been playing to, but we decided to take the thrill to the next level.
HOW? well, let’s just say that, if dying while looking for artifacts can be common, here you can fall through the cold claws of death even just while taking a walk outside the city limits!
Of course, at the very same time, your characters will be fully and colorfully equipped with every item and/or ability and/or extraordinary talent necessary to survive… if only you can figure out how to do it! ; )
[Note: All the material will be produced in 2 languages: English & Italian]
Shattered Tower will be a brand new rulebook containing a completelyoriginal background setting, the rules you need to go plug’n’play with our peculiar D6system, 3 Adventure modules and much more (following).
If funded, we will produce the Hardcover book consisting of 200+ pages (depending on the stretch goals reached) including:
Complete World Setting
Original Game System
6 Playable Races
60 Dangers: Inimical Environment, Special Creatures, Monsters, Flora and Fauna
Unique Exploration System
Unique Crafting System
3 Complete Adventures
3+ Short Stories
The spark that led us to create Shattered Tower, came straight out our personal passion for exploration and adventure (a passion we found out being pretty common between RPG players) and from the strong desire to produce not only something new and original, but something that could be a lil’ bit different from what’s out on the market today.
We really wanted to create a something where discovery, hard survival and world exploration are at the core of the whole game.
But there’s of course more than that..
The Setting: Tyntyr is a vast and extremely hostile world that has risen from the ashes of a war between the world itself and an ancient and advanced civilization, fallen into ruin, shattered and partially forgotten.
Players will travel through an environment heavily dominated by nature, ruled by the Dra-Idjias, mystical and powerful creatures that imprisoned, and now control and govern the offspring of that ancient colonizers that survived the war centuries ago and still lives on the planet.
Players will be part of the Vanguard, a guild composed by the few people of their respective races able to bypass the tight control of the world’s sentinels and visiting the world outside, with the purpose of discovering what once was.. and what still can be…
The player’s job is to incarnate explorers and adventurers, to get in the shoes of pioneersfinding a home in the Vanguard, willing to risk their lives, far from civilization, fighting to death just to earn the respect of the companions and to bring knowledge to mankind.
The System:
Shattered Tower works on the peculiar D6System we created.
How does it work – we’ve got a classic but versatile list of skills (which also includes COMBAT as an ability, for example) and we put it together with the kind of mechanics that you can nowadays find in modern narrative RPGs, creating a unique system which feels very functional to the setting.
Long story short, every character’s got his skills set with ability scores (from 1 to 6) determined by the construction of the player character (PC) build. Those points define the number of dices the player’s gotta roll when trying an ability check. success is gained when dices give only 5 or 6.
The few basics of this system also include that the difficulty coefficient of the test that is faced – when higher than the score of the PC – determines the deprivation of X dice to pull, where X stands for each point by which the difficulty exceeds the score of the PC.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Artistically (and end-date-wise) this project falls perfectly between Black Void and Overlight. The Shattered Tower RPG has beautifully, grounded artwork that lends itself to a mixture of beauty and struggle. What’s the feel? You’re an explorer in an once great now fallen, violent world. There are things to learn (what came before) and things to decide (how will the world progress) and things to survive. As with each of these projects, if the art is any indication of the product, this is a winner.
“Seven continents hang in the sky, stacked vertically far above an unending sparkling sea. Shining down upon it all is the Overlight.
Since the beginning of time, a race of serpentine, celestial beings have been the caretakers and observers of the cosmos. At some point in Earth’s past, probably around 1,000 B.C.E., a small contingent of these celestials argued that humanity was ready to learn the secrets behind the making of the world. That the Homo sapiens species had achieved such a level of cultural growth and spiritual awareness that they deserved to be shown all the wonders of the universe, to be given the literal Keys of Creation.
This small group of celestials was overruled by the will of the majority. Humankind was not yet ready. Defying this judgment, one individual fled to Earth with the Keys, and gifted them to humanity with one warning, “Do not use the Black Key”. Humanity did not listen.
All of reality was turned inside out. The burning heart of the world was now the bright white, unending sky, and the unknowable depths of space now a vast star-filled sea beneath. Entire continents float in the space between, without a moon or sun to guide them.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Light and brilliant! A shining visual contrast to the Black Void (above). The idea of floating lands that getting to and from is used throughout fantasy and sci-fi for good reason – it’s visually imaginative. Is this the one for you? I could offer thoughts but they have a sample you can get via email here that will answer a lot of your asks.
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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:
EGG EMBRY – Thanks for taking the time to talk about your project – What is Art of War?
GREG LAROSE – Hey, thanks for having me. Art of War is a dream project I have always had in my head brewing for years. Art of War is an epic storytelling action focused campaign setting inspired by the influences of Chia-Liang Liu martial arts films (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin & Heroes of the East), Akira Kurosawa samurai films (Seven Samurai & Yojimbo), Dynasty Warriors video game series, and a various anime (Basilisk, Naruto, etc).
It is a setting where the people of the San Empire are pulling themselves out of the chaos of a civil war, an invasion of flesh eating Oni, and a return of the restoration of the original royal bloodline. One role the players can take on as heroes is trying to restore hope back to the population. There are plenty of opportunities to play the hometown hero, indulge in a political landscape of deception, or to stand on the Wall and slay some monsters.
It is my love affair with Chinese and Japanese cultures, histories, and mythology.
EGG – This project is for two different systems, Savage Worlds and 5e. How are you interpreting the setting to get the most out of each of those systems?
GREG LAROSE – As a whole, the setting is a rich tapestry that easily be played with any system out there. It has access points for any type of story a group would want to play.
System mechanics wise, we adapted the setting to several systems over the past two years with Savage Worlds and 5e acting as solid frameworks to use. Moreover, what I mean is that both are flexible and “rules light” so that you can shape them. This gives us the ability to interject a power point-like system that can added to each rule set. You can scale it up or down to help determine how grounded or fantastical you want the game and characters to be. We call it the Chi System.
These power points fuel different additional rules that give the action movie feel we wanted to achieve. The system also supports Chi Techniques that give the character a specialization of power. Think of the youxia that can run up a bamboo tree and balance on a tiny branch without falling off or having it give to heavy weight. Or the samurai standing on bridge by himself against a squad of archers and he gives a deafening yell. Chi Techniques are those types of powers translated to simple and easy game mechanics.
Besides those being in common with these systems, the Savage Worlds version introduces Tropes that act as frameworks for the creation of heroes. For those familiar with Savage Worlds, think of them as beefed up archetypes or concepts. We also include new Edges and Hindrances. We adapted the classic nosebleed scenario found in anime as a Hindrance to add some comedic relief. I’m also excited to introduce two new Skills to the Savage Worlds ruleset, Acrobatics and Meditation.
Tropes in the 5th edition version, act as character paths for various classes. The Shinobi trope is a path for the rogue class. The fighter receives the Path of the Samurai as a viable option. The Youxia trope is available to both rogues, rangers and fighters, each one taking on a variation of the concept. We are also supporting numerous new Backgrounds, Inspirations, Feats, and equipment.
EGG – A number of Amora Game‘s products are for Pathfinder, why not offer a PF version of Art of War?
GREG LAROSE – Great question. We started to use Pathfinder as one of the systems to publish in and the project was called “Hands-Over-Fisticuffs”, but it quickly became overwhelming. There is a lot of amazing source material to pull from to get the mechanics right. But that was also the problem; we needed to pull rules for the revised action economy from this book, convert rules from that book, use OGL from this company. Develop a new class or archetype to handle this, spend more time playtesting to check the math on that. It became heavy, bulky, clunky and imbalanced.
We wanted something that wasn’t cumbersome for new players to jump in and play without multiple rules and errata. Light and flexible is what we wanted to focus on.
In addition, timing played a major factor. With the announcement of Pathfinder 2.0, we would rather see how the new system plays out then produce for an old system where support might fall to the wayside. While we have 200 pages worth material for a Pathfinder edition, it just doesn’t hold the feel we wanted for the setting.
EGG – You did not skimp on the previews. How have they been received, and which system is getting more interest from Art of War fans, Savage Worlds or 5e?
GREG LAROSE – Surprisingly they have almost equal numbers. Art of War teaser for Savage Worlds is racing ahead of Kemonomimi Race preview for 5th Edition. But I have been shocked that the 5th edition of South of the Wall has pulled down a few more numbers than the Savage Worlds version. In contrast, we have more backers on the Kickstarter buying in for the Savage Worlds. Ahead of that, is the backer level where you get both versions of Art of War. I’ve been happy with the turnout.
EGG – When I first approached you about doing an interview, I didn’t connect you were TentacleGreg on Open Gaming Network. For those who don’t know, what types of articles do you do on Open Gaming Network?
GREG LAROSE – So far I have focused on Starfinder articles. Showing off future archetypes and playing with Faction idea write-ups. Open Gaming Articles are a fun sandbox to play in at the moment. In one of the first articles, I rant about what I feel a Third Party Publisher Organized play society would allow and not allow. After the Kickstarter, I have a few 5e articles for character paths, more factions for Starfinder, and my lost notes for Pathfinder articles.
EGG – What was the game that made you into a gamer?
GREG LAROSE – Techno Wizard in the Rifts setting for the Palladium system was the first character I ever created. My Tremere for Vampire: The Masquerade was the first character I ever played in a game. West End Games d6 Star Wars was the first system I ever fell in love with. Shadowrun was my introduction into the world of cyberpunk and magic. Big Eyes, Small Mouth Third Edition was the birth of Art of War. I have fond memories of L5R and Magic the Gathering card games. But the game that made me a gamer? Well there are two of them: Mage the Ascension & Eberron campaign setting for 3.5 D&D rules.
My love for these two settings and rulesets are unparalleled to anything else. Mage being the handful of d10 Storyteller System and the other using the precursor to Pathfinder. I still have my original books on the shelves and go back to read through them. You can see an early inspiration for the Pathfinder Society concept in Eberron, when it was called the Wayfinder Foundation. Interesting name isn’t it?
You can see that is the name of a compass in Pathfinder. Coincidence? Maybe. Conspiracy theory of that being a key source of influence for a certain big company? Probably, yes.
GREG LAROSE – I started Amora Game in 2012 as an actual TTRPG publishing company, but we were a playtest company well before then. My gaming group was always home-brewing rules, classes, and all sorts of things. We liked using fan created material and pushing the limits see if they were broken or if we could break them. Over time we reached out to a few publishers and game designers looking for playtesters. One thing led to another and then we were holding playtesting sessions once or twice a month for several hours a session. Word got around and people started seeking us out to playtest, and paying us.
After a year or so after of messing around and playing with other people’s toys, I decided I would do my own. At the time I was playing Pathfinder after a gaming group converted over from 3.5 and just sort of went with it. I started publishing, hiring freelancers and artist. Here we are today.
EGG – For those interested in learning more about you, your upcoming projects, and Amora Game, where can they go?
GREG LAROSE – Currently we are focusing on two product lines. One is our monthly/bimonthly science fiction e-mag called Xeno Files. This is laying the foundation for our Xeno’Verse campaign setting. It focuses on Starjammer, Starfinder, and Savage Worlds rulesets. Exotic space places and exotic space races. Our second, of course is the Art of War line, which we are going to continue to push for a release date, even if the Kickstarter is unsuccessful. It will just take a little more time.
Where can you find us? Our facebook page is the most active spot. You can get there by typing in our website: AmoreGame.com, and it will direct you to it. After the kickstarter, I’m going try and put an article up twice a month in the Open Gaming Network site. You will also be able to catch those articles and anime ramblings on my blog under the same pen name: TentacleGreg.com
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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:
Ulisses Spiele sent a press release about this Kickstarter to us (always makes me feel special when I get one in the inbox – read it here) and they provided some PDFs for a game review (coming soon). This Kickstarter is for the first book focusing on the COSM, The Living Lands. This will be a great addition to the TORG Eternity universe.
I covered this Kickstarterlast week. I’m revisiting it to mention that I did an interview with Ed Jowett about the game on Open Gaming Network that offers more details for this licensed property. Read it here.
This is the relaunch of this project by Alyssa with a more obtainable financial goal. On Open Gaming Network, I interviewed her about the first iteration of this project, why it is important to her, and why it’s important to the gaming community. Read it here.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt orwall 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:
Sci-fi space opera RPGs on Kickstarter is what I look at this week. Two for the Starfinder system and one for the Era d10 rule set. All are amazing looking additions to any gaming table.
“A psionics ruleset for the Starfinder RPG from Paizo by Dreamscarred Press, giving you new races, classes, feats and items!
Unlock your mental abilities in the Starfinder RPGfrom Paizo with the Psionics Guide! This new book from Dreamscarred Press will provide everything you need to use psionic powers in your Starfinder RPG campaign.
What’s In It
The Psionics Guide will include the following material to expand your options in a Science Fantasy campaign:
New Races – 11 psionic races to choose from the curious astreidi, the insectoid dromites, the immortal elans, the serpentine ophiduan, to the powerful half-giants
Four New Classes – the iconic Psion, the Aegis who shapes energy into armor and weapons, the Specialist who uses her psionic power to overcome obstacles, and the Integrator who joins minds together into vast neural networks
New Feats – new feats for the different psionic classes
New Archetypes – including a Wilder archetype and the Soulknife archetype, which use the Starfinder RPG archetype design
Psionic Powers – with powers from 1st level to 6th level
Psionic Equipment to outfit your character or augment their abilities
New Psionic Themes”
Sample mock-up cover, not intended to be final cover
Egg’s Thoughts:
When Starfinder launched, space ships (obviously), magical cybernetics, and psionics were the aspects I felt would distinguish this franchise from its progenitor. To me, psionics feel so sci-fi that it’s almost a prerequisite… In this case, it’ll be a great addition to Starfinder. That said, the lack of psionics in SF is an oversight that Dreamscarred Pressis correcting here. Really delving into psionics is the right call and I expect it to be a good 3PP product.
In case you recognize their sample cover mock up, it’s because it uses the same image as Legacy: Life Among the Ruins 2nd Edition. That is not to say anything is wrong with that (the reasons for the same cover are myriad and they announce “Sample mock-up cover, not intended to be final cover” so I don’t believe both products will have the same final cover), it’s just a beautiful image and, I hope, it speaks to the excellence of the finalized cover.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“The second of six Starfinder RPG compatible adventures, a mystery to add to your game or create a new one.”
If the goal is reached the funds will go towards paying for artwork and editing as well. The module is made of 76 pages, around 25,000 words and five chapters.
The subroutine has made its second move. The second episode of this adventure path will see the PCs fighting to save the station from destruction, taking them to the surface of one of the planet that form the star system. They have to travel unnoticed and manually land. Will their ship, the Sawshark, endure the harsh planet atmosphere ? Will the PCs survive to what they’ll find out there ? They won’t be alone in this mission. If successful or not, will be up to you.
The PDF is ready to go and will be delivered when the project concludes. This adventure is the second episode of the FROM BEYOND adventure path. The adventure itself can be a scene in any existing game or be ran as a one shot without the setting detail making it versatile for improv GMs as well! A campaign setting will follow, with this adventure path being an introduction.
The adventure includes:
– 6 new creatures
– the Expert NPC class, which introduce the concept of NPC as permanent crewmember together with the possibility of level advancement and XP award.
– 2 Pathfinder Legacy races converted fro Starfinder. The hobgoblin and the duergar. Both races have been revised adding some specific racial traits.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I looked at Davide Tramma’s prior Starfinder Kickstarter, From Beyond: Distress Call, here. This Kickstarter is for part two in the series, proving he’s moving right along with the larger narrative. It’s well worth checking this out as he grows this sci-fi journey.
“For the first time, play in Richard Tongue’s expansive and exciting Sci-Fi universe – explore space for the Triplanetary Confederation!
“For a century, man has had the keys to unlock the universe. Our generation is privileged to be the one that opens the door. To finally realise the greatest dream of all, to touch the face of eternity itself. To reach the frontiers of our knowledge and to see what lies beyond.”
– Commencement Address, Triplanetary Fleet Academy, 2169
Battlecruiser Alamois a brand new roleplaying game based on the expansive and exciting universe described in the Triplanetary Confederation novels, particularly those of the Battlecruiser Alamo.
We are running this Kickstarter to help fund more of the amazing artwork that the readers of the book are used to. The Core Rulebook is a high quality, 220-page, full colour guide to the universe.
Written by Richard Tongue himself, and Ed Jowett (the creator of the Era d10 Rule Set) with artwork by Keith Draws (the cover artist for the series of books), this authentic and evocative book features not only everything you need to learn about the universe for the first time, but also some amazing new revelations which haven’t yet been included in the novels…
Powered by the critically-acclaimed Era d10 Rule Set, also seen in Era: The Consortium, Era: Lyres and Era: The Empowered, this game runs smoothly on a system originally designed to cater to science fiction!
Board your ship and secure for hendecaspace… you have some exploring to do!
Escaping a shattered Earth, millions of desperate refugees fled to the depths of the Solar System: to Mars, to Callisto, to distant Titan.
They built new homes, new worlds, but were unable to break the shackles of their increasingly tyrannical homeworld.
Finally, after decades of fighting, the colonies seceded, and the Triplanetary Confederation was born. It was an alliance forged in fire and tempered in the cold astropolitical reality of the post-war universe. The three worlds now work together, though sometimes uncomfortably, tied by their common goals for survival and self-determination.
There are many both within and without the alliance that would see it torn asunder, but more who will fight to the last to see it work, to keep the last flames of freedom alive…
The Core Rulebook for Battlecruiser Alamo RPG is a 220-page full-colour book containing everything you’ll need to adventure in the universe of Richard Tongue’s characters and vessels, including the Battlecruiser Alamo herself.
It is based entirely on the events within the novel series, and features details on factions, locations and individuals who you might encounter. It is intended to provide a framework to allow you to go off in your own direction, exploring your own part of space, while still very much existing in the same universe as the events in the novels.
The book also includes a complete guide to character creation, the game’s rules, a selection of equipment to choose from and a large number of suggested adventures and campaigns!
This book has been developed by the author of the novels himself, along with the creator of the Era d10 rule set, to provide a uniquely authentic experience within this universe.”
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Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt orwall 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:
It launched on Tuesday, March 27 becoming funded in 21 minutes, hitting over $50,000 in less than three hours, and to date has so far broken 37 Stretch Goals. This Kickstarter ends on Tuesday, April 24. Last year the release of TORG Eternity on Kickstarter was a rocketing record setting event. By the end of the campaign it logged in at over $355,000 pledged. This made it the number one, largest Kickstarter of an RPG launch in 2017. In addition to that TORG Eternity also received a nomination for 2017 Golden Geek Award for Best RPG of the Year and already is a Top 100 Product on DriveThruRPG. Now TORG is available again on Kickstarter. This time with The Living Land supplements AND with another opportunity for backers to get the wildly popular monstrous Cargo Box, with all the stretch goals from the original Kickstarter included. “There was such a huge outcry from people who missed the first TORG Kickstarter that it became sort of a moral imperative to offer again the Delphi Council Cargo Box with all its Kickstarter rewards”, explained Darrell Hayhurst, TORG line manager for Ulisses. Here’s some tips and recommendations for getting the biggest bang for your buck on this Kickstarter: TORG EternityCargo Box Flashback Missed it the first time around? Get the monstrous TORG Eternity Cargo Box from the original Kickstarter (contains the bonus stretch goals for original Kickstarter pledge, as well). The original Cargo Box isn’t available through normal channels, so this is your chance to get it. Don’t miss out! Have the TORG Eternity Core rulebook? Then get the Living Land Survival Box. It includes all the Living Land goodness that you’ll want for this COSM (campaign setting), plus a host of unlockable physical stretch goals. Want it all? Get TORG Eternity and Living Land: All In. Perfect for those who missed the original TORG Eternity Kickstarter and want to make the most of this one. Contains the Living Land Survival Box and the TORG Eternity Cargo Box.
The Living Land is a realm of primitive peril, savage sensuality, dangerous dinosaurs, and the invading Edeinos hordes (humanoid reptiles, with long tails and snouts). The Living Land supplements offered in this Kickstarter help you continue and expand your table-top role-playing game experience in the evolving world of TORG Eternity. There are amazing opportunities scattered among the Living Land’s perils. The Law of Wonders insures that lost treasures appear in the misty and unexplored jungles. These treasures might have disappeared from Earth long ago or they may be relics from COSM destroyed by the High Lords. Whatever their different origins, they are resurfacing here and now, for any adventurers bold enough to discover them! The Living Land is an amazing, in-depth addition for immersive play in TORG Eternity.
MORE ABOUT TORG
ETERNITY TORG is a classic that’s returned with the great setting that made it famous, but with new modern style runs that make it more fun to play than ever. It’s now called TORG Eternity. There is absolutely no game setting like multi-genre setting of TORG Eternity. There is amazing choices for players to control and create their characters. Thanks to the many celebrated game designers that created the game mechanics, it has extremely fun game play. It is truly unique. Check out the current Kickstarter for more details and videos about TORG Eternity.
Kickstarter has several Savage Worlds settings funding at the moment. Want to do your own 1980s-style GI Joe vs COBRA? Thinking you’d like to see giant robots versus monsters? What about post-apocalyptic dinosaurs? Right now on Kickstarter, Savage Worlds await you!
“Freedom Squadron is a high-octane “Love Letter to 80’s Cartoon Action Heroes,” featuring new rules and new options for Savage Worlds.
It is the year 2051. After the startling discovery of VENOM—a paramilitary organization and global conspiracy that’s been interfering in world events since the end of the 19th century—the United Nations and leaders of the free world have been shaken to their core. In the aftermath of World War III, which they started, VENOM’s clear goal is world domination, and they will stop at nothing to achieve it.
The world’s response? Choose the greatest hero of the war, General Abraham Steel, and charge him to recruit an elite fighting force to oppose VENOM and protect liberty for all. That force, comprised of the best-of-the-best from all over the globe, is Freedom Squadron!
Players take on the role of those who’ve heeded the call to action. They are new Recruits who must first earn their stripes to become Commandos. Eventually, if they live up to the expectations of trainers like Sandbar, Corporal Carnage, Preedatore, and Blindsight, they may earn their Code Names and carry the fight to VENOM anywhere in the world… and beyond!
“Savage Worlds was created to handle the kinds of games I often like to play and run, where you can be a badass fighter or wizard or whatever, but you can also be a leader. A planner. I’m proud of how the game accommodates that, and my friend Sean Patrick Fannon has added even more to it in Freedom Squadron.
I had a blast in the Plans & Operations phase riffing off the other players, figuring out how best to use our individual characters’ skills, and then watching it all come together in the adventures that followed. Sean isn’t afraid of big games and big ideas, and this may be his best yet. I can’t wait to back, buy, and run it myself!”
–Shane Lacy Hensley (Code Name: BUBBLES), veteran author and game designer, creator of Savage Worlds®, CEO Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Freedom Squadron has many new features for Savage Worlds® fans. Written and designed by Sean Patrick Fannon (Shaintar, Savage Rifts®), these are special rules both inspired by his previous work and brand new for this setting. These include:
Plans & Operations: A unique combination of core Savage Worlds® game play elements that allows players to engage in multiple missions and actions in an “action cinema montage” style. Intelligence gathering, tactical positioning, investigations, covert insertions, computer hacking—anything and everything special ops Commandos might do between their epic battles with VENOM and other enemies. Fast-paced, inclusive, and designed to feature all of a hero’s skills, the Plans & Operations rules are sure to enhance any Savage Worlds® game.
Vocation Frameworks and Specializations: Inspired and adapted from the character creation rules of Savage Rifts®, these allow the player to choose a starting package of skills and abilities that reflect their primary role in the team, while also gaining cool extra abilities rolled randomly from various interesting charts. This is all on top of the usual core Savage Worlds® character building process.
New Edges: like Fighting Style, Operational Planning, Qi Focus, Strange DNA, and the innovative Zone Specialist (allowing heroes to truly shine in various environments like Arctic, Mountain, or Sea Zones).
Skill Focuses, Gear Points, and much, much more!
Psi War Big Epic Game at Ghengis Con
Freedom Squadron for Savage Worlds®, is based on VENOM Assault®, the board game created by SpyGlass Games. Evil Beagle Games has worked with World Designer Michael Knight to not only bring the world to life, but to expand on it as well.
Supplemental gaming accessories not included. Final design subject to change.
While VENOM Assault® is not required at all in order to immerse yourself in the world of Freedom Squadron, you can check out SpyGlass Games’ website to view many character bios and even purchase the game!
Pinnacle Entertainment Group has created one of the most popular game systems in the world with Savage Worlds®, specifically oriented towards pulp and cinema action experiences. Sean Patrick Fannon of Evil Beagle Games has worked with them for years, and is the mastermind behind Savage Rifts®. Creating Freedom Squadron for Savage Worlds® was never a question.
With Pinnacle’s new release of Flash Gordon™ the Roleplaying Game, featuring many new rules updates, Freedom Squadron® is completely up-to-date and represents the state-of-the-art for Savage Worlds® fans.
New To Savage Worlds?
If you’re new to the Savage Worlds® rules system, Freedom Squadron® does require the core rulebook to play. You can get it in print and PDF from Pinnacle’s website. Pinnacle Entertainment Group publishes and manufactures the Savage Worlds® rules book, and maintains this website.
“Freedom Squadron offers an RPG experience like no other. This game is bursting with nostalgic tropes and themes, added to the rock-solid gameplay of the Savage Worlds system. The Plans & Operations rules are an innovative mechanic that focuses the action right where it belongs: on your characters facing down VENOM. Freedom Squadron is the perfect way to take on the roles of an elite, highly-trained special mission force and go on exciting adventures in this fully-realized setting!”– Ross Watson (Code Name: SKIPPER), Product Line Manager Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory; Lead Developer, Savage Rifts; Lead Writer/Designer, Accursed”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Let’s call this what it is – 1980s GI Joe! The setup, the execution, the names, the file card feel of the bios, the art that’s reminiscent of Tim Seeley’s GI Joe comic work from a decade ago, it’s the feel of my youth and one of my favorite toy lines/cartoons. But, there’s one difference, this is going to be the best version of that era of GI Joe, it’s going to be your version and your stories. This is not to say this is an officially licensed GI Joe product, it’s not; instead, this RPG is based on the board game, VENOM Assault. Regardless of that, the concept will put you back in your childhood and wondering if you should crack open eBay and buy some figures.
But will it be a good Savage Worldssetting? Well, I think the answer to that question is Sean Patrick Fannon. I had the pleasure of roleplaying with Sean at AndoCon 2018 (read about it here). He’s excellent at his craft and he’s the lead designer and brand manager for Pinnacle Entertainment’s Savage Rifts and I’d say he’s the perfect project lead for Freedom Squadron, an individual who loves the craft and the content. His presence as lead designer gives this a big stamp of approval. [By the by, Sean’ll be on this list twice.]
[Disclosure: One of this project’s stretch goals is “$3850 – Stretch Goal #2 – One Sheet Adventure by Egg Embry“.]
“A post-apocalyptic table top role playing game of adventure and discovery in the jungles and plains of a world grown wild and strange.
65 million years have separated the ages of man and dinosaur. Until now.
“Some time in the 21st Century, something broke the world. No one knows for sure what happened. Solar flares, war, global warming, pollution and environmental collapse, or perhaps a combination of all of them. Perhaps it was something much stranger. All we know is that mankind fled the surface, retreating into vast underground shelters where they could wait out the centuries until the earth was habitable once more. But when we emerged from the darkness and prepared to retake our world, it was not as we remembered it. Something had happened to the world that once was. In the centuries without man, nature wound back the clock, returning the planet to an earlier, cleaner, more primal age. An age of dinosaurs.
Now humanity must choose – do we fight to reclaim our past, or do we make peace with the present and embrace a simpler future? Armed with the skills and technologies of our ancestors, do we struggle to recreate former glories, or will we use the second chance we have been given to avoid the mistakes of the past? Will human nature even give us the choice? Will we exterminate the reborn dinosaurs, enslave them, or something else? What will be our Dinosaur Protocol?” – From the journals of Archivist Roebuck
Written for the award-winning Savage Worlds game engine by Chris Halliday and Jonathan M. Thompson, The Dinosaur Protocol is a game of mystery, exploration, discovery and adventure. Players take the role of explorers, scientists, scavengers, hunters and traders, trying to survive a world whose first masters have returned. Will they stay at home and build their settlement, or blaze new trails through the saurian jungles of a World Reborn? Will they extend the hand of friendship to other settlements, or war for valuable resources? Will they hunt the dinosaurs, or study them? Where did the dinosaurs come from, and what other mysteries lie hidden in the ruined cities, dense jungles and empty deserts? Just who – or what – else is out there?
The Dinosaur Protocol presents a bestiary of prehistoric life, rules for encountering, battling and wrangling dinosaurs, details on how to carve your own settlement from the primeval jungle, rules for scavenging ruined cities and ancient installations, and a guide to the World Reborn… everything you need to create your own Dinosaur Protocol campaign.
A post-apocalyptic table top role playing game of adventure and discovery in the jungles and plains of a world grown wild and strange for the Savage Worlds Game Engine.
Alternate campaign frameworks will include:
Blast to the Past: Something went wrong the day they tested the weapon, and the sky tore open. Now your hometown is millions of years in the past, and you and your neighbours must survive a world you never thought you’d encounter.
The Broken World: Time has shattered. Imperial Rome has mingled with modern Europe. Blood runs down the step pyramids of Mexico, and at the bottom of your street is a jungle that wasn’t there yesterday. A jungle from which thunderous footsteps and distant roaring can be heard…
On Safari: Time travel has allowed humanity to retrieve extinct species from the past, and correct some of our worst mistakes, but it’s expensive. Chronos Corp allows universities and research institutes access to their Deep Time stations, while paying customers and their guides hunt the most savage and successful creatures in history. But something has gone wrong at the station. They’ve lost contact with home, the power is failing, and there’s a horde of hungry raptors gathering beyond the security fence…
Inside the Triangle: It was supposed to be a holiday, time off in the sun to recover from the stresses and strains of modern life. Only something hit the plane and now you’ve come down near an island that doesn’t show up on any map, populated by creatures that should have been dead for millions of years. Can you survive, let alone find a way home?
The New World: When scientists discover a crack in time leading to the distant past of a nearby timeline, it seemed like a gift from the gods, a means to escape an overcrowded world strangling to death on pollution. Now you and your family are pilgrims exploring a frontier like no other, building a new life in a primal land. But the factions and pressures of the old world may just have followed you here, and you no longer know who you can trust.
Cover Image is “Laelaps” by Charles Knight”
Egg’s Thoughts:
[Disclosure: One of this project’s stretch goals is “$3850 – Stretch Goal #2 – One Sheet Adventure by Egg Embry“. You have been warned twice now. 😉 ]
Per the disclaimer, this project inspires me. For this action RPG, let’s strip out the need for superpowers, mutants, supernatural monsters, aliens, gods, magic, and made-up weapons, and get back to the reason we build homes in communities – Humanity vs Nature [in this scenario, Dinosaurs]. The idea of co-existing with the Earth’s apex predators is going to be the fuel for great battles at the gaming table! With the focus on the thunder lizards, expect all of the tools you’ll need to make your table Jurassic role-play as you tell stories of living in a world where humanity is an appetizer!
Oh, and Jonathan M. Thompson, co-creator on this project, loves him some dinosaurs and Savage Worlds! This is your chance to partake in his dinosaur love and see how well it will fit with the Savage Worlds rule set!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“Transforming heroes, kaiju running amok, giant robots versus the monster of the week, and more built for the Savage Worlds rule set.
Tokusatsu is the Japanese word for any live action movie or television show that makes heavy use of special effects. The word’s literal translation is “Special Filming.”
Even if you aren’t familiar with the word itself, you are familiar with the works that fall under its umbrella. Giant, lizard-like kaiju that breathe atomic energy, quirky teens that transform into superheroes to fight against aliens from the moon, and giant robots going blow for blow with one another are all fundamental works within the genre of tokusatsu.
Savage Tokusatsu is a game built from the ground up specifically for the Savage Worldsroleplaying game. Within the pages of this softcover book are new rules and character options to help you capture the feel of any tokusatsu story in the collaborative storytelling experience that is tabletop roleplaying.
You can be the transforming team of heroes working together to control a giant mech simultaneously. You can play the desperate humans trying to halt the advance of an unstoppable monster that towers above skyscrapers. All this and more is possible with Savage Tokusatsu.
Savage Tokusatsu is a Savage Worlds supplement with approximately 100 pages of new content to help you take your game from mundane to kaiju-sized.
It contains:
Frameworks to represent the diversity of the many transforming heroes genres of tokusatsu.
NewEdges that encourage an even greater degree of cooperation and teamwork amongst teammates.
NewHindrances that capture the feel of youthful characters trying to find their way in the world.
Multiple newOptional Rules to help you capture the specific feel of whatever genre of tokusatsu you seek to emulate. Lighthearted action and grim, pessimistic horror are all just as welcome as the next.
An in-depth but highly intuitive system for designing iconic weaponry and suits of armorfor transforming heroes and special agents alike.
An in-depth but not intrusive system for designing challenging monsters for our more mechanically-inclined friends.
A simple Hero Tier system to help groups wishing to avoid Toughness Bloat work giant robots, kaiju, and normal-sized people into the same sessions.
A streamlined way to approach high Toughness creatures for groups looking to capture the durability and desperation of facing down skyscraper-sized beasts with a column of tanks.
Over 40 new statblocks including heroes, kaiju, monsters of the week, and big bads that give detailed examples for each type of playstyle.
A full Plot Point Campaign for a light-hearted, transforming hero themed tokusatsu adventure with several Savage Tales.
High quality printing fulfilled with DriveThruRPG. The book will fit right in with your other 6.625″ x 10.25″ Savage Worlds books on the bookshelf!
A collaborative system for creating and controlling a shared pilot mech.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Giant robots vs giant monsters using Savage Worlds! This is going to be big, dumb, action fun and I can’t wait for it! Want to test it out? They have a free test drive here. Add to that Sean Patrick Fannon’s second appearance on this list, this time as a guest writer for the project… which makes sense since he’s the lead designer for Pinnacle Entertainment’s Savage Rifts and he will bring the giant personalities this game needs to compete with its mechs and leviathans!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt orwall 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:
I met Christopher M. Miller at The Atlanta Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo 2018 where he shared his ANKUR RPG system and setting. At Momocon 2018, he took the time to share not only the mechanics of the system but also why he built it and how he went about publishing it. Now he’s working a Kickstarter for its first expansion and he agreed to talk about that project.
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – ANKUR is a sci-fi tabletop role-playing game based on Sumerian mythology and the ancient astronaut theory. It was the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign, and has been nominated for a GAMA award for best TTRPG of 2017.
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – ANKUR “Land of the first people” is a game setting supplement for the tabletop role-playing game ANKUR. The book details the city-states of Kumat, Meluha, and Zimbabwe (among others); located in the continent of Mundwazi (Africa). The book introduces new professions, skills, and weapons to help make characters from this setting more unique. Inside you’ll also find a host of new creatures, places of interest, NPCs, organizations and adventure hooks that will help GMs immerse their players in this expanded world.
EGG – You didn’t go with a standard RPG publisher for ANKUR. Who published this and how did that come about?
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – The game is currently being published by Ingram, and through them is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Drivethru-rpg. ANKUR is a “game”, but it’s not a board game or a card game, it’s a “book”. So, I went to the largest traditional book publisher in the world: “Ingram”. I have a Barnes & Noble store near my home, and in fact, I wrote most of the game while sipping expensive coffees in their café. I wanted to be able to walk in a B&N store and see my game on their shelves. I have succeeded in this dream, but the truth is, most gamers buy their games from game stores not book stores. All my merchandise is currently print on demand, which is very convenient for direct online sales to customers, but frowned upon by many game distribution companies, who prefer a very specific supply chain. Breaking into this exclusive supply chain can require both popularity and huge investments. I’ve currently got some very promising leads with several game distributors here in the South-Et. We’ll see what happens.
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – 1D12. All you need for this game is one twelve-sided die. Any time you want to attack or make a skill check, just add the appropriate Aptitude score to your skill circle number; the result is your “APN” or “Action Potential Number”. In order to make a successful attack or skill roll, the object is to roll your D12 and score equal to or lower than your APN. A roll of a 1 is always a success (but not a crit) and a roll of 12 is always a “critical failure”. In order to score a “critical success”, you must roll your exact APN. Virtually all forms of conflict resolution involve an APN or Action Potential Number.
EGG – What do you see as the secret sauce for the system? What’s the mechanic or setting that makes this a gamer’s go to system/setting?
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – Well, there are two aspects to game play in ANKUR that have become fairly popular: Karma points & the fact that if you die, you can continue playing as a ghost.
Every character starts each game session with 3 “good” karma points. During play, they may spend 1 good karma point to re-roll failed rolls; spend 2 good karma points to forego rolling and automatically succeed at an action or spend 3 karma points to automatically create a critically successful action. The caveat to that however, is that for every good karma point spent by the player, the GM gets an equal amount of “bad Karma” points that can be used to make the player re-roll successes etc. Karma points can get you out of a scrape, but beware relying too heavily on them.
One thing that has always annoyed me about TTRPGs is unfortunate/untimely character death. Often in such instances the player is forced to sit out the rest of the game twiddling their thumbs. This is compounded by the generally lengthy process of character creation. I really began to contemplate this when a play-tester suffered a deadly wound during the first round of combat. It is no fun to have a character die, and while it may sometimes serve the story, sometimes it also makes a better story to have the slain character complete their mission. I’ve always been interested in the paranormal and thought it might make an interesting addition to the game. Characters who choose to become ghosts gain the ability to fly, walk through walls, possess the living etc. But they must also feed vampirically on the living in order to exist between worlds. It is also technically illegal to feed on humans, and there is a special class of psionic ghost hunters who protect the living. It can make for some very cool game play.
EGG – What was the game that got you into gaming?
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – 1st edition D&D in 1981. Other favorites: WEG Star Wars D6, Rifts, TMNT, Beyond Supernatural, Warhammer fantasy, Conan.
EGG – When you’re not working on ANKUR, you’re active in the wider genre community, what else do you enjoy working on?
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – Well, my wife and I have been doing the Rocky Horror Picture Show live on stage every Friday night at the Plaza theater in Atlanta for the past 16 years. I was an avid LARPer for over twenty years, and I was a guest liaison at Dragon-Con for over ten years. Nowadays, I mostly write at home with my pug.
EGG – What other projects are you currently developing?
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – I’m working on a new card game called: Role-play Roulette. Basically, it will be a fast, easy card game that I hope will become a gateway for card-gamers to get into TTRPGs.
EGG – Any parting thoughts? Where can we find out more about ANKUR and this Kickstarter?
CHRISTOPHER M. MILLER – You can find all of my products (core rules, maps, adventures, short stories, GM screen etc.) at Drivethrurpg.com. The core rules book can be ordered through Barnes & Noble or Amazon. The Kickstarter for the African setting expansion: ANKUR “Land of the first people” is currently live but ends April 1st. I’ll be appearing at Momo-Con, Outlanta-Con, Origins Game Fair, Atlanta Comic-Con and Dragon-Con. Thank you.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt orwall 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:
During AndoCon 2018 in Atlanta, I had the pleasure of playing Craig Campbell’s GM-less RPG, Die Laughing. Craig supervised (and Tweeted) some of the best moments from this horror-comedy-movie romp in which the point is to die onscreen hilariously and come back as… a movie producer! It’s a fun party game on the lighter side of RPG. During the con he also discussed another RPG gem (for which he’s running a Kickstarter), CAPERS.
EGG EMBRY – Craig, thanks for talking CAPERS RPG here. What’s it about?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – CAPERS is a superpowered game of gangsters in the Roaring Twenties. You play gangsters and bootleggers looking to make your fortunes. Alternatively, you can portray members of law enforcement looking to bring these criminals to justice. Either way, you have superpowers!
EGG – What inspired the idea of superpowered gangsters?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – It started as wanting to make a supers game but not one set in the modern day. There are plenty of RPGs that do that. So I want looking into history. After trying a few ideas on, I settled into the 1920s, a period I find fascinating. As I worked on the game, it became apparent to me that I wasn’t designing a supers game, not really. And it certainly wasn’t a superHEROES game. I was designing a gangster game where the gangsters happen to have powers. That realization informed every design decision I made moving forward.
EGG – I talked about your GM-less, comedy RPG, Die Laughing, in the opening of this article. How different will CAPERS RPG be from that experience?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – Well, they’re both RPGs. Beyond that, they’re pretty different. CAPERS is a more traditional RPG. A bunch of players portraying characters with a GM guiding everything. You can play one shots or a campaign. There’s character advancement and rewards. Recurring antagonists and exploration of themes and tropes over a period of time. Die Laughing is a GM-less, short-play story game that’s designed to be run as a one-shot. It’s also much funnier and laced through with exaggeration, hyperbole, and a self-awareness of horror movie tropes.
CRAIG CAMPBELL – For sure. That said, it would have been better if there had been ANYTHING in the vault. Anything at all.
EGG – Ha! True, true, true!
Moving on, as the publisher, can you highlight one pledge level/backer reward from that campaign that you think is the standout for CAPERS RPG?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – I love all my babies equally. That said, the Jacks and Jills level is the “super-fan” level. All the PDFs. A book and CAPERS themed deck of playing cards shipped to you. You get to create an NPC who fills an important role in the game. And the illustration for this NPC is your likeness, appearing both in the book and on one of the jacks in the playing card deck.
EGG – I love getting to participate in the game with a NPC. Very cool reward!
Tell us a little about you, what was the game that changed you into a gamer?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – D&D was my first RPG experience, specifically a Ravenloft game (which is poetic since I’m a horror movie fan). I played a bunch of RPGs throughout college, not just D&D. I think it was that experience as a whole that transformed me into a gamer, knowing that there were so many different games and getting a chance to play a bunch of them.
CRAIG CAMPBELL – I had been freelancing for D&D (along with a little Pathfinder, Gamma World, and Iron Kingdoms) for several years. As Wizards of the Coast ramped down D&D 4E and started playtesting 5E, my freelancing started to dry up. So like a sucker, I decided to try to make my own RPG. That became Murders & Acquisitions and the beginning of NerdBurger Games.
EGG – As a Kickstarter veteran, what have you learned from your prior gaming Kickstarters?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – Kickstarters are a lot of work. People told me that before the first one. I said, “yeah, yeah, mine is a little game and I probably won’t even get that many backers.” Eight months later, after the Kickstarter and the publishing/fulfillment stages took up a significant amount of my free time, I understand. Now I understand.
EGG – What other projects are you currently developing?
CRAIG CAMPBELL – Die Laughing is the big one. It’s likely to be the next RPG from NerdBurger Games. I’m also tinkering with a very simple RPG that parents and kids can play together. And I have an idea for a sort of, kind of science fiction-ish game that takes place during an apocalypse that features an interesting twist.
CRAIG CAMPBELL – Thanks so much for having me do this interview. And thanks to all the people who have backed CAPERS so far. I hope to be able to say that to many more people in the coming days. You can learn more about my game stuff at NerdBurgerGames.com. On Twitter, I’m @NerdBurgerCraig. You can buy stuff at DriveThruRPG.com, but check the CAPERS Kickstarter first. M&A is an add-on there. So if you like both games, you can get a sweet deal.
You can find out more about the campaign here – CAPERS.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt orwall 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:
ED JOWETT – Thanks very much, it’s a pleasure to be back!
Era: The Empowered is an epic RPG which tells the story of the emergence of superheroes – Empowered – on a world called Terra.
Rather than offering only one scenario within the setting, the game’s timeline follows through 10 years, providing access to every sub-genre of superhero story you could want. For example, at the start, the first telltale signs of Empowered appear and vigilantes emerge to fight the supervillains who rise up. Following that, Atlantis’s forces rise from the ocean to attack the surface. Next, the supervillains and superheroes form groups to fight the larger threats to their goals. When the Old Gods of legend return and claim part of the planet as their domain, Empowered have to choose whether to try to fight them back or join them. When that threat is destroyed, the Assassins’ Guild begins to target Empowered individuals, attempting to eliminate them all, one by one. Before long, the UN supports the formation of the “Empowered Department”, a superhero police force which reports to them and operates in every country of the world. And, finally, the planet is attacked by a huge, extra-terrestrial force named “The Hunger”, which seeks to wipe out all Empowered on Terra.
That is Era: The Empowered – it’s a game designed to let you play any type of superhero game you like, just by choosing where in the timeline the characters exist!
EGG – This isn’t your first foray into the world of The Empowered. How did your “Tales of the Empowered” anthology influencing this RPG?
ED JOWETT – Actually, it’s my third foray into the world of The Empowered!
A little over two years ago, I created the Rulebook Primer for the game, which ran a successful Kickstarter Campaign. In fact, if you search Kickstarter for “Era: The Empowered”, you’ll find that project, which is long since closed. That book had an older style of artwork and didn’t include character creation rules or any of the history. I always intended to do more, and it’s taken me 3 years to get everything together for that book alongside the other projects I’ve been doing.
The Tales of the Empowered Anthology was devised thanks to the Kickstarter “Make100” initiative. They ask you to make 100 of something, as a limited reward on the Kickstarter.
I chose to offer 100 people the chance to add their own superhero to the Era: The Empowered universe. I took submissions from various backers, and we formed the “Tales of the Empowered” anthology from the stories we wrote for those people, plus the stories which had been written during the three years of development but weren’t going to make it into the Core Rulebook.
It’s come out very nicely, and makes a rather nice anthology. I’ve already sent it to backers and the physical version is about to go to print, well ahead of schedule.
So, the answer is that Tales of the Empowered isn’t influencing this RPG, it’s effectively filling in extra Empowered and describing what they were doing during the various events that take place throughout the timeline. There are many more Empowered than could possibly be featured in the main storyline I described above, and this was my way to include a few of them!
EGG – You’ve written a variety of comics. Which ones co-exist with Era: The Empowered and what inspired them?
ED JOWETT – The comics are either related to Era: The Consortium or Era: The Empowered. They tell a few extra stories which, again, we didn’t want or need to put in the Core Rulebook.
We wanted to expand the universe further – we really love these characters and the universe – and this was a fantastic opportunity to do so!
So far, there’s Lacuna, Blue-Shift and Penumbra #1 and #2 in the Empowered universe.
Each of these comics is linked to the others and also to the timeline we use in the Core Rulebook. They feature one of the major characters from the game, exploring an aspect of their origin. In the case of Lacuna and Blue-Shift, the comics look at the first time they fought supervillains, while Penumbra focuses on the stories of her various heists (she’s an Empowered thief, which one of your colleagues here wrote an article about previously: http://tesseraguild.com/kickstart-the-comic-penumbra-fear-the-bunny-lord/
While Penumbra is more light-hearted and the others are more “serious”, they all exist in the same universe.
EGG – Era: The Empowered has a 5-year timeline. What are some of the other defining moments for the in-game history?
ED JOWETT – Well, I covered most of the main points above, although there are a few others.
The first time that heroes work together is when the main supervillain, “Harbinger”, traps them within a bubble universe. Lacuna, Penumbra and several others are forced to work together in order to escape this prison. Most of these individuals have never worked with anyone else before (although Lacuna and Penumbra have met during the events of the Lacuna #1 comic!) and the revelation that that is possible leads to some very interesting consequences…
The second one that springs to mind is the destruction of the robot supervillain, Hack. He’s not, in fact destroyed and, in the best traditions of Ultron, sits at the bottom of the ocean and self-repairs. While people on the surface consider his threat resolved – his creator even moves on to building a cyborg, which he hopes will be more stable! – he enters Atlantis and begins to destroy it. That’s the cause of the war between Atlantis and the surface world!
And one final event out of the timeline (although there are many, many more, of course!) is the realization of a character called Cecropia that when she kills another Empowered, she increases her own sound-based powers. When she finds out about the Hunger and the speed with which it is approaching, she takes over the Assassin’s Guild with one purpose: to eliminate all Empowered. That includes herself. She is going to save the world.
There are so many interesting events in this timeline, many of which have been contributed to by a 15-year veteran of comic writing, that I couldn’t possibly go into them all… but that’s a taster of just a few! If you want to know more, get hold of the book and immerse yourself in this rich, detailed story.
EGG – From a certain point of view, RPG was born of D&D, which could be seen as the celebration of fantasy England/Europe. From that same point of view, superhero comics tend to be the celebration of fantasy New York City/United States of America. Do you see Era: The Empowered through that prism or does it have its own niche within the superhero genre?
ED JOWETT – Honestly, I’ve never really thought about it in that light.
That said, the influences on the universe are going to be pretty clear: it’s a universe which has certain parallels to those of Marvel and DC – quite deliberately – with our own twists and turns within the story and the way it plays out.
We set out to create a superhero universe that was evocative of those, but told its own story and went its own way, both through the roleplaying game and the comics and stories which accompany it.
I’d like to believe that anyone can enjoy playing this, no matter their background, because whether fantasy, Sci-Fi or superheroes.
EGG – That brings up, who is your favorite superhero? And better yet, who is your favorite supervillain?
ED JOWETT – My favourite superhero is split between two, so I’m going to cheat!
Martian Manhunter is a fundamentally kind and good individual in most incarnations. You have to respect that from a person who is the last of their kind because their race was wiped out in a war. I also happen to love the possibilities involved with both telepathy and density shifting!
Iron Man is… well, we all know what he is. But, as is pointed out in the Avengers movie, what he is without the armour is *the guy who made the armour*. I respect intellect, and I always prefer someone who made themselves into what they are than someone who randomly had a mutation appear and their struggle is just about coming to terms with their nature. I like to imagine that people can change who and what they are, which I guess is the appeal there.
As for supervillains, it’s fairly clear, and follows the same sorts of lines for one of the classics: Dr Doom. “For those of superior intellect, words *are* weapons.” This guy is hated by everyone in the world, except for the population of the country he actually rules. He’s loved there, they have amazing living conditions and are, generally, extremely happy. There’s a duality in that which I find interesting – someone who will fight everyone else in the world, usually for very little obvious purpose (although Doom does always have a plan!), and yet is loved by his own people.
EGG – With Era: The Empowered, are their specifics for how to play a villain or a league of supervillains?
ED JOWETT – Absolutely, just as there are specifics for how to play heroes. Because, like most RPGs, it’s essentially a team game, you’ll often find yourself working with others, even if you aren’t officially a league.
In fact, one of our playtests involved two groups, where one played as the heroes and another played as the villains. After a couple of sessions, we all came together and had a big battle royale to see who was really superior! Great fun.
(The villains won. Obviously!)
EGG – How many Era settings have you developed? Do you have an idea of how many settings are yet to be born?
ED JOWETT – I have developed and released seven Era settings so far – Era: The Consortium, Era: Lyres, Era: The Empowered, Era: Survival, Era: Silence, Era: Hitman and Era: Balam.
I am currently working on a number more!
Era: The Chosen is a horror game, where creatures from another universe are invading ours and only a chosen few are able to see them. The game spans over 100 years of this war with the Anonassi, and sees development of technology from a renaissance level to a modern level, offering a few things we’ve not ever done before. Mechanically, of course, it also includes rules around terror and a descent into madness from the horrors you will experience in the Lost Lands!
Era: Atlantis is a game based around an underwater civilization, which is set upon by Humans from one side and great sea creatures from another. You’ll play as half-Human sea-life with various abilities, and a big part of the game will be appeasing your gods!
We’re working on several other games as well, which don’t yet have full titles, but there’s a High Fantasy game, which I ran a session of at a recent convention and was very well-received, a cyberpunk game where you’ll get the ability to do matrix-like reality manipulation, a JRPG-inspired game along the lines of Final Fantasy, and quite a few more.
In total, I currently have seven more Era games in development, not including expansions for Era: The Consortium or the game based on Richard Tongue’s Sci-Fi novels, Battlecruiser Alamo.
There’s a lot more to come from Shades of Vengeance, I think!
EGG – To that end, where can fans find out more about your Kickstarter and projects?
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
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* * * * * *
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:
Kickstarter Campaign ends on Friday, March 2, 2018 at 3:01 PM EST.
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The Pitch:
Granville Woods and Tesla are in a race for time to save Boston from a mysterious disease that turns human beings into machines.
The Story:
Granville returns home to Liberty Row only to find an almost insane Tesla hiding there. But his efforts to get rid of Tesla hit a snag when they discover that a virus is turning humans into soulless mechanical men. Realizing that Emily and Travis Morgan of Morgan Medicinals are behind the outbreak, they fear that the twins are after more than just control of Boston – They want to take over the Great States of America.
John’s Thoughts:
I interviewed Madeleine Holly-Rosing last year (which you can read here) where she mentioned that one of the next stories would focus on Granville and Tesla… and here you go! From her section on the page “The Story behind the Story”, it sounds like this started with a premise of getting two characters in the same place for an extended time and see how that worked out (and what might the writer learn about both characters in the process). It’s an amazing moment when that happens as a writer. When a character speaks to you and lets you know exactly where they would prefer you to go and how they would prefer to act. It makes writing them all the easier because it really does feel like they write themselves (and maybe they do).
It has been and always will be important to me to write characters who, though they come from diverse backgrounds and have different points of view, are able to work together for the common good.
The Rewards:
As this is a standalone story, you can pick it up on its own ($6 for the PDF and $10 for the print), but given the nature of Kickstarter you have that opportunity to play catch-up ($22 for the digital and $35 for print). At the higher levels, you have the opportunity to get drawn into the Granville and Tesla pinup in full period garb ($145). And if you are considering running a Kickstarter of your own you could opt for one of the Consultation packages which include reviews of your Kickstarter Homepage, phone conversation (plus all the goodies from the Kickstarter) ($225 for Economy Consultation and #350 for Premium Consultation).
The Verdict:
Obviously, if you have been there for a while, this becomes a no-brainer, but if you are just thinking about dipping your toes into the Boston Metaphysical Universe, this might be a good place to jump in and check it out.
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To find out more about Boston Metaphysical Society, check them out here.
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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
“A ‘Vikingesque’ campaign setting designed for use with the 5th edition and version 3.5 of the world’s most popular RPG.
Greetings explorer, welcome to our domain! The On the Shoulder of Heroes campaign setting is designed for use with world’s most popular roleplaying game. It is inspired by old school roleplaying games, traditional fantasy, Germanic and Japanese mythology. It is based on the idea that the world was built by the deeds of great people – both good and evil.
Most of the artwork (including the cover) is done by the talented Eoghan Kerrigan
Content
The book is close to 230 pages divided in 9 chapters. It is beautifully illustrated in grey-scale by 4 talented artists and is bound in a sturdy hard cover. We’ve uploaded some previews for you here.”
Introduction, Races and Classes
Egg’s Thoughts:
I covered the first version of it here and those thoughts still apply. This one’s major addition is that it will also be for 5e as well as 3.5e which answers my question in the first article.
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
“An RPG adventure for beginning Dungeon Masters and 1st-level characters — Written for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons
Every Young Hero Needs Somewhere to Start
The Hidden Halls of Hazakor is a fully illustrated, 64+ page starter adventure for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons — and written with a special focus on young, beginning Dungeon Masters.
Hidden Halls of Hazakor
Created by designer and editor Scott Fitzgerald Gray, The Hidden Halls of Hazakor is a perfect introduction to classic dungeon-crawl adventuring for young DMs of ages 12 and up. In a friendly and straightforward fashion, it demonstrates some of the ways a good fantasy RPG adventure can be put together, and talks about some of the tricks and knowledge that all good DMs learn through the experience of running games — but which aren’t always instinctive for a young player sitting in the DM’s chair for the first time.
(Character concept art)
This adventure builds on the rules and information presented in the D&D core rulebooks and the D&D Starter Set, and on the first-time DM’s experience of having previously been a player in the game. A beginning DM running the adventure will learn to think about the ways in which the story can go in different directions based on what the characters do — and how to not be scared when it does. They’ll practice bringing NPCs to life by way of interesting quirks, to help the players engage with and remember them. They’ll get tips on running fun combat sessions, building from an initial slate of simple, single-foe encounters to more complex fights. And they’ll learn to use humor as a tool to make the game interesting and memorable, especially for other younger players.
The adventure’s approach to humor fits perfectly with the work of artist and comic creator Jackie Musto, whose full-color illustrations will bring The Hidden Halls of Hazakor to life. (And if you’d like the young gamer in your life immortalized as their very own RPG hero, Jackie will be doing a limited number of original illustrations as part of the Kickstarter campaign’s “Eternal Hero!” reward tier.)
In the vein of many classic starter scenarios, the adventure features a fully detailed local keep, where the characters meet and learn of the legendary lost ruins in the nearby wilderness. Those ruins then present a classic dungeon crawl in nine parts, featuring fifty different areas to explore, fun physical puzzles and daunting traps, a host of classic monstrous foes — including not one but two dragons — and other challenges that will bring the characters to 5th level… assuming they survive the threats of Hazakor’s lost halls.
This isn’t a stripped down or simplified adventure scenario, and there’s no reason why experienced players and veteran DMs won’t also have a good time running it. But The Hidden Halls of Hazakor has been designed and written with young DMs firmly in mind — helping them break down the processes of running an effective RPG session, creating a fun and dynamic world in the dungeon, and sharing that world and its stories as only roleplaying games can.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
It’s an all-ages 5e DM’s toolkit and adventure. For more details on it, I interviewed the creator, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, on Open Gaming Network here.
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
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Redshirts, Vol. 2: A Starfinder Comedy A.P. for levels 4-6 byHappy Gnome Publishing
Ends on .
“Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity Vol. 2 is a Starfinder adventure path guaranteed to make you laugh so hard you’ll pee your spacesuit
REDSHIRTS: ADVENTURES IN ABSURDITY, VOLUME 2!
What is Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity?
Glad you asked! It is a Sci-fi/Comedy Adventure Path that is 100% Starfinder compatible. We launched the first volume on Kickstarter in August, and opened the PDF to the public in December. Within 6 days it was the number 1 hottest Starfinder product on DrivethruRPG, and earned their “Best-Seller” status. The entire Adventure Path, which revolves around surviving a deep space exploration mission with a dysfunctional command crew, will be 4 books and take Players from Level 1-12.
How do critics describe it?
It’s been called “The Office Meets Survivor…in space.”
What is the tone of the game?
Absurdist humor mixed with low-brow puns. It’s great for fans of Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Futurama, or The Orville.
What Can we expect in Volume 2?
Chapter 4: When a ship of undead creatures kidnaps a Confederation Ambassador, the Redshirts must find a way to rescue her and destroy the vessal, before joining them in undeath, forever.
Chapter 5: When a routine visit to Plushy Prime, the happiest place in the Universe, goes wrong the Redshirts must unravel a mystery hidden away for thousands of years.
Chapter 6: When the Captain accidentally gets married again (to the Slurmolian Emperor) only the Redshirts can be trusted to find the one creature in the Universe that can perform the annulment before anyone finds out.
20+ new monsters
New Equipment to kill your enemies with
5+ new playable races:
Slurmolians: A race of underground dwelling slimy creatures. While normally friendly, their appearance and backwards cultural beliefs can be a turn off.
Soulcage: Robots who go against there programming to do something so selfless and heroic, that they gain a soul from the universe itself.
Za’Rootyn: These tentacle-clad people worship their Sun, and follow the rule of the individual that the Sun chooses. They are powerful warriors, loyal friends, and vengeful enemies.
Fungoids: The Fungus based people see the world in a unique way with a paranoia unbeknownst anywhere else in the universe.
Val’hooligans: Ancient undead Viking warriors who were worshippers of Loki. Their incessant, never ending pranks and parties got them sent back to the world of the living, stuck between life and death, but still ready to party!“
Egg’s Thoughts:
I covered the first volume here. This Starfinder project is expanding on the ideas and jokes of the first volume and, if that’s perfect for your gaming table, it’s worth checking out.
You can see examples of Happy Gnome Publishing work at DriveThruRPG here.
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:
Kickstarter Campaign ends on Friday, March 2, 2018 at 6:02 AM EST.
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The Pitch:
What would you do if you could see 5 seconds into the future? How will Jake use this gift when meets a girl who can hear your thoughts?
The Story:
5 Seconds Volume 2 is a YOUNG ADULT – 70 page – PERFECT BOUND – Graphic Novel which picks up directly after the first 5 Seconds finishes. Jake finds himself dealing with a new situation, a girl who can read minds. What deep dark secret is the girl hiding and can Jake (with his best friend Ellie) find out before the past catches up with them?
John’s Thoughts:
I’m in that boat, having not read the first volume, but I’m willing to take their word for it with this self-contained story.
I sometimes (all the time) wonder about how it would feel to be able to see into the future. How could you not these days when every new discovery, every new piece of handheld technology, and every advancement in knowledge makes you feel as if the old school science fiction writers had been left to guide us into the future. Going back to HG Wells, we all want to know what might lurk for us around the next corner. What happens if we choose this path over another path.
Where are we going?
Add to that the idea of peering into other people’s heads… all at once it is both enticing and utterly frightening. I think that if we knew what was going on in our friend’s heads at any time we all would seal ourselves away from the rest of the world (and it wouldn’t even be close).
Put those two things together…
The Rewards:
On the higher end, you can get the original cover artwork ($235) or get drawn into the comic ($102). If you are looking to play a bit of catch-up you have the PDFs available ($6) or print copies of both volumes ($39). One thing I really like is that you can also get pdfs of his non-5 Seconds comics (Tabby, Blue, and Word Smith) and really play catch-up on everything Stephen Kok has put out into the world thus far ($12).
The Verdict:
While I haven’t read Volume 1, I have checked out Word Smith by Stephen and really enjoyed it. If you like fun comics with a cool gimick at the core (whether that is words are magic or a glimpse into the future), you may want to check out the Kickstarter.
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To find out more about 5 Seconds or other works by Stephen Kok, check them out here.
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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
The modern day Holmes and Watson are man and woman (or at least one version of them is)… but why not have that dynamic against the backdrop of a Steampunk world? And instead of the will they/won’t they – let’s just have them say I Do before the story even begins!
A love story, a murder mystery, and the happy couple who is at the center of it all.
Kickstarter Campaign ends on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 12:59 AM EST.
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The Pitch:
Lord and Lady Ravenscroft are two brilliant scientists and inventors whose Bohemian lifestyle and inventive ways are in direct contrast to the staid and proper ways of Victorian Era London.
Served faithfully by their steam-driven metallic Majordomo, Pneuman, and armed with a variety of elaborate self-created inventions, the Ravenscrofts pursue the one vocation that brings excitement into their world… solving murders!
The Story:
Brought in to consult on a mysterious murder, the Ravenscrofts began hunting down clues that might lead them to the devious culprit. Making waves and alerting the wrong people to their efforts nearly cost them their lives.
Now, the case takes them to Austria to seek out the next piece to this chaotic puzzle of murder and mayhem they’ve found themselves wrapped up in.
Issue 2, Page 1 Art – Rowel Roque Colors – Lisa Moore
John’s Thoughts:
I think I must have missed the first issue of this comic at some point, because I recognize the title, but obviously have not read it. Lucky for me, there are options to go ahead and catch up on the series. Regardless, this takes its nod from the mystery style stories of the time with a married couple at the center of it. I dig the idea of both of them being inventors as that way they both will have a chance to show off as the story progresses.
The sample pages/ opening to the story makes this feel like it might almost be a stand alone adventure for the two of them, and makes me very curious about whether the first issue was done in the same fashion. Given that my own Gilded Age comic is told in “done in ones”, it is a format that is near and dear to my heart.
Plus, kudos for the alliteration of their title…
The Rewards:
As part of Kickstarter’s “Make 100 campaign”, it’s a interesting idea to piggyback the Acrylic Charm ($39 level) with the comic campaign itself. I’ve seen many people do the small pin designs throughout the month, but couldn’t figure out a way to tie it into a potential comic campaign. Leave it to the Last Ember Press guys and gals to figure that piece out. In addition, at the $17 level they have basically a preorder for issues #3 and #4 as well which again is not only thinking towards the future, but really making it so that this project will get to its issue 3 and 4. At the highest level ($250) you can get Drawn In to issue #3… always a cool option.
The Verdict:
If you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing that you have at least a passing interest in all things Steampunk. This is definitely that… so what are you waiting for? Go to the Kickstarter page here!
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To find out more about Last Ember Press and their other comics, check them out here.
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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
This week, I look at an AD&D adventure, a 5e book of NPCs, and a trapped-in-a-RPG role-playing game. All of these offer something fun for the gaming table.
“Fantasy role-playing module for 1st or 2nd Ed AD&D, BECMI D&D, OSRIC, DCC, Pathfinder, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, or other OSR.
THE PROJECT :
“Tower of the Black Sorcerers” is the first project of Dungeoneers Guild Games’ DUNGEON DELVES adventure modules. This game adventure is designed specifically for the first edition of the original and everyone’s favorite fantasy role-playing game. It can easily be adapted to most fantasy role-playing games including the advanced 2nd edition game, the original game, the BECMI (“Basic”) game, and most old-school renaissance (OSR) role-playing systems or other game systems.
The module consists of 24 pages of high adventure, sorcery, and mystery with minimal plot that allows it to fit easily into any campaign world. It is designed to have the look and feel of the classic Dungeons & Dragons modules of the early and mid-1980s. The module’s origins come from an adventure I wrote for my current AD&D campaign that has been running for the last 15 years. The evil wizards and their minions proved to be quite a challenge for my players.
“Tower of the Black Sorcerers” will be available in print and PDF versions. The print version has a classic module format with stapled booklet and cardstock cover. Maps are printed in dungeon blue on the inside the cover for that genuine old school gaming feel. Creating a module that consists of quality production, artwork, and printing that is also great to play is the ultimate goal of this project. If the first proof from the printer is any indication, that goal has been achieved.
As of this moment, all editing, layout, and artwork for the “Tower of the Black Sorcerers” are fully completed. All that is left is to have the physical copies printed. I have a professional, quality printer selected and ready to go.
“Tower of the Black Sorcerers” front cover with art by Bradley K. McDevitt. The sorcerer, Basharn, defends his tower from invading adventurers.
THE MODULE:
The black sorcerers have dwelled within their baleful tower for hundreds of years. Now something evil stirs in the town of Bal-Curz — strange happenings of malefic magics and persons disappearing in the night. The fearful townsfolk whisper that its source stems from the Black Tower. Possibly a few bold heroes could Investigate the tower to uncover its secrets and put an end to this unseen terror?
“Tower of the Black Sorcerers” is an adventure for 5 to 7 characters of intermediate levels 5 to 8. In this module, the adventurers will explore a tower inhabited by a cabal of sorcerers. Set in a town, the DM can easily place this tower in an urban location in any fantasy role-playing game world they prefer.”
Russ Nicholson’s depiction of the adventurers discovering the shrine of the loathsome god, Morraith.
Egg’s Thoughts:
Old school adventure for, really, AD&D, though it can be used for other systems, but based on the write-up, it’s calibrated for 1e. There are a number of OSR adventures that come out and the demand is always there for them. In a way, I’m always amazed that the system I cut my teeth on still has this level of demand. Then I think back to how fun the quirks of 1e are and I see the appeal. This one is well worth checking out.
“200+ pages of excellent NPCs and pre-built characters at level 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. Statblocks, roleplaying cues, stories and more!
Following on from 2016’s Ultimate NPCs: Skulduggery, Ultimate NPCs: Warfare presents a collection of 30 fully fleshed-out characters to populate your game world. From high command to the cook’s tent, you’ll find a variety of soldiers, auxiliaries, and noncombatants within, each with the backstory and statistics necessary to run as an NPC or player character.
How many times have you been put on the spot in the middle of a game and needed to generate one or more highly detailed and well thought-out NPCs? How many times have you spent valuable time pre-game building a fantastic NPC from scratch, only to have the players pass by the tavern they were located in? How many times have you been a player wanting to join a party but didn’t have any good ideas for a character build? How many times have you been running a game and had a player want to join but just didn’t know how to create a character and level them up to be comparable with the rest of the party?!
Ultimate NPCs solves all of these issues as well as a great deal more! The book is packed with exciting, versatile and dynamic character builds that can be used in a myriad of different ways in 5th Edition format.
The book has 30 uniquely designed characters at levels 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. This gives maximum versatility for minimal cost and shelf space. Some of the characters are ones that we, the designers, have run in our campaigns for years, some are NPCs we’ve used to challenge or aid our players, and others are brand new builds.
Why did we choose levels 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20? Well, it seemed to us that these specific levels allow for the most options for the Game Master or player, with the least amount of pages. This allows for maximum value and versatility at a minimum price! w00t!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This isn’t Nord Games first Ultimate NPCs book as they’ve also done Ultimate NPCs: Skulduggery for 5e, Pathfinder and S&W!. However, this one has a narrower focus in terms of gaming systems. I like the utility of having a variety of NPCs at various stages of their existence (levels 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20) on tap. This allows on-the-fly NPCs that can grow with the campaign and show up when needed. These types of books – collections of realized background characters – are a great DM resource.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“From the makers of FARFLUNG and MYRIAD SONG comes a game of mixed emotions, virtual mystery, and danger that is all too real.
Embrace the isekai spirit of Sword Art Online, Persona, Accel World, Log Horizon, Ready Player One, Dream Park, and other stories where there’s one world that offers far too little .. and another that’s all too much.
Vital Hearts is a tabletop game where you have not one but two characters: your personal user in a modern-day Japan… and an avatar in the next generation in multiplayer gaming. It’s fun at first, as you balance your work-a-day life with your hack-and-slash gaming. And sure, you might dismiss those fake screenshots and Internet hoaxes at first… but there’s definitely something mixed up around here.
A Tale of Mixed Realities…
You’ll be playing not one, but two characters: your persona in Real Life, who has to go to work, to school, and to do other chores… with your avatar in Virtual Reality, who uses fantastic techs of sword and spell to defeat monsters and win the day. For the game of Vital Hearts, you must strike a balance between RL and VR. If your character spends too much time in the game, they’ll fall behind on their daily life. But if you can’t keep up the pace in the game, you may miss out on great rewards.
As you make your own stories, the line between the two gets thinner. Logic, math, and academic skills will help you solve puzzles in the game. Reflexes, wits, and bravery earned in the game can give you new confidence to deal with the ordinary. Whatever path you choose, let your past glories build your future success… because you’ll need to be ready for what’s to come.
… But It’s Only a Game, Isn’t it?
The Internet is full of viral hoaxes. And all kinds of people play these games, so it’s not that weird when one or two make the news. And you just want to play games, not get caught up in politics of anti-gaming organizations, patent disputes, and other things. But the longer you play the Vital Hearts game, the more things happen that are just … odd. Are you and your friends the targets of identity thieves trying to hack your accounts? What kind of publicity stunt goes so badly that the police get involved? Did those accounts go dark because those people just quit… or because of something else? Just what is going on?
You’ll have to work together with your friends, using both your VR champion and your RL self, if you don’t want to be just another victim. And it might not just be you and your friends who are in danger. WIth Vital Hearts getting ready to launch in all regions, the fate of the entire world could be at stake!
As they note, this is shades of “Sword Art Online, Persona, Accel World, Log Horizon, Ready Player One, Dream Park” or, further afield, the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon brought to the tabletop. In Vital Hearts, you’re playing a player in the “real” world AND their character inside the game. You make two characters so it’s the opportunity to indulge in a different set of skills – you playing the player playing the character. This offers the rare opportunity to really delve into your acting and lampoon your table habits like a good actor playing a bad actor trying to play a dice-driven character. Add to this, the creators of the game are clearly going for a meta experience where you could work in moments of real life and you have something worth checking out.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
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:
Kickstarter Campaign ends on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 7:59 AM EST.
***
The Pitch:
Read the complete story of the supernatural western comic series about a monster hunter and his young apprentice.
The Story:
Grimwood Crossing is the biggest town in the grim old west. Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies are part of the everyday struggle for the townsfolk. That’s why Grimwood’s Sheriff also has the added job title of monster hunter. It’s a dangerous job so a replacement must always be arranged. With the help of his young, scat-talking apprentice, the Sheriff must fend off a vengeful outlaw with demonic powers.
In Vol. 2 the demonic outlaw confronts the duo face to face. The entire town must come together to keep the outlaw from destroying everything. Alliances are made, differences are put aside, and the community is put to the test.
John’s Thoughts:
Weird West stories hold a special place in my heart. One of the first real scripts I ever wrote was for a 8 page western comic with a werewolf appeared in it. So when you mention all the things which go bump in the night against the desperation and opportunity of the wild west… I’m going to at least take a look and see what it is all about.
From what I can tell of the characters, I like the idea of a former bandit suddenly helping a town against the monsters. And maybe they’re not entirely sure they can even begin to trust him. But they know that someone has got to protect them…
The Rewards:
At the $30 level there is an opportunity to have the book with a signed bookplate featuring the signatures of the writer and artist. Considering they live on two different continents, this would be pretty much the only way to get such an item.
For those of us who missed the Volume 1 Kickstarter, there is an opportunity to play catch-up at $20 for the print or $8 for the digital, both which are a great bang for the buck.
The Verdict:
Color me interested. The artwork gives the right feel for such a book and having it in black and white should only help that. Around 200 pages of comics potentially… seems like a good deal to me.
***
To find out more about Grimwood Crossing, check them out here.
***
John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
Two RPGs and two gamebooks to look at this week. One a Tunnels & Trolls solo adventure, one for 5e, one using Modiphius’ 2d20 system, Momentum, and an original choose your own adventure gaming system gamebook.
“A gritty adventure, old school dungeon crawl, published under OGL/SRD 5.1. Original art, print, pdf, and more! DnD 5e rpg OGL Fun!
Tarot Adventures, Book Two: Comet over Echo Rock
What is this about?
Comet over Echo Rock is a gritty adventure and also contains setting information for Glenfallow, as it stands after the liberation of Glenfallow Keep by Pieron and his friends. This book details new non-player characters, changes to the area, and adds information of use for extended game play. With this book you get a piece of setting you can drop into any world for your use, along with a tough adventure.
Art by Alexia Veldhuisen – A real ogre is nothing to sneeze at
Art by Christian Martinez
This adventure is setting neutral, meaning it doesn’t rely upon setting specific information and is suitable for use in most fantasy settings.
This book includes art created specifically for the adventure. The art done for this project consists of black and white, as well as some color images, and consists of an array of styles with each illustration done specifically for the scenes they enhance.
Art by Christian Martinez
Available in PDF and print formats (soft cover premium color, and hard cover premium color collector’s edition). All backers receiving a copy of this adventure will also receive copy of the Encounter Scale System ™ map pack created for Comet over Echo Rock. The ESS map pack, is a black and white printable PDF file that allows you to print and assemble maps that are scaled for miniature use.
Art by Kelsy Cowan
Designed to be a difficult to deadly challenge for characters of second through fourth level of ability, this adventure requires courage, cunning, and strength to overcome. This is a gritty adventure, designed to challenge your group.
Written as a follow up story to The Draw of Glenfallow, this adventure builds upon the relationship characters develop with Pieron, the newly installed lord of Glenfallow Keep. Characters who have not played through The Draw of Glenfallow have an opportunity to build a relationship with this newly minted lord. Characters who survived and helped elevate Pieron to his new station can further enhance their standing in his eyes and may firmly establish themselves as trusted heroes.
Art by Alexia Veldhuisen
What is it about?
In this book, the characters are once again asked by Pieron to come to his aid. While Pieron is busy rebuilding Glenfallow Keep and overseeing the settlement of his lands, dark forces are making themselves known in the mountains to the north. Dwarves seeking to reopen the Echo Rock silver mine have been killed, and their fellows are calling for the blood of the monsters who struck them down. Pieron wants the monsters in the mine destroyed and the player characters are just the people for the job.
There is treasure to be had, innocents to avenge, and political clout to be earned. All that need be done is to triumph where all others have failed. Climb the mountains to face deadly peril. Wield steel and magic to put down the monsters of the north.
What secrets will you uncover in the stygian depths of the mine?
Victory over the monstrous creatures in the mountains brings glory and wealth for those characters brave enough to undertake the challenge, and skilled enough to survive.”
Art by: Kelsy Cowan
Egg’s Thoughts:
W.S. Quinton is a nice guy, and I’ve offered him feedback on this Kickstarter. As such, I’ll hit the highpoints and let the rest speak for itself:
5e
A gritty adventure
This Kickstarter is for book two, so you can get both of them and have a longer run
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“A new DestinyQuest gamebook by Michael Ward, published by Megara Entertainment.
What is DestinyQuest?
DestinyQuest is a new style of gamebook that draws on modern fantasy action games such as World of Warcraft and Diablo, and fuses them with the old-style ‘choose your own adventure’ books of the 80s.
In DestinyQuest, readers use an innovative map system to experience exciting quests, battle fearsome monsters and discover valuable rewards.
Map system (example from a previous DestinyQuest book)
Throughout their adventure, the reader can customize their hero from hundreds of collectable items and special abilities, allowing them to take on ever-greater challenges as they seek to build their hero from a starting newbie to a legendary champion.
DestinyQuest author and designer Michael Ward (here at Dragonmeet convention)
The previous Destiny Quest titles (1,2,3)
How do I play?
All you need to play DestinyQuest is a copy of the book, a handful of six-sided dice, a pencil and some paper – then you are ready to embark on an epic narrative adventure where you are the hero. You get to make the decisions for your hero, deciding where they will go, what they will do, and how they will react to the myriad of challenging dilemmas that will be set before them. Book Four of DestinyQuest pushes these choices even further, ensuring that no two adventures will ever be the same.
Do I need to have read the other books?
No. Every DestinyQuest book is written as a standalone adventure, but together they create an ongoing narrative that tells a larger story. While readers will always benefit from having experienced the other adventures in the series, it is not essential that you have any prior knowledge of the characters and game world. If you want to take your first plunge into DestinyQuest with Book Four, then there’s nothing to hold you back. Grab your sword and backpack, and get ready for an exciting ride!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is the first of two gamebooks/choose your own adventures/solo adventures on this list. This is the fourth novel in the series and if you’re looking for an expanded series where you make all of the choices, DestinyQuest is a great option.
You can see examples of their work at Amazon here.
“Decades ago, Danforth and Stackpole created a unique solitaire adventure for Tunnels & Trolls. We’re back to make a great new version.
Return to GULL, the CITY OF TERRORS
Back in 1990, writer Michael Stackpole and artist Liz Danforth put together a solo adventure book for the Tunnels & Trolls™ fantasy role-playing game, published by Flying Buffalo Inc. Called Elven Lords, the book brought players back to the city of Gull, popularly known as “the City of Terrors.” Facing cutthroat thieves, barbarians, smugglers and pirates, or the horrors infesting the elven tombs to the north, the solitary hero found all the adventure they could handle!
The solitaire game booklet came out as a signed limited edition of 1000 copies, never to be republished. That version of Elven Lords has been out of print for many years now, a prized and difficult-to-obtain item sought by collectors.
It is time we revisit this adventure.
Why? How? And why now?
We could not reprint the old edition, even though fans asked repeatedly. We said we wouldn’t, and we won’t. But Kickstarter’s Make/100 project made for a real opportunity: we could create a new, enlarged prestige edition. Players would get the old content—everything they had missed out on before—with fresh new writing and art in a first-class edition.
As the original writer, Mike has agreed to write more adventures in the setting, looping them into the existing storyline. Liz brings fresh art to the project, with brand new images, little-known paintings, and her famous line work drawings colorized by collaborator-artist Steve Crompton and others. By making this book part of Kickstarter’s Make/100 projects, an expanded Elven Lords solitaire adventure with full-color interior art becomes possible.
A sample spread in the color edition (Pledge: Paragraph E)
This exceptional version of Elven Lords will be offered in a signed, limited edition of just 100 copies, never to be republished. In years to come, it too will become a prized and difficult-to-obtain collectors item.
No One Gets Left Out
Having a fun game to play is the core reason for wanting an adventure like this. A quality game is our top priority, and we intend to deliver that. (We hope to exceed your expectations, in fact.) So we understand that not everyone wants a collectors edition of “something for fun” just to put on a shelf.
Choose a format that suits your wallet and the way you want to play. In addition to the color edition, we will produce a matching print edition with no color, showcasing Danforth’s iconic black and white art. The paintings will be redrawn into line art, as necessary, and every image in the color version will have its counterpart in the black and white edition. This unlimited version will not be signed or numbered, and it will be in print as long as demand exists.
A sample page of B&W edition (Pledge: Paragraph D)
For those who want the color illustrations but not as a physical, collectible book, we will make the full color edition available as a downloadable PDF for your computer, phone, tablet, or other electronic device. Playing electronically is seamless, with each Go To choice taking you straight to the paragraph that you should read next.
And when we say “no one gets left out?” We really mean it, even if you have never played Tunnels & Trolls before. You get everything you need to play right inside the book.
Tunnels & Trolls uses simple rules and mechanics, but we pared that down to the essential “mini-rules” so you can play immediately. Take yourself into the City of Terrors with the main T&T rulebook if you have it! But if you are new to the game, get your feet wet with this adventure and the mini-rules before you jump into the deep end. We even offer a couple of pre-created characters, so nothing slows you down.
Just add dice. (Regular six-siders are all you need.)”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is the second of two gamebooks/choose your own adventures/solo adventures on this list. This is a reprint of a classic Tunnels & Trolls solo adventure. Revised and expanded, this is a chance to recapture the original feel of crawling through the City of Terrors.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“Adventures on The Dying World of Barsoom. A planetary romance tabletop roleplaying game from the mind of Edgar Rice Burroughs
With scarcely a parting glance I turned my eyes again toward Mars, lifted my hands toward his lurid rays, and waited…” – John Carter, Gods of Mars
John Carter of Mars – Adventures on The Dying World of Barsoom is a planetary romance tabletop role-playing game. We’ve created it under license and with the cooperation of the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the original Barsoom novels. We’ve also had guidance of Scott Tracy Griffin one of the leading scholars of his works to ensure utmost authenticity. Using a pulp-action inspired narrative variant of Modiphius’ 2d20 system,Momentum, John Carter of Mars allows players to take the role of various adventurers and heroes as they travel, battle, and romance their way across the wondrous and dangerous world known to its natives as Barsoom. Play as John Carter, the princess Dejah Thoris or the fearsome Thark warrior Tars Tarkas – or create your own new heroes from a wide variety of options.
We’ve spent the last two years working on the John Carter of Mars roleplaying game as a labor of love, everything you see in the project is of utmost quality, from the beautiful landscape book to the stunning resin 32mm multi-part miniatures. We hope to unlock additional art budget to fill our core book with stunning works, to unleash the Swords of Mars campaign book which will include the battle rules for miniatures but also a full RPG campaign. We also want to bring you dozens of gorgeous miniatures to let you see our beloved heroes in action and lots of great geomorphic adventure locations such as airships and ruins.
The core book is being laid out in stunning US Letter size landscape format which allows us to create extra long landscape artworks bringing Barsoom to life in vivid detail. Produced in our European print house which is renowned for its excellent hardback binding quality we can assure you of a truly beautiful book to last the ages. The Collectors slipcase is designed in portrait format so you can store your book upright if desired and will also house the Swords of Mars Campaign book once unlocked.
This will be just the beginning of an all encompassing John Carter of Mars tabletop games line with a planned boardgame coming next.
The core book is fully written, and now in layout, depending on what other books are unlocked in the line, we will be aiming for one shipment in the summer prior to a retail release in the fall. As soon as the Kickstarter closes and payments have been processed you will be given access to the complete documents for the core book as well as the full PDF before we go to print, to provide last minute proofreading.
“As I gazed upon it I felt a spell of overpowering fascination – it was Mars, the god of war, and for me, the fighting man, it had always held the power of irresistible enchantment.” – John Carter, Princess of Mars
Included in the core book are:
An overview of Burroughs’ Barsoom and its peoples, perfect to introduce new players to the wondrous world of John Carter of Mars.
Detailed chapters on technology, creatures, and various cultures.
A new skill-less Talent focused narrative variation of the 2d20 system called Momentum, including a step-by-step character generation system designed to create heroes from a variety of backgrounds and concepts.
Choose a wide variety of characters such as a dashing Red Martian duelist, a brilliant First Born scientist, a savage Beastmaster, a courageous airship officer, a disciplined assassin, or even Earthborn characters, so players can follow in the bounding footsteps of John Carter himself!
A detailed Narrator’s section with information on how to run genre-and-setting appropriate games and campaigns, including information about the great secrets of Barsoom.
Three eras of play based on the adventures of John Carter himself. Play during the early days of Dotar Sojat, adventure during the time when Carter was a Prince of Helium and in the years after when he was believed dead, or fight alongside Carter and his allies during the later Jeddak of Jeddaks era.
An introductory adventure, the Mind Merchants of Mars, to get players and Narrators started on their adventures.
Click below to read our sample chapter of the Red Kingdoms”
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:
Sometimes you need someone who will go the distance for you.
And sometimes you just need… a Dick.
***
The Espresso Detective Comic No. 1 Print Campaign
Creator/Writer/Artist/Colorist/Letterer – Eric Erdek
Kickstarter campaign ends on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 6:29 AM EST.
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The Pitch:
Slavers in your town. Your neighbors are their clients. Restaurants. Massage – stolen people. Only one man gives damn, and he’s a Dick.
The Story:
His name is Caetano Sanchez, he’s named after Saint Cajetan, co-founder of the Theatines.
Famous for not owning property or asking for alms. Caetano mirrors his namesake since he seems to own nothing and yet is always seen in the coolest cars and pads. All borrowed… mostly from fallen enemies.
That’s where his saintliness ends. Soul-wrenching loss and heartbreak have made him a man that goes through women and friendships like a Saudi goes through bullets at a wedding (it’s called happy fire. Really, look it up).
Caetano seems to stumble victorious and unscathed from case to case saving the day like a trench-coated Jar Jar Binks. No skills or strategy other than planning how to get his next gorgeous client into bed. However, tearing at the edges of his happy-go-lucky facade is a much darker source to his powers.
Sanchez is addicted to Espresso mainly for self-medicating his MDD (Major Depression Disorder). He has also refined it to an art and a culture. His Nagula (Shaman Teacher) has made it so Sanchez has what appear as superpowers when he is buzzed on Espresso.
He’s a ladies man, a P.I., a Shaman’s apprentice and a savior of the weak and lost.
Literature has a new great Latin lover… and he’s a dick.
John’s Thoughts:
The whole Noir detective story is one that is either in your wheelhouse or not. The solo (mostly) guy who has to use his wits and maybe a bit of luck to not only arrive at the answer to whatever his current mystery might be but also juggle that with living the lifestyle of a P.I.
It’s both glamorous and utterly miserable at the same time… and in that juxtaposition is where you can get a great story. Whether it is about redemption or burying the past or whatever… we come for the tropes and trappings, but we stay for the stories.
The Rewards:
$5 is all it takes to get yourself a print version of the book (26 pages). At the higher ends you can get various wall art ($75) or drawn into the book ($600), but one thing that really caught my eye was the $45 level with a very cool T-shirt.
The Verdict:
Normally the answer might be found at the bottom of a bottle of some darkish liquid. Something that will really knock you down and make you wonder who is in control of who. For this guy, it just happens to be Espresso that does the job…
And who are we to judge. So pick up the book and have a morning read with your coffee!
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To find out more about The Espresso Detective, go to the website here.
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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
Savage Worlds. Two for 5e. D13. Horror, the end of the world, monsters, and stunning art. It’s another week and there are four RPGs that need your support. Go!
“Children of the Apocalypse is a post-apocalyptic epic fantasy setting for Savage Worlds, including a full Plot Point campaign.
Children of the Apocalypse is a post-apocalyptic epic fantasy setting for Savage Worlds. In Children of the Apocalypse, bold adventurers explore the ruins of our world, seeking lost technologies to empower the creations of Tinker Mages.
“…a very well thought out setting. There is enough of the history and world information to whet your appetite!” Patrick “Shadowdad” Greenlaw, Role Player’s Imaginarium
The Setting
In the world of Children of the Apocalypse, the Nine Gods exert a daily influence on societies, scheming for the advantage of their followers and the downfall of their enemies. The setting book includes a complete Plot Point campaign in which the players contend with the Gods themselves to determine the future of all humanity.
Children of the Apocalypse requires the Savage Worlds core book and the Fantasy Companion.
Players take on the roles of newly-minted adventurers of the city-state of Peterborough, in the service of the Lord Protector. Some might follow the path of the psion, learning the arts of mental power; others might master musketry or fencing; still others could study alchemy or wizardry.
The Children of the Apocalypse setting book contains:
Descriptions of the Nine Gods, their followers, and their motives
Eight new races created by the Nine Gods
A complete description of post-apocalyptic Boston and the surrounding communities
Setting rules to represent a high-magic, high-theology world
A complete Plot Point campaign leading to a confrontation with the Gods themselves
Guidelines for converting your own hometown into a campaign setting
Sneak Peek: Taps
Taps bills itself as an “Adventurer’s Town” – in reality it is at least as much a safe harbor for brigands as a base of operations for adventurers seeking treasure in Boston. Taps is a fort consisting of a large inn, stables, tavern, and general store, all run by a pair of retired sherzi wizards. The town welcomes anyone solvent and doesn’t ask many questions about how they got that way- the wizards ruthlessly enforce their rule of no bloodshed within the walls. Travelers taking the Greatroad south from Haverhill will see placards advertising Taps’ services, including the implied eponymous beer. Just about any sort of adventurer may be found in Taps, and it is a common meeting place for parties of adventurers braving either nearby Salem or more distant Boston in search of artifacts.
Conceptually it’s a game for running truly horrific adventures in campaigns across time and space. Characters face the real threat of death or madness in individual adventures—unaware that they are also threads of existence for supernatural beings battling a greater darkness.
Mechanically it’s an easy attribute-and-skill based system—4 attributes, any sort of skill. Actions use 1d4+1d10 (read 0-9) for a number range of 1-13, with beneficial doubles at the low end. For adventures involving psychic abilities, a tarot deck (or a poker deck) depicts the uncertainty and danger of those powers. For combat actions and turn sequence, a Ouija* board can be used.
Why a D13 RPG?
When I designed the Dark Conspiracy RPG in 1991, I envisioned a world into which any sort of horror tale could be adapted. But that setting’s framework also constrained the time, place, and even themes of those adventures. I’ve long wanted to do something more far-reaching.
Also, most horror RPGs either dial back the danger to let PCs survive from one adventure to the next, or make them part of a secret society, or abandon altogether the idea of campaigning so as to convey true horror.
The D13 RPG is a solution to all those problems. It lets GMs run truly horrific adventures that may maim, madden, or kill PCs—without killing the campaign.
Who Am I?
I’m an Origins-award-winning game designer with 30+ years of publishing history, best known for the Dark Conspiracy RPG, the Dragon Dice game, Mechwarrior 2nd Ed., the Planes of Chaos boxed set (with Wolfgang Baur), and the core mechanics for the Sovereign Stone and Serenity RPGs. I’ve been on staff at GDW and TSR, worked with Gary Gygax, and freelanced for many other game publishers. Nowadays I’m retired in rural Nebraska where I self-publish games for the joy of it. You can learn more about me at www.lestersmith.com, or search for “Popcorn Press” on DriveThruRPG.com and DriveThruCards.com.
Who Is the Artist?
Lenka Šimečková is an amazing young illustrator of the dark and bizarre, from the Czech Republic. I first became aware of her work while designing the D6xD6 RPG in 2014. She provided two character illos for that book, and I’ve wanted her illustrations for the D13 RPG ever since. I’ve already purchased rights for several pieces (the game cover and illos on this page); this Kickstarter will help to fund more.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is the first of two art RPGs on this week’s list. “Lenka Šimečková is an amazing young illustrator of the dark and bizarre, from the Czech Republic. I first became aware of her work while designing the D6xD6 RPG in 2014. She provided two character illos for that book, and I’ve wanted her illustrations for the D13 RPG ever since. I’ve already purchased rights for several pieces (the game cover and illos on this page); this Kickstarter will help to fund more.”
Lenka Šimečková‘s work is going to drive this RPG’s success. Just the few glimpses of art we have are enough to make me believe that D13 RPG is going to be worth checking out.
“A conversion of the 2013 ENnie-nominated adventure “A Night in Seyvoth Manor” for D&D 5th Edition, published under the 5E OGL
A Night in Seyvoth Manoris a Halloween-themed “challenge” adventure that was originally designed for Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition (published under the 4th Edition Game System License) and published for free in 2013. It was subsequently nominated for a 2013 ENnie award in the “Best Free Product” category.
This project is to do a complete conversion of A Night in Seyvoth Manor to the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition system and publish it through the 5th Edition Open Gaming License(OGL for short), while giving it the attention it deserves in terms of a proper editing pass and additional artwork.
Few people in the village of Ravenshire spoke of the manor atop the hill to the north, and even fewer dared approach it. After the horrific events that happened there so many years ago many believe the mansion and the estate grounds to be cursed, haunted by the restless dead, and some of the village residents could swear they have seen movement and lights coming from the seemingly abandoned mansion.
Throughout the years the village has had its share of disappearances; most of them had been blamed on the harsh environment of the surrounding forest and the natural dangers of the world we live in, but recent evidence leads to the doorstep of the Seyvoth estate. And when two young women – Jessi and Lyssa Hawthorne, daughters of a village elder – go missing, the village immediately sent out search parties in to the surrounding area. Two separate groups of scouts passed through the iron gate at the entrance to the estate… and have never returned.
Now a local mystic warns of the danger looming in Seyvoth manor, how the daughters will soon be led towards the darkness and turn against the village they once called home. Are you brave enough to step through the gates and seek out the missing scouts and rescue the two women in distress? Are you willing to unravel the mysteries of the Seyvoth estate, even if it means risking your own life?
The adventure is a “challenge” adventure in that it is not intended to be part of a larger campaign; it is designed as a one shot adventure, using throwaway characters that are highly optimized, and for that reason the adventure is designed to be pretty brutal. Expect characters to die, possibly more than once, but if they do they can simply walk right back in to the adventure and try again… there are only two limiting factors: time (it’s designed to be between 4 and 6 hours… we’ll get to that shortly) and an optional scoring system at the end of the adventure. It is also designed to be replayable: players can take what they have learned in one run through and carry it over to the next one.
I do have to point out something… when I say it is “desgined to be between 4 and 6 hours”, that’s really depends on the party and how you go about it. But it *can* be done… technically… and was almost done by the guys at The Incomparable Podcast who have done a single run through of Seyvoth Manor, continuing it every Halloween, that has run for the last four years. Granted, they were doing it for fun and not for the challenge, but you get the idea.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
It was a 4e ENnie Award nominated product. To be nominated for an ENnie means they made 4e work. Again, they made 4e work. That means they can’t fail in 5e!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“A stylish, glamorous fey bestiary and setting inspired by the 80s and 90s, for use with 5e tabletop campaigns.
Faerie Fire is a bestiary and supplemental expansion intended for the fifth edition of the world’s most popular tabletop RPG. We wanted to explore the world of the fairy wilds in more depth–so we’ve made a court full of 10 wild, dangerous, and chaotic fey, and 20 new and unique monsters to add to your campaign bestiary–and an additional 20 magical items to fill your players with wonder (and avarice).
The base edition of Faerie Fire will be full-colour, hardcover, and feature approximately 104 pages of content; it will match the same dimensions as your other 5e books, so that they all line up nicely on your bookshelf.
The Creatures
Bosca, Lord of Wildfire by Nina Matsumoto
The book is divided into two sections: the Fey Court, and the Wilds. In the Fey Court you’ll meet a cast of ten strange and complicated beings: from the childlike Monarch to the mischievous Pox & Pilfer–and the mysterious, isolated Sepal, warden of the fairy prisons.
Members of the court are just as likely to turn on one another as they are to uphold any kind of order, and a player who finds themselves in the court’s capricious graces could make a lot of trouble–or wind up dead.
Conglomodog, by Kory Bing
In the Wilds, you’ll encounter an even stranger collection of beings–some sentient, some not–who all operate by the fairy realm’s arbitrary and downright chaotic rules. While not every creature in the book is immediately deadly (some would simply like to ask you a fewquestions), not one of them should be underestimated. An adventurer navigating the wilds may find themselves ensnared by the deadly Chondrofeyr–only to be rescued by their new, strange fairy familiar.
All 30 entries will come complete with beautiful, bold illustrations provided by an incredible line-up of talented artists–not to mention balanced stats, inventive mechanics, and vibrant lore for ideas on how to insert them into your own campaign.
The Items
Item design by Jesse Turner
We’ll also be including a library of magical items in the book, perfect for any explorer with sticky fingers and time to sort out a curse or two. Five new weapons, five new armours, and ten new magical items–including a potions table filled with various tricks, grenades, and concoctions. In our own tabletop campaigns, we like to encourage players to think outside the box and use their magic items for roleplay as much as combat, so we’ve created items that we hope will give you lots of opportunities to be inventive.
Previews of some of our creature and item stats will be revealed throughout the campaign on our Tumblr or you can follow us in Twitter for details about upcoming playtesting livestreams
Cover art by Yuko Ota (design not final)
Aesthetic
Faerie Fire is inspired by the neon noir aesthetic of the late 80s, with a touch of Trapper Keeper, and a spot of 90s Lisa Frank thrown in for good measure–we’re calling it fairypunk. Adventurers making their way to the fairy wilds will meet creatures strange and new: some beautiful, some curious–but all of them dangerous in their own way. We also introduce the Plane of Living Light, a mysterious realm that can be skillfully manipulated by warlocks imbued with the Living Light. With magic reminiscent of neon lights and holograms, and a fey court full of glamour, the fairy wilds are filled with creatures dazzling and deadly in equal measure.
Keighton, the Haunt of Auldermere by Dylan Meconis
Part artbook, part bestiary, Faerie Fire is guaranteed to be a stunning addition to your bookshelf. But stay tuned: when the campaign funds, stretch goals will unlock even more monsters, new player races and subclasses, more illustrations and aesthetic upgrades, and even a module.
Not that this needs pointing out, but this is the other art RPG this week. Fey and other D&D monsters in an 80s/90s art style that they’re calling fairypunk. The artwork is everything with this project and will decide most customer’s interest. If you are looking for a campaign of unique flair, this is going to be your calling.
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:
I’m always on the lookout for gateway items to get the next generation into the stuff that I’m into. Wondering if anything might make a nephew or neice interested in something comic or fantasy or science fiction related. So a children’s book is definitely right in that wheelhouse.
Kickstarter campaign ends on Monday, January 29, 2018 at 11:51 PM EST.
***
The Pitch:
SteamBear is an interactive children’s picture book and comic. It’s book two of THE ADVENTURE BEAR SQUAD. A Sci-Fi adventure story designed for the geek-parent and their children. It is built to stimulate creativity and learning. It is a team of bears across genres like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets the Care Bears.
The Story:
The exciting second installment of the Adventure Bear Squad book series is upon us! Faced with the disappearance of dreams by every man, woman and child the world is thrown in turmoil and it’s up to SteamBear and his compatriots to save the world from curmudgeonry. They travel through time and space in SteamBear’s Travel-train and find out why the dreams have gone missing and how to bring them back!
John’s Thoughts:
Bears fighting pirates.
Bears in hot air balloons.
Bears wearing top hats and hopefully monocles.
This seems like one of those fun books where you can read with the kid in your life and discover new little pieces while also learning about different points and places in history (judging from the images on the Kickstarter page). I can definitely imagine laughing at the site of a bear flying past Big Ben over in London.
The Rewards:
Given that this is a limited edition of the book, as part of the Make 100 campaigns Kickstarter is encouraging for the month of January, the overall product is limited to… 100 copies. So each category has a limited number next to it for the hard copies (this has digital versions as well). At $25 you get the Hardcover along with an original drawing inside. The intriguing one is the $99 level where you not only get the book and the original drawing, but you also will get an original 11×15 watercolor painting. I could see that as being something to hang up in the kid’s room for a long time.
The Verdict:
Let’s see – Steampunk, kid’s book, bears, and various spots in time… educational and something you and the kids will enjoy as part of your reading rituals… yeah, this seems like a nice additon to your library!
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To learn more about SteamBear, check out DecadeBrothers here.
***
John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
“The Widow’s Tear is a “Plug and Play” setting for the Starfinder RPG inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
The galaxy in which the Starfinder game is set is a vast, largely unexplored region of space, just waiting for intrepid adventurers to discover it’s secrets.
Gun Metal Games brings Starfinder fans new, exotic locations for their characters to visit during a campaign in a new line of Starfinder-compatible products: Descent Engine: The Spacefarers Guide to the Cosmos!
Each product in this game line will reveal new regions filled with a multitude of star systems, strange phenomena, new creatures and much more! The flagship book in this line is The Widow’s Tear!
A 160 page, full color, hard cover book, The Widow’s Tear will explore some of the inhabited star systems in the nebula and introduce you to the beings who live there. You’ll learn about their unique histories, their goals for the future and the challenges they face. You’ll read about new technologies, including special weapons and armor, new psionic abilities, magic items, spacecraft, and more!
Many of the creatures you’ll find in The Widow’s Tear are inspired by the works of H.P Lovecraft, whose Great Old Ones and their spawn are found not only in this book, but are also in the Starfinder pantheon. This book will also provide new, horrific grafts you can easily apply to any creature or race, new hazards for planets and space travel, and rules for insanity. We also have a limited pledge that allows some of you to create your own creatures and hazards!
We’ll introduce new races available for play, including Angarri, the Defiled, Jendova, the Tieflings of the Hellfire Syndicate, and more! Each star system will come with its own map. We even have a limited pledge that will allow some of you to create your own unique star system for inclusion in the nebula! Here’s a sample map of the Urus Star System, which will be written by Hal Maclean!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
“H.P. Starfindercraft.” Not diminishing Gun Metal Games work, what they have looks great, no, what I’m saying is “H.P. Starfindercraft” is all the pitch needed to shake out most fan’s interest. Do you want H.P. in your Starfinder or not? If so, Gun Metal Games has got you covered.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“Three sleazy scenarios for the Alpha Blue RPG. Plus, a huge, color map of the Ta’andor Galaxy with die-drop event/encounter tables.
I love all my RPGs, but Alpha Blue is closest to my heart. There’s really nothing quite like it. It’s part 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s sci-fi ripoff and part space opera porn parody. Alpha Blueborrows from everything, and yet it’s probably the most “VS” of all my writing.
So, what am I proposing? Three separate scenarios for the Alpha Blue roleplaying game! Here are the titles… I Wear My Heart on My Sleaze (you’re attending a space party and looking to score), Emergency Escape Sequence Delta Cream (your ship runs into trouble and you’ve got to get the fuck out of there), and Outer Rim Jobs of Ta’andor (your crew of spacers are looking for employment and crazy shit happens along the way).
I know these synopses are vague, but it’s how I work. I come up with the bare bones just to get the ball rolling; as I write, new and surprising things organically evolve. So, I don’t have a lot of details right now. Everything is in a primordial state. That’s my own personal creative process, and it’s treated me well all these years.
Battle Star Trilogy – Trek Wars
Each scenario will be between 7 – 10 pages (I usually always go over) and the print version will combine all three. This trilogy of awesome adventures (complete with various random tables, tech, NPCs, monsters, etc.) will contain fantastic artwork by various artists and shall be laid out by none other than Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design.
He’s also going to create a gigantic galaxy hex-map for Ta’andor, accompanied by random tables of things going on in each sector. Simply roll dice on top of the map and consult the encounter sheet to see what’s happening. So, it’s basically a die-drop table and galactic map all in one. It’ll be made for printing out and will be the centerpiece of your gaming table when you’re playing Alpha Blue.
The image directly below is the 44″ x 34″ printed-out and laminated hex-map of the Ta’andor galaxy. It’s huge, awesome, and created by Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design… so you know it’s good.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I like Venger. He’s published my work, he’s given me advice, he’s pissed folks off in such a way that I think, “I’m never doing that!” (other’s life lessons are good to learn from). The short version is I dig el Venger. And this Kickstarter, his 14th, is a return to his biggest game – Alpha Blue. You can get the new scenarios and the original system and space maps and the undying sacrifice of Venger Satanis and keep his brood children in diapers (cause Venger has a strike force worth of young’uns) all through this Kickstarter. Save the universe… or sleaze it up more than it already is, your choice!
NOTE the Sequel – LINKS ARE NOT SAFE FOR WORK. NSFW.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.
“A Starfinder Roleplaying game compatible sci-fi adventure set in a newly discovered star system. The first of a six episode saga.
Imagine you are on an outpost two months far from the closest civilized area in a newly discovered star system. Far from supplies, far from home, relying only on your mates and skills to solve the many problems an isolated outpost has to face. Four alien planets are orbiting around a dim dwarf brown star.
Everything was going fine, and all you had to do was waiting the next shipment with the fresh provisions, until one day you receive an automatic distress call coming from the Sawshark, a hi-tech mining vessel operating in the star system asteroid belt that is supposed to be under your protection.
After the call the ship goes silent and any attempt to hail back the Sawshark fails.
You jump on your rescue shuttle to save the crew with a clear goal in mind fix the problem and be back as soon as possible with the ship and its crewmembers.
What could possibly go wrong ?
————————————————————————————————-
(The pdf contains 33 pages and something like 10,600 words.)
The adventure is ready to be delivered in pdf, so you will receive it the same day the backing time is over.
Publishing and having this adventure backed will allow me to better make the following five episodes and planning subsequently the setting which will describe in detail the star system where this adventure and the following ones will take place.
The adventure includes:
– 3 new creatures
– 2 new ships
– 3 new trade goods
– 7 new equipments
– the B&W printable maps”
Egg’s Thoughts:
It’s a mystery in space with a spaceship/dungeon crawl! Davide sent me an advance PDF of the module. The writing, art, and layouts are completed save for minor edits. I’ve seen the finished product so I believe Davide can meet his February delivery commitment so you can get next month’s Starfinder session in the queue.
“Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity Vol. 2 is a Starfinder adventure path guaranteed to make you laugh so hard you’ll pee your spacesuit
Hey everyone and welcome back for:
REDSHIRTS: ADVENTURES IN ABSURDITY, VOLUME 2!
What is Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity?
Glad you asked! It is a Sci-fi/Comedy Adventure Path that is 100% Starfinder compatible. We launched the first volume on Kickstarter in August, and opened the PDF to the public in December. Within 6 days it was the number 1 hottest Starfinder product on DrivethruRPG, and earned their “Best-Seller” status. The entire Adventure Path, which revolves around surviving a deep space exploration mission with a dysfunctional command crew, will be 4 books and take Players from Level 1-12.
How do critics describe it?
It’s been called “The Office Meets Survivor…in space.”
What is the tone of the game?
Absurdist humor mixed with low-brow puns. It’s great for fans of Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Futurama, or The Orville.
What Can we expect in Volume 2?
Chapter 4: When a ship of undead creatures kidnaps a Confederation Ambassador, the Redshirts must find a way to rescue her and destroy the vessal, before joining them in undeath, forever.
Chapter 5: When a routine visit to Plushy Prime, the happiest place in the Universe, goes wrong the Redshirts must unravel a mystery hidden away for thousands of years.
Chapter 6: When the Captain accidentally gets married again (to the Slurmolian Emperor) only the Redshirts can be trusted to find the one creature in the Universe that can perform the annulment before anyone finds out.
20+ new monsters
5+ new playable races (including an undead race)
New Equipment to kill your enemies with
If I back at the designer level do I really get credit?
Yes, for the rest of your life you can describe yourself as a designer for a best selling RPG. It’s the second easiest way to become a best seller, the easiest being selling three books in Canada.”
Hardcover Proof of Volume 1, ready to ship out
New Crewmates: Ambassador Groundwalker
New Allies: Mayor Bimbleberry, Plushian Mayor
New Enemies: Monkey Monk and the Fangy Bunch
Egg’s Thoughts:
Three Starfinder adventures are running right now. I’m curious how they’ll raise awareness of each other. This one leans towards comedy and it’s a sequel so it’s got an established base to build from.
Infinite Galaxies is a science-fiction role playing game of epic adventure for 3-6 players. The game is based on the Apocalypse engine with some cool tweaks to better model stuff like star ship combat, robots, aliens and other hallmarks of Sci-Fi!
You can view the current quick play packet at InfiniteGalaxies.net under the downloads section!
Have you ever wanted to see a robot with a jet pack and rocket launcher arms? Ever wanted to fly your ship to the furthest reaches of the galaxy to explore alien ruins? Ever wanted to use your psionic powers to free the people of Arachnis 9 from the evil lord Zor? Well, with Infinite Galaxies, you can! You can do all of this with as much or as little prep as you want. If you want to run a zero-prep one shot, it’s easy. If you would rather create a complex society and hundreds of planets, you can do that too! It all works seamlessly with Infinite Galaxies rules.
There are eight separate playbooks – or character classes – representing a lot of sci-fi character tropes. Each playbook includes three separate starting packages allowing for a great deal of flexibility in character creation. This flexibility allows for some interesting party combinations – a squadron of Aces all with their own ships, a party of robots making their way in a meatbags world or a squadron of soldiers ridding a planet of bugs!
The Ace
You are the consummate pilot of all things that move. You start the game with your own starship and you can upgrade this ship as the game continues.
The Explorer
You excel at finding people and places no one else can. You start with the ability to lead a group into unknown or hostile territory.
The Jack
You are connected and you know how to get the things you need to get the job done. You start with the ability to use your network of contacts to get important information.
The Leader
Your skills and talents reside in providing guidance and instructions to others, in planning, and in strategy. You start with the ability to provide bonuses to your allies’ rolled moves.
The Psi
You are an enigmatic master of mental powers. Depending on what package you select, you have access to many different psionic abilities, including telepathy, telekinesis, and the ability to manifest a weapon from your psionic energy.
The Robot
You are a robot, an artificial creation of first-rate metal alloys, high-grade plastics, and gadgets beyond the imaginations of most. You may be designed for combat, to defend those under your protection. You may be designed to serve as a translator or guide. You may even be specialized in navigation.
The Scientist
Your talents lie in studying the natural world, repairing broken things, and creating devices of your own design. You start play with an innate ability to know things – a lot of things.
The Soldier
You are a trained warrior, skilled in the arts of combat and defense. Primarily, you excel in fight scenes. You may wield a laser rifle or perhaps heavy weapons. You might be trained in tactics and leading small teams of military units. You might even be skilled at healing others.
The Ship
The Ace’s starship gets its own playbook and acts in many ways like a character. The Ship has its own ability scores, its own damage system, and can advance much like a character does.”
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:
A Pathfinder to 5e conversion, a Polish to English translation, and an original 3.5e product are all featured in this week’s review of RPG Kickstarters.
“Anthro-Adventures is a 5E compatible world setting featuring realms ruled by animal-human hybrid races.
Book Cover, now for 5e
Anthro-Adventures, a popular RPG setting in which the Seven Realms of Layna are ruled by animal-human hybrid races, is now available for your 5E campaigns!
A unique setting, Anthro-Adventures is two designed to fill two goals:
1. To create a setting that a child can seamlessly play in, while having a natural understanding of the nuances of their character’s race.
2. To provide an Anthro-Fantasy setting where the conflicts of the animal-human hybrids are the central focus. This allows players to recreate the tone of popular stories such as Redwall, Mistmantle, and others.
Anthro-Adventures accomplishes these goals by creating a setting where each race is created as a sociological experiment in a modern day human genetics lab. As part of the hybrid’s development their education is focused around a single piece of Children’s Lit chosen to instill desired traits in their newfound species. When a horrid accident sends the hybrids hurtling through time and space the only thing they have to rely on as they continue to develop on their own is those ancient stories once read to them.
Fast forward a thousand years and those hybrid races have flourished, using the tales they were once read as a basis for society. For example the Dog-kin have a powerful medieval theocracy based around dedication to the teachings of the Big Red God (they were read Clifford), Lion-kin prowl the land looking to exterminate evil in the name of the Great Mane (Aslan), and Rat-kin take science to dangerous levels in their Steam-powered cities (They were read Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of Nihm).
Brightskin Shaman of Death
The Anthro-Adventures World Guide is 142 pages long and consists of the following:
Detailed background on the creation of the Seven Realms, including maps.
Background on each of the Seven Realms, including information on their Geography, Economy, Military, and Society.
Background and information on 22 playable hybrid races, including stats, racial feats, spells, and equipment.
75 pieces of original artwork showing the visual nuances of each hybrid culture.
A simple, easy to use layout for family friendly gaming.
The 5e version of Anthro-Adventures is about 90% converted and will be available for download within two weeks of the end of this campaign. Physical copies will be delivered after a proofing process, which generally takes 3-4 weeks. Delivery will be direct from DrivethruRPG.com.
Just seeing Anthro-Adventures for the first time and hoping you can still get the Pathfinder edition? Feel free to head on over to DrivethruRPG and pick it up!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I covered another Happy Gnome Publishing game, Redshirts: A Starfinder Comedy Adventure Path (Levels 1-3), here.
Ah, in terms of art, Burning Man Chameleon for the win!
What Happy Gnome Publishing is offering is a varied setting that has the range to be family-friendly or stone serious or Burning Man Chameleon making it a good option for so many tables. Add to it, they’ve already rolled out the Pathfinder version so the heavy lifting on this is done, and you have a guide to figure out where they’re going with this one. In addition, this project speaks to me because my first stab at doing a RPG Kickstarter [coming in March] will feature anthromorphic NPCs in a mixed human/anthromorphic world, so I’m interested in this one.
“Frankenstein Faktoria is a rules-lite tabletop roleplaying game where YOU play one of the Doctors tragic creations…
Frankenstein Faktoria is a tabletop horror roleplaying game unlike any you have seen before. It might well contain the usual dead bodies, corpses, and demonical villainy, but in this case you are the corpse, or at least an amalgam thereof.
In Frankenstein Faktoria you and your friends play a Frankensteiner. One of the tortured creations of Doctor Victor Frankenstein, created out of a composite of body parts from cadavers and reanimated through science and electricity.
(Fun Fact: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” novel was first published 200 years ago on 1st January 1818! Happy Anniversary Frankenstein!)
Frankenstein Faktoria Cover by David Allsop
THE PLAYERS
The Doctor, Doctor Victor Von Frankenstein, has constructed a small Factory in the town of Shalleymouth. Here in his infernal facility, unnatural Creatures, denying nature’s laws, Frankenstein’s children, are produced on an assembly line, endlessly, day-by-day.
Why does he do it? Nobody knows. The Doctor appears to have gone completely insane. He has severed his ties with the world outside and has shut himself up inside his crumbling castle alone with his experiments. He does not give his “children” much attention, instead he spends his time endlessly experimenting, synthesising chemical solutions, scribbling labyrinthine formulae on blackboards, and tinkering with mysterious devices. He is manifestly uninterested in the operation of the production line. Instead a hunchbacked servant, Igor, adopted by Frankenstein many years ago, oversees the day-to-day operation of the Factory.
During a Frankenstein Faktoria game, the players take on the role of the tortured monsters created by the Doctor. His hideous Frankensteiners…”
Bernie Wrightson-style Frankenstein art and a Polish RPG translated into The English by Angus Abranson. There’s also some wanna-lancer* options here. AND this is available on the 200th anniversary of the publishing of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? Yeah, just check it out for all of that and because Angus is metal.
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
*Wanna-lancer™ – A gamer that’s pursuing freelance RPG work. Some back RPG Kickstarters that offer rewards to create NPCs, spells, items, adventures, etc. in order to build up their resume, make contact with publishers, and learn what’s expected on assignments.
“A fantasy campaign setting designed for the d20 System. Explore the world of Bellög, new and redesigned races, monsters and much more.
Greetings explorer, welcome to our domain!
We are Windmill Slam Games, a tiny Dutch company dedicated to writing and producing content to enrich your roleplaying experience. You have found our very first project on Kickstarter: The On the Shoulder of Heroes campaign setting. On The Shoulders of Heroes is intended for use with the 3.5 edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game and systems based on it, but due to its informative nature it could easily be used with any fantasy RPG-system. It is inspired by old school roleplaying games, traditional fantasy, Germanic and Japanese mythology. It is based on the idea that the world was built by the great deeds of great people – both good and evil.
Most art (including the cover) by the talented Eoghan Kerrigan
The complete book is close to 230 pages. It features 12 new and redesigned races, class descriptions, new feats and language rules, a whole continent with 8 countries in great detail, 19 new and redesigned deities, trade rules, new items and weapons, 23 new magic items and artifacts, new and redesigned monsters, 9 specially crafted NPC heroes and suggestions on how they might fit into your campaign. It is beautifully illustrated in gray-scale by 4 talented artists and is bound in a sturdy hard cover. We’ve uploaded some previews for you here: http://bit.ly/2Bd4b78
The book is designed to teach you everything you need to know to about the continent of Bellög and its inhabitants, its history and state of affairs. Everything is designed to be intuitive, to make you feel right at home, but with small twists and redesigns that keep you wondering. It pays homage to the rich history of fantasy and D&D.
Your support will help us to cover printing and production costs and to get started on future projects (that will further expand on the setting). We want to publish materials on a regular basis and for multiple gaming systems. If worlds are being explored we want ours to be among them! By supporting us you are making an investment in a company for gamers by gamers.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This product is for D&D 3.5e, which is an interesting choice. Obviously, they could have suggested the project is for Pathfinder and, maybe, found a simpler path to victory [no pun intended], but they’re on a mission for 3.5e. Because of that, I want to see if they can reach their nearly $6k goal and see if there is still life in the 3.5 market. If there is still interest in 3.5, does it suggest there is a market for the earlier D&D systems (beyond Basic and 1e)?
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
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:
EGG EMBRY – Jonathan, we’ve talked before, and I want to thank you for returning. You’ve got a Kickstarter campaign running through the holidays, don’t you. What’s it for?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – We are running a KS until Jan 4, 2018 for a new Savage Worlds edition of our setting Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. It needed to be cleaned up and revamped a little. Sherwood was our very first Savage Worlds product, and it needed to have a little work done. Now this work does not mean that those that worked on it before did a bad job, in fact it was just the opposite. We are really trying to bring it in line with the way our other Savage Worlds products look.
EGG – This is a Savage Worlds’ setting. Why is Savage Worlds ideal for Robin Hood?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – Savage Worlds is designed with “pulp adventure” in mind. I believe that the swashbuckling aspect of the Robin Hood genre just screams Fast, Furious, Fun, which is the motto of the Savage Worlds game system.
EGG – Why a 2e? What improvements are you planning?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – Mostly like it says on the KS page. We updated some edges, added some preconstructed archetypes and edited things so that they made more sense in this version of the book. We had some people helping out during the process too, telling me what they wanted to see in the book, and when it was possible we incorporated their feedback. Those people have requested to remain anonymous.
EGG – This isn’t your first Robin Hood game, is it? What other Robin Hood-centric projects have you done?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – We have done versions of this book for Pathfinder, D&D5e, and Swords & Wizardry. I have also recently worked on a new adventure book from Fearlight Games for their Hood: Swashbuckling Adventures in Sherwood RPG.
EGG – In your opinion, what makes Robin Hood and his world worth exploring?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – The world of Robin Hood is essentially our world in the late 12th century. There was a lot going on during the period. Turmoil in England, things happening in Europe and the Third Crusade was happening in the Middle East. These things can we weaved into the story you are trying to tell.
EGG – What do you feel is the quintessential Robin Hood book/comic/movie/game/whatever?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – Of course as everyone knows that would have to be Errol Flynn’s Adventures of Robin Hood from 1938. I truly believe that this is the first thing people think about when they think about Robin Hood.
EGG – Last time we talked, it was about Robert Asprin’s The Cold Cash War RPG. What happened with that game and what are your future plans for it?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – We didn’t quite make the goal on that one, we are going to relaunch the KS in June. We are going to be releasing a one sheet adventure in advance of the KS with some pregenerated characters from the novel included to play. This will give you a little bit of an idea of what will be going on in the setting in the future.
EGG – What other projects are you currently developing?
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – I am working on a few things for different companies, but as far as Battlefield Press is concerned we are currently developing a new project called The Dinosaur Protocol.
Generations ago, in the late 21st century, the Earth was dying, and some thought it was the fault of man. In the end it did not matter, mankind could not survive on the surface any longer, and so a way was developed to save the human race. Top engineers and scientists, built arks deep underground to save mankind from its own folly.
Generations passed, and the descendants of the survivors thought it was finally time to finally emerge and return to the surface of their world. They exited the tunnels dug by their ancestors and arrived on the surface of the Earth. It was not the Earth described by their ancestors, this was a new place, lush forests, plenty of food, and something no one expected, flora and fauna that had not existed in millions of years. Even more surprising were the prehistoric animals running around, and yes, even dinosaurs.
It was clear that this was a new Earth, and one more dangerous than the one their ancestors left. Armed with the skills and technology left by the ancestors, mankind now must survive in a new world.
JONATHAN M. THOMPSON – Go to Kickstarter and search for Sherwood: The Legend of Robin Hood 2e (Savage Worlds) or you can get there by following the link:
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:
Let’s start out 2018 right by finishing up a few 2017 RPG Kickstarter campaigns! One setting, one monster manual, and a reasonably priced dice tower, and all of them are worth checking out!
“Welcome to Sherwood Forest, home of heroes and outlaws
Cover for Shewood for Swords & Wizardry
Welcome to Sherwood Forest, a place of mystery and excitement. Band together to oppose the forces of the Sheriff and Prince John in England during the Third Crusade. Create your characters to do what is best for England and King Richard by protecting his interests at home.
This setting book allows you to play in the Medieval England of the period of the Third Crusades. The book is designed to not only emulate the historical period, but also the mythical one as well. Play in any level you would like from historical to mythical, emulating various novels, stories and tv shows about Robin Hood.
This setting can be played in either historic or mythical mode. Historic is more realistic, leaving out magic, but in mythical mode, magic has been added to the setting allowing you to play in the fantastic.
This book is the second edition and is written by Jonathan M. Thompson and Wil Upchurch and will be available for the Savage Worlds Role Playing Game. The manuscript is complete, and an alpha draft will be made available to all confirmed backers at least one month after the Kickstarter has been funded.”
Is this game going to be a winner? Like Jonathan says in our interview, he’s “done versions of this book for Pathfinder, D&D5e, and Swords & Wizardry.” I think this is going to be a solid offering.
“Why pay $30-$200 per dice tower when you can get THREE Dice Towers for $25? A simple cardboard dice tower solution for a simple problem
Dice Towers for a price in line with its function (rolling dice)
Like you, we play a lot of board games. Anyone who plays board games knows that rolling dice is a pain in the ass. You lose them under furniture. You ruin your board games by knocking over all your pieces.
A common solution is to get a dice tower but dice towers aren’t cheap. They can range from $30 to $200. But… if all its meant to do is roll dice why is it so expensive?
That’s why we created the Dice Tower of Power. It’s a simple solution to a very simple problem.
Why spend $200 for something that can be replaced by a piece of cardboard?
Why the Dice Tower of Power?
It’s made of recycled cardboard so its good for the environment.
It takes about a minute to assemble.
It can be disassembled for easy transport and storage.
It’s durable and can take a lot of punishment.
If you spill a drink on it or somehow destroy it – no big deal its cheap to replace.
3 Dice Towers are perfect for 4-6 players!
3 Dice Towers for $25 (or less)
One other benefit of the Dice Tower of Power is that we sell them in packages of 3. Most games are played with 4-6 people. So with 3 dice towers you don’t have to pass the dice towers around. Just pass the dice. This saves time and is a lot more convenient. Lastly, the price. We’re selling 3 dice towers for $25. So for less than the price of one dice tower available today you get 3.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I really want a dice tower, but every time I look at other dice towers the prices make blood run out of my nose. The idea of THREE dice towers for $25 is the deal I’ve been waiting for! They come in three-packs so it’s a purchase and a gift! Buy a pack and keep one for yourself, give one to your GM and give one to the player that always shoots a die into your drink cause his aim is… owe!
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
“Demons, dragons, kobolds, & undead galore, from the creators of the Tome of Beasts–plus commissions and monsters designed by backers!
From the creators of the titanic Tome of Beasts! Kobold Press is at it again, with a lethal and highly entertaining horde of 5e-compatible monsters to challenge new players and veterans alike.
The Creature Codex will bring over 300 new monsters to 5th edition, including lotus golems, wasteland dragons, shadow goblins, and so much more. All Creature Codex Kickstarter backers can submit an original monster design for possible publication, while high level backers can commission Kobold Press to design and illustrate their monster idea. In addition to the Creature Codex, this Kickstarter will fund the creation of monster pawns, encounter maps, and more!
We Kobolds love to make bestiaries and monster books! However, it costs quite a bit to create a high-quality, art-heavy, playtest-honed, rules-crunchy volume of 5th edition monsters—and printing a product of this size calls for some financial clout. We’re Kickstarting it to make sure we have the funding necessary for a small, medium, large, huge, or even gargantuan print run, as required.
With your support, we expect to deliver a big book, a juicy and useful PDF, and plenty of extras! Thanks to our prior outing with the Tome of Beasts, we have a seasoned team of skilled 5e monster designers, so you can expect even more innovation and fresh ideas to challenge your players, no matter what level of play they are at.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Did you back the Tomb of Beasts for 5e? This is more of that, and that project was gold! Those were amazing 5e monsters and this promises to add to it. Best of all, even if you back it at $1, you get a chance to submit a monster for Kobold Press to review and *possibly* publish. As of this writing they’re going to take 30 backer submitted monsters, and they’re likely to unlock 35. That’s 35 chances that a monster you submit will be picked to appear in the book. I’d buy that for a dollar!
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:
With Christmas 2017 in the rearview, let’s look at what could be under the tree in 2018 (or well before then) – five 5e RPG Kickstarters that are worth shaking the box to see what’s inside!
“Hunters Mark Adventure immerses you into the world of monster hunters. New 5E options, now in Hardcover.
Beneath the waves of the Conquering Sea, a primordial island rises and with it a new threat from an old enemy. Known as Primalrites, this monstrous race of dinosaurs were long forgotten by the monster hunters of today, but ancient fossils remain. And now, the island shudders once more as they return, seeking revenge against those that drove them to an early extinction.
You are about to embark on a rousing adventure that pits mighty hunters against monstrous dinosaurs on an island not big enough for both. These wildly fantastical hunts are recreated whenever you play the Hunters Mark adventure.
THE RULES
In order to play, you must first be acquainted with the 5e rules. The first major adventure in the Hunters World, Hunters Mark is a 5e adventure for characters of level 1-10. You can start the adventure with 1st level characters of your own creation, or, pick one or more from the cast of non-player characters. Either way, the characters should reach at least 10th level by the adventure’s conclusion.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Let’s do the checklist to decide if Hunters Mark is the one you should fund:
28 Boss Monsters for 5e
30 Epic Weapons and Armor for 5e
10 NPC Hunters for 5e
If all of those plus epic art appeal to you, this is the project that you’ve been waiting for.
“An all new 5e supplement featuring detailed NPCs and a focus on how to use their minions, with convenient, time-saving tips.
As game masters, we love 5E, but sometimes we run out of time preparing for a game. If only there was a supplement that had what we needed that would let us drag-and-drop into any campaign, potentially saving hours of game prep time. If only there were some new and exciting content we could offer, and for the proper XP level of the players. Well, fellow GMs, now there is!
What is Masters and Minions?
One thing we’ve noticed as game masters ourselves, is the challenge that most GMs face: prep time. With busy lives like ours in mind, we wanted to create a book that has NEW content to help with that! The idea with Masters and Minions was to develop some Bosses and their followers, but with a focus on how they use their minions – and provide some tips and strategies that any GM can “drag and drop” into a new or existing game. This new content will span levels 1 – 20, so the book will continue to provide you with new content as your players level up!”
Illustration by Conceptopolis featuring the Ringleader and her Minions!
Illustration by Conceptopolis featuring the Orc Queen and her Minions!
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is a 5e NPC-focused product. Do you need major NPCs and their henchmen for all levels? If so, this is a book with art to set the mood, a solid focus, an amazing creative team including Dan Dillion and Jim Pinto, and a mission – to make game prep easier. It’s well worth checking out (just see the pages below).
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
“Places by the Way #4: Sylvanhome is a short location module for D&D 5E written by Douglas Sun and published by Ramen Sandwich Press.
Welcome to Ramen Sandwich Press’ fourth Kickstarter campaign in support of Places by the Way. This campaign offers you your only chance to copies of the Limited (Kickstarter Only) Edition of Places by the Way #4: Sylvanhome.
Places by the Way
For those of you who missed our earlier campaigns, Places by the Way is a series of short modules that I’m creating for use with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. They work fine as short stand-alone adventures, but each Places by the Way module is meant to be a kit for creating a memorable interlude in a larger campaign. Each entry in the series consists of two versions sold separately but similar in content. One version is set in the Forgotten Realms, so Ramen Sandwich Press sells it exclusively through Dungeon Masters Guild. The other version assumes a generic setting and complies with WotC’s Open Game License. It’s available through DriveThru RPG, RPGNow and Dungeon Masters Guild, and a print version is available through Amazon and other online outlets.
Places by the Way has two inspirations. One is the line of mini-adventures that AEG published as part of the D&D 3rd Edition open license boom. I recall that the word count for those modules was only 5,000 words. I wrote a few of them, and they suggested to me that the short form could be made to work in adventure modules as it does in fiction. That is to say, if the typical folio-sized module is the novel, and the hardcover campaign books that WotC is publishing for 5th Edition are epics, there should be also be a place for the module equivalent of short stories.
The other inspiration is the strangely important role that side quests play in what we now recognize as standard CRPG structure. Side quests are those little tasks that you can find throughout the game world, and while they have no direct bearing on the main story, they allow you to accumulate XP, money and items, and meet memorable NPCs. If they’re done well they can add real flavor to the game experience. Fallout remains one of my very favorite CRPGs. One of the first things that jumps back into my mind is Tandi, the Shady Sands girl voiced so perfectly by Cree Summer. Her wistful musing about what lies beyond her little village convey the fallen melancholy of that world so beautifully that it made me forget all about finding that water filter. My goal for Places by the Way is that somewhere in the series, I will create an NPC encounter that has an effect like that. My disadvantage is that I won’t have a talented voice artist to help. But I’m going to try to create a moment in a campaign that you will find memorable out of proportion to its role as a diversion.
Places by the Way modules average about 15 numbered locations, each of which offers an encounter, noteworthy items, noteworthy NPCs or an opening into which you can hook your existing campaign.
We’re on to Places by the Way #4: Sylvanhome, which describes a small community of wood elves. In D&D’s conception of elves (which draws heavily on Tolkien), sylvan elves embody a particular tension between their good alignment and beneficent attitude toward other beings on the one hand and their isolation and deep suspicion of outsiders on the other. Sylvanhome works on that tension, depicting an elven settlement uncertain of how to respond to the presence of humans in a forest they are used to having for themselves. It will be up to your players how deeply they want to involve themselves in Sylvahnhome’s affairs, but entertaining situations will unveil themselves if they do.
Sylvahnhome is still being written, but we expect that it will be in layout by the end of November and the Limited Edition will be ready to ship in mid-January, as soon as Kickstarter clears payments from this campaign. Ramen Sandwich Press could use a little extra funding to make sure we can pay for stuff like layout, art and maps in a timely manner. So we’re turning to the Kickstarter community once again in the hope that you’ll help us keep this series going.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Moving away from the NPCs and monsters above, this offering is an adventure. Either a standalone or, with the prior three parts, a campaign interlude. For this 5e offering, it’s 15 locations centered around wood elves. As a DM, you can judge if this is something you could use for your world.
“Fill out your fantasy RPG campaign with these 31 original non-player characters! All contained in this full color 6×9” softcover book!
HI! My name is Chris Nichols, and I am an artist/illustrator based in the Twin Cities area. Recently I have been focused on writing, illustrating, and self publishing children’s books and comics filled with influences taken from skateboarding, my daughter, fantasy fiction, sci-fi, and heavy metal music.
This project started as an idea to create a new, fantasy tabletop RPG character every day for the month of October. At the end of the month I had 31 original characters. I decided to put them all together into a book, so I could share them with friends.
31 NPC’s Inktober 2017 is a 6×9 inch, 64 page, full color, soft cover book. I made it to assist Dungeon Masters, to help fill out their campaign with characters. My goal was to give each one a name, a look, some stats, and a quick description for how they would fit into the campaign.
Now I know Dungeon Masters are super creative, so I kept the information about these characters vague. On each NPC (non player character) page there is a large space for you to add in notes. Give them a backstory, a motive, how they’re connected to the PC’s or other NPC’s in the campaign. That is all for you to decide!
The last page has character tokens for you to cut out and use in your tabletop games.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Ok, this book is not precisely 5e, more any-edition-of-D&D/PF/OSR. That said, it’s 31 NPCs with simple stats, simple plot hooks, art, and tokens. If you need a variety of encounters that are broad enough for you to make up the details, this may be for you.
To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here.
“The Blood Plague is a Dark Fantasy Adventure Module for Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition. Gritty & unforgiving. Brutal and realistic.
The Blood Plague is a Dark Fantasy Adventure Module for Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition for Levels 3-5 which focuses on a deadly plague. The Blood Plague has struck the world of Penumbra and left it’s people reeling in horror at it’s ferocity.
The Cathedral of Arckenbury. Players will be tasked with reaching this ancient fortress and entreating for asylum with the dread Murder of Crows. Art by Jovina Chagas.
What is it?
A dark fantasy adventure fraught with perils – The Blood Plague, warring knights & far worse…
The story revolves around finding a safe refuge in the Blood Plague at Arckenbury Cathedral, but getting there won’t be easy.
A medieval Realm known as Penumbra with a distinctly dark and unique flavour. This includes brutal history & warring factions of Penumbra.
Gorgeous artwork of the Characters & World of Penumbra, as featured on the Podcast, Turncloaks.
Artwork
Check out some of the early & finished artwork we’ve had made! Jovina Chagas & Jessica Bellamy are the lead artists on this project, and really do justice to the gritty feel of the world.”
The Emperor’s Knights approach Ostwald. Roaming bands of merciless knights are just one of the dangers in Penumbra. Art by Jovina Chagas.
The Forests of Arckenbury hide unnatural dangers. On the road to Arckenbury, a place of refuge may not be as safe as it seems. Art by Jovina Chagas.
Victims of the Blood Plague. None know exactly how it started, but quarantining victims has become a necessity. Art by Jovina Chagas.
The Castles of Barons & Baronesses scatter the land of Penumbra, their spires looming above the peasants they rule over. Art by Jovina Chagas.
The Gothic Architecture of Penumbra. Art by Jovina Chagas.
Egg’s Thoughts:
Another 5e product, this one an adventure, and, like so many of these books this week, the art is first rate. Jovina Chagas’ understanding of landscapes and ink is inspiring. The world looks foreboding and ready to consume weak player characters. Utilizing art this strong projects darkness for the DM to build upon. Check out the campaign to see more.
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:
Happy holidays! It’s gift time 2017 and Egg found several Kickstarter rewards under his Christmas tree. I thought I’d shout out and thank a few projects that went the extra mile and got their work out before the egg nog carried them away!
Egg Embry, RPG KS Ph.D. (Charles Schulz would have done this better!)
UPDATED – 2017-12-26 AT 12:19AM EST – This one rolled in during Christmas day.
REVOLUTIONARIES — American War of Independence RPGby Make-Believe Games sent the first installment of their RPG on Christmas day. The game is about a version of the American Revolution and the timing of this piece has a light connection to Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River in that both occurred on Christmas.
“… for your enjoyment is the first installment of the Revolutionaries game, Fires of Liberty. This exclusive PDF sampler is loaded with bonus game content. It includes the Newport, RI setting and your first taste of the secrets behind the Culper Ring.”
With that, I’m at four Kickstarter gifts for Christmas 2017. I also heard that the rest of the Mindjammer KS came in as well as the v0.9 Unity RPG. It’s been a good Christmas!
* * * * * *
UPDATED – 2017-12-26 AT 08:00AM EST – This one came in not two weeks before Christmas day (12/14), it still deserves a mention.
This is a bonus product, but it’s comprise of stuff you’re gonna get in the final product. It’s basically the first half of the final book, all the rules.
It does look exactly like the rules section in the final product (in content and layout.)
This will never contain micro-settings. You’ll get a separate corebook for that (which will have rules + micro-settings.)
This will be going on sale soon-ish (likely after the New Year), so we wanted to give it to you first.
The cover of the book! Design by Robert Denton, Art by Michael Leavenworth
… download the full 186-page Swedish Alpha PDF of Forbidden Lands, under the Swedish title Rov & Ruiner.
… the PDF of the combat cards used for the hidden combo system in close combat, and you can download initiative cards…
The current (Swedish) draft of the character sheet can be downloaded…, and the big map of the game is to be found…(Swedish, same version as has been shared before, English version…).
What makes this a white elephant gift? It’s all (mostly) in Swedish.
“For the international audience – we will complete the English Alpha in the weeks ahead, and we will try to share each chapter as they are completed to get the material to you as soon as humanly possible.”
Seriously, this is by no means a bad gift because it means that we’re well on our way to getting the finished (i.e., English) product. It gives me something to look forward to in 2018!
“Twas the night before the night before Christmas…
…and just after 3am, I sent you all the rulebook!”
This is a superhero RPG where superpowers are derived from emotions. I’m still reading it but so far it’s a good product and I’m looking forward to slinging some dice using it. For my part, I created one of the criminal NPCs, N. T. Edison, aka Unsequence. If the game sounds interesting to you, I’d suggest contacting Thomas Constantine Moore on Twitter about picking up a copy.
* * * * * *
The only physical Kickstarter product I got for under the tree was a comic I’d been eager to check out, GROND Book Three, Oublar’s Revenge. My buddy, Michael Phillips, spread the holiday cheer with two copies of the comic, three prints, three post cards, and three metal cards. His Kickstarter update with the shipping notice had an amusing holiday moment to share:
“I am glad to let you all know that your rewards, including the international orders have been shipped on time. It was interesting standing in line at the post office for 10 mins with only 6 people ahead of me before I got to the counter to start mailing all 55 packages. Minutes later, I looked backed to see that the line had grown to more than 25 people staring angrily at me while the clerk was checking each package one at a time. My wife was with me but soon left to go sit in the car and wait, fearing for her life that someone would go “POSTAL” on me for having so many packages at once. I was determined to get your rewards mailed before Christmas like I promised, so you can get them before the holidays.”
This is not an exhaustive list of what Kickstarters (and RPGs/comics) dropped for Christmas, it’s just what I got. Did you get any Kickstarter products under the tree (or in your inbox)? If so, feel free to comment them below.
I hope your holiday was as full of little pieces of happiness! For my part, I want to thank everyone in my life and all of the warm wishes I received.
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:
This week, I’m looking at Kickstarters for the second editions of RPGs including one set in the World of Darkness, one using the FATE Core system, and one crossing over from French to English. Let’s check’em out.
“Contribute to help create, publish, and distribute the 2nd Edition of the CHANGELING: THE LOST tabletop roleplaying game.
There will be dragons and there will be sirens and there will be all the armies of the otherworld sent to bring you back. But you will slay them and you will shun them and you will stand on the battlements of your fortress as they break against your walls of thorn and iron.
You will be free.
You know the stories. The hero leaves his village on a terrifying journey, or the waif finds her way through the cold, dark woods. In the end, they kill the giant or shove the witch in an oven.
But what happens next?
In Changeling: The Lost, you take on the role of an ordinary person who has seen the extraordinary. Lured or abducted by the alien Gentry, you have passed the gates and Hedges between our world and the vast fantastic.
In Arcadia, the Gentry changed you. They forged your flesh and sewed your bones, and they gave you a role to play. You were a lover or a servant or a monster. But it was never your story.
Having run from your Keeper and climbed your way back through the Hedge (and didn’t the thorns bite more than they did going in?), you’re back in the world of pizza and Facebook and nuclear anxiety.
Your eyes are open now. You can see that magic is not the sole province of Faerie. The world is alive with wonders most people never see…and rife with horrors that count on that unwariness. It’s all part of your life now. You take the good with the bad, the magic with the monstrosity, the beauty with the madness.
It’s not always an easy story, not always a happy story. But now it’s your story.
Changeling: The Lost began in 2007, and amassed some of the most passionate fans the Chronicles of Darkness has ever known. Now, it’s reborn in its second edition, which tells new tales and builds on lessons learned in the past ten years. We’re jumping back into the brambles, and letting the scar tissue from last time protect us.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This campaign is for the second edition of the Changeling, a part of Onyx Path’s World of Darkness. A decade into its lifecycle, everyone can gauge their interest in the setting. For my part, I’m interested in it for it’s basis in historic folklore that some feel was the superstitious explanation for autism and other challenges. I’m curious to see how this influences the project.
“Every choice has a consequence in this game-changing tabletop RPG where destiny is literally in your hands.
Warsong Second Edition is a game about cataclysmic war. A game that looks into the face of destiny, and decides for itself. It is a game about mythic deeds, and choosing free will over fate.
Destiny is a choice.
The Viziers guide the flow of our world toward its inexorable doom. The armies of the world amass and gather, intent on destruction and death. Only you can choose the path of your own fate. By your actions, you choose the course of history.
The burden of free will is yours alone. The chains of destiny cannot hold you.
You are free.
Draw your sword.
Make your choice.
Guide your destiny.
In Warsong Second Edition, you play as one of the Viziers, ancient shape-shiftingQuicksilvers, dread undead Neverborn or one of the other primordial inheritors of the world. It is your free will that will shape the course of history and decide whether the world will fall by its own hand, or rise up from its ashes. The ancient powers are but memories, and the people fight for the right to rule.
The skeins of destiny have begun to fray and the Ancient Viziers have disappeared along with the old gods, leaving destiny in the hands of their heirs. You are one of the children of the primordial powers, born the promise of destiny, and bound to its power.
Armed with the power of magic and the ability to shape destiny itself, the Viziers, divine offspring of both god and man, stand as the world’s last defense against the forces of entropy and their own self-destruction. The gods, ancient viziers and primordial powers have disappeared, the nations refuse to stand united for a promised future and bitter rivalries burn as brightly as ever while the world’s life force dwindles down to ember. It won’t be an easy choice, but it will be yours to make.
What will you do with Free Will?
Warsong Second Edition began in 2013 as a play-test sample world built along with Pathfinder guidelines. Over time, it became a game of its own and Kickstarted on June 25 2016. Since then, it’s become a dynamic world that has gathered some of the most passionate fans Higher Grounds has ever seen. Now, a bit over a year after the game’s release, a revised and expanded second edition is nearing completion. Renewed in its second edition, Warsong Second Edition takes a year of reviews, feedback and criticism and puts those lessons to work.
Today, Warsong Second Edition is ready to jump back into the fray as a distilled and refined game using the Fate Core System rules, ready to ride the skeins of fate once more.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This is Warsong 2e’s second campaign (I looked at the first one here). As I said with the first one, “Need a FATE game? Does the premise sound interesting and you’d like to try the first edition of the game for free? Click here.”
“Fantastic Arabian Nights adventure in a world of deserts, dragons, and crusaders!
Welcome to the Capharnaum kickstarter! Help us fund the release of the English version of this fantastic roleplaying game in a beautiful 400-page hardback, and also expand into a complete line of adventures, supplements, and support material into 2018 and beyond!
With your help, our initial goal is to fund the release of the 400-page hardback core book of CAPHARNAUM – TALES OF THE DRAGON-MARKED, a complete standalone fantasy roleplaying game. Our initial release is in beautiful two-colour print, with sixteen gorgeous full colour plates; but rapidly we hope to reach the stretch goal of releasing the entire book with full-colour artwork. We already have the text ready for editing and layout, and anticipate releasing the core book in PDF format in March 2018 and in print in April 2018.
Capharnaum also has a range of supplements and adventures which we would like to produce, including a player’s guide, screen, bestiary, atlas, and epic campaign, plus many standalone adventures. We hope that we’ll exceed our initial funding total and be able to release these additional books to you as Kickstarter stretch goals.
Why not check out Capharnaum today, in THE TEARS OF AMPHAROOL, our free Quickstart Rules and Introductory Adventure!
CAPHARNAUM – THE TALES OF THE DRAGON-MARKED is a fantasy roleplaying game set in an imaginary Arabia-like world. It borrows from the tales of the One Thousand and One Nights, as well as semitic legends and the ancient and mediaeval epics. Capharnaum doesn’t aim to be a historical game, but a heroic one, a flamboyant refraction of historical, cultural, and mythical themes, filled with light and thrilling adventure!
In Capharnaum, you play the Dragon-Marked, heroic individuals with a special destiny, born with a birthmark on their backs in the shape of a dragon’s claw. The Dragon-Mark announces to the world that you are capable of astonishing feats, for good or evil. Chosen by mystical dragons in accordance with an unknown divine will, you are offered a place in the great game of the gods. You’ll be cast into colourful adventures, political, military, and magical intrigues, and much more…
Capharnaum is a simple yet profound game. We all know the tales of Sinbad, of Ali Baba, of Aladdin and Scheherezade – we grew up with them, they form part of our personal culture. The world of Capharnaum is familiar, easy to pick up and play.
And yet – scratch the surface, and a whole world opens up. Meticulously researched,Capharnaum aims to provide fantastic takes on real-world Mediterranean cultures, from ancient Greece and Rome, Egypt and Sumeria, right through to the crusader kingdoms, dark age and mediaeval Europe, the kingdoms of Africa, India, and the distant East. Uniquely,Capharnaum is centred upon a fantastic version of the Middle-East, where all these cultures meet, clash, come into conflict with the profound cultures of the peninsula of Jazirat, and where something new is being born.
As the Dragon-Marked, you transcend cultural differences. You’re united by an unknown, mystical, yet common destiny. Side by side with people who would otherwise be your foes, you adventure in this vibrant, chaotic land, where the fate of the future is at play, and where you are destined to change the world…
The Capharnaum Game System
Capharnaum uses a tried and tested custom game system which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, with a second edition of the original French roleplaying game. Our Kickstarter includes all of the updates and rules modifications of the second edition game. It’s a d6-based system, a modified dice pool with a semi-roll-and-keep mechanic. Simple yet flexible, it combines skills and attributes in rolls against difficulties, resolving into levels of success or failure in a highly cinematic style. It’s grounded in traditional concepts of hit points, armour values, wounds, and healing, but also expands into genre-specific rules tweaks such as Dragon Dice and Constellations which let you really feel the power of the Dragon-Marked course through your character.
One of the key components of the Capharnaum system is the concept of paths: mystical associations which you belong to, which represent your view of your role in the world (your “character class”, to some extent), but which also provide you with cool and increasingly awesome abilities as you play.
Advancement is built into the Capharnaum system. As one of the Dragon-Marked, you’re already an individual with great potential – but this is an age which calls for Heroes, and the rules let you rise to the occasion and change the world!
Who is “Al-Rawi”?
In Capharnaum, in the fine tradition of Middle-Eastern story-telling, we call the game master “Al-Rawi”, an Arabic word meaning “the Story Teller”. When you play Capharnaum, you’re not only playing a roleplaying game, but participating in an ancient tradition millennia old!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
This translation is based on the 2nd edition of the game.
“The Tears of Ampharool are actually the 2nd edition mechanics. […] The English version of Capharnaum will use the 2nd edition mechanics, which features several streamlinings on 1st Ed, particularly with regard to initiative, the calculation of magnitude, and Babouche-Draggers.” – From the comments on the Capharnaum quickstart
[Editor’s Note: Egg’s reaching for this week’s second edition theme.]
In terms of a setting, it brings something under explored (compared to Europe) in RPG, Arabia. That’s what sets this apart, it isn’t another pseudo-Western European setting. If you want to try out how different it is, they have a free quickstart here.
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:
There is a term for comic books that became a slightly bad way of referring to them: Funny Books. Meaning they were good for a few laughs, but that was about it. Yet, my friend and I like to take that derisive term and embrace it when we talk about comics. Whether it is Marvel or DC or Image or anything and everything else out there – they are our funny books. They should bring smiles to your face because you are enjoying what you’re reading because that means the people creating the book must have been having “fun” as well.
Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 9:34 AM EST.
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The Pitch:
Penumbra: Fear the Bunny Lord, is the story of the Mistress of Shadows meeting her greatest foe, a lagomorph with great night vision!
The Story:
On a heist to steal a piece of alien technology, rumored to increase the abilities of any Empowered who holds it, she faces off against Wild Hare. He has an aim to test his skills against the slickest of escape artist. Together with the small army of security, Wild Hare will make sure it isn’t Penumbra’s lucky day.
John’s Thoughts:
Like I said in the preamble, this looks like a comic where the creators are just cutting loose and having fun. I mean, a master thief up against a two-legged bunny? And the thing is that comics don’t always have to be these dreary things that we force ourselves through just to have said: “hey, I read that thing – yeah, it depressed the hell out of me, but I read it!”
I gotta think that after you read this issue the response is much more likely to include lots of laughter rather than tears.
The Rewards:
The other thing about this campaign is that the overall amount being asked for is only about $467, so the rewards all lean towards the various digital rewards. However, if you want to spring for something a little different, the $66 level has a “Personal short story by the writer including Penumbra and an Original character of your choice”. If you have that one character you wish you could include in other people’s worlds, here’s your chance.
The Verdict:
Master thieves and the Rabbits that chase them. Nuff said. Go get yourself a funny book.
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To learn more about Penumbra, check out the Shades of Vengeance website here.
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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
Two licensed properties are coming to Savage Worlds, an Ennie-winning game is getting an expansion, and a not-quite-Dark-Sun setting by the co-creator of Dark Sun is getting a spiritual successor for the world’s most popular role-playing game. These are all worth checking out.
“Pulp action at its finest! Use the Fast! Furious! Fun! Savage Worlds game system in the popular cinematic world of Flash Gordon™!
With a deafening roar, Dr. Zarkov’s rocket ship, with Flash and Dale aboard, shrieks into the heavens and heads straight toward the onrushing planet with a madman at the controls!
We announced the Savage World of Flash Gordon™ at Gen Con in 2015, and now it’s here! Drawing inspiration from Alex Raymond’soriginal strips, the serials, AND the 1980 movie starring Sam J. Jones and Max von Sydow, this is far more than just a game, this is a definitive resource for all Flash Gordon’s adventures!
AND NOW…it includes a foreword by none other than Sam J “Flash Gordon” Jones himself! See the link here for more details!
Foreword by actor, US Marine, and all around great guy Sam J Jones!
Author Scott Woodard dug deep into the history of this genre-defining series, bringing every corner of the setting to vibrant life. Heroes can foment rebellion in Mingo City, marvel at the tree-cities of Prince Barin’s Arboria, bake in Volcano World’s Land of the Dead, and shiver in Frigia or the cruel Ice Kingdom of Naquk.
Along the way they’ll encounter far more than just Ming’s merciless minions! Bore worms, cave dragons, sharkons, wolvrons, and over FIFTY strange and exotic creatures roam the strange world of Mongo!
Best of all, for fans of Savage Worlds, The Savage World of Flash Gordon™ features all the new powers, Edges, Hindrances, and amazing gear you’ve come to expect…but also an incredible new Setting Rule called…
At the beginning of each session, the players are given the Cliffhanger token. When the group decides to use it, they flip it over to the CLIFFHANGER side! Everyone gets a reward of some kind–such as drawing or refilling their Bennies, or gaining Conviction (more below!). But then the situation goes from the proverbial frying pan into the fire in some way!
We’ll provide a print and play Cliffhanger token online, but those of you backing the Collector’s Edition Box get this amazing, polished brass version,designed by the always amazing, spaceship lovin’, three-time Hugo Award™ winning artist, Cheyenne Wright!
This is the design for the 4″ long, polished brass Cliffhanger token that comes *only* in the Collector’s Box! We’ll have photos as soon as we get our production samples!
Once the Cliffhanger is in play, the GM either decides what happens based on the circumstances, or better yet, lets the players choose from a number of options…and we even have cards for them! They’re print and play now, but keep watching the skies and we’ll see what happens, heroes!
Three sample Cliffhanger cards…the symbols on the upper right tell the group what they get for taking on the Cliffhanger!
Example: Flash, Dale, Hans, and Thun battle Ming’s soldiers on the streets of Mingo City. Hans is out of Bennies, so another shot from the enemy’s atom pistol will spell his doom! Hans’ player calls for a Cliffhanger. The other players agree and they choose “Out of the Frying Pan!”
The GM tells everyone to take five while she sets up the new scene. She decides one of Ming’s soldiers has thrown a grenade that cracks open the city streets. The heroes plunge into the sewers below, straight into the lair of an angry gocko and the cave men who worship it!
The GM narrates: “Flash and his companions had Ming’s minions on the run! Little did they know a new terror lurked beneath their very feet!”
The group faces a new challenge, but have refilled their Bennies and are ready for action!”
Egg’s Thoughts:
What does this campaign have going for it?
It’s from Pinnacle, the publisher of Savage Worlds, so the setting will fit the game as well as it can because it’s an official Flash Gordon product using a system that feels ready-made for it.
They have added pulp mechanics for the game that will offer “cliffhangers”.
Sam Jones (movie Flash Gordon) is doing the foreword.
The art is pulled from every era of this franchise.
“The NYT Bestselling action fantasy series Monster Hunter International comes to Savage Worlds in an all new Kickstarter!
Mockup Cover! (Illustration and layout by Jeremy Mohler)
Monster Hunter International, the New York Times Bestselling action series is coming to the Savage Worlds roleplaying system!
Written by Larry Correia, Monster Hunter International is an urban fantasy series about professional monster hunters who battle against the things that go bump in the night!
As the slogan goes…”Cowboy up, and get paid.”
Larry is a big fan of Savage Worlds and when we approached him about doing an updated MHI roleplaying game, he immediately wanted to use one of his favorite rulesets, so that’s what we did!
Gallant Knight Games has experience working in Savage Worlds, and we’ve enlisted the help of the lead writer on the previous MHI roleplaying game Steve S. Long!
Using the rules in the book, you’ll be able to play a variety of teams in the MHI Universe, including the titular team: Monster Hunter International.
The book will also include:
Full details on MHI and it’s history, it’s organization, missions and tactics.
World information on PUFF, how the various governments handle monsters and more.
NPC stats for a variety of characters from the books, including Owen Z. Pitt, Julie Shackleford, Agent Franks, Susan Shackleford and more, written up by the creator himself!
Rules for playing over two dozen teams in the MHI Universe!
New monsters for your hunters to face down!
New MHI details and fictions right from Larry!
AND A LOT MORE!
We’re keeping this simple. What you see on the pledge levels is what you get!
Our goal is to fund a 200ish page softcover roleplaying game book for Savage Worlds. Like all Savage Worlds licensees, you’ll need Savage Worlds core rulebook to play the game.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Flash Gordon and Monster Hunter International are both licensed settings for the Savage Worlds RPG and, while not exactly one-for-one the same (sci-fi pulp versus urban fantasy), they’re still going head-to-head and I’m curious to see the market reacts to them. As with Flash above, the setup for this novel series is ideal for translation to Savage Worlds – You’re a monster hunter… GO! HUNT! MONSTERS!
Add to that, one of the stretch goals is to get the novelist behind Monster Hunter International to create a special adventure for the book and this is a winner.
“Sixth Stretch Goal at $80,000 – A special adventure, written by Larry Correia himself will be added to the corebook!”
“The first rules supplement for the ENnie-Award winning RPG The Dark Eye vastly expands character options for the world of Aventuria.
Experience The Dark Eye and its ENnie-Award winning setting Aventuria in even greater depth with the Aventuria Compendium.
Whether your characters prefer weapons or words, the Compendium gives your heroes exciting new options for interacting with the world of The Dark Eye! As a player, choose the rules that you like best. Options can apply to all characters or even just to one—you decide how you want to play!
Master new fighting styles and wield new weapons on the battlefield, or put more subtle skills to use and outmaneuver your opponents in social interactions. Expand your game with new rules for Fate points, weapon breakage, hit locations, information gathering, item creation, and more!
The Aventuria Compendium and the Aventuria Armory broaden the setting of Aventuria by introducing new character professions and dozens of essential pieces of equipment. Explore new paths to heroism in Aventuria with the first major rules supplements for The Dark Eye!”
Dragon Kings showed us a ruthless and extremely dangerous world, with exotic races of humanoids and non-humanoids that depart from more traditional roleplaying games paradigms.
Khitus, the setting where Dragon Kings is located, is a world that is slowly dying. Its forest becoming deserts due to dreadful influences on the planet that are draining its natural resources.
With magic that takes a dreadful toll on those who use it, psionics are awakening. Races of long ago mindless insects are evolving and expanding, with a thirst for conquest that threatens the entire planet. Lizardmen become cleverer by the day.
The world is changing as it dies, and only strong heroes have a chance to slow down or halt its demise.
That would be you.
The Pachyaur
Dragon Kings is a departure from more traditional fantasy settings, and has a darker and more exotic edge to it.
Add to this the intensity of the world and the new classes that it presented, and it’s impossible not to appreciate the vast potential and richness of this game.
The gorgeous art, the amazing cartography – Dragon Kings really stood high among the best and most innovative RPGs.
You can download the free gazetteer from here to get a great overview of the world.
And now, Dragon Kings is coming to 5E
With this project, we want to create a Player’s Rulebook to bring the 5E rules to Khitus.
To achieve that, we worked with the talented Chris Sims, one of fifth edition’s developers, and someone with more years of experience in the industry than politeness allows us to mention.
The Player’s Rulebook will contain races, class information, and more. It’s a book for Dragon Kings fans and fifth-edition gamers.
We expect the Player’s Rulebook to contain more than 20,000 words of text when it funds, with more content added as we hit stretch goals.
This Player’s Rulebook will be available both in black-and-white and color, and both soft and hard cover. That way everyone will be able to choose the edition that suits you best.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Disclosure: I did some *minor* editing on this Kickstarter before it launched.
It’s not Dark Sun for 5e… But, it’s like Dim Star for 5e in the best possible sense.
The setting already exists for Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, and 13th Age and, with Tim Brown involved, this offering will go a long way towards filling in for a much loved 5e setting.
Also, co-publisher Battlefield Press International has a campaign going for a fantasy prose anthology, The Awakened III Anthology, featuring the likes of Ed Greenwood, Darrin Drader, Darren W. Pearce, and more. Check it out here.
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:
EGG – A number of 
EGG – You did not skimp on the previews. How have they been received, and which system is getting more interest from 
EGG – When I first approached you about doing an interview, I didn’t connect you were 
Mockup Cover! (Illustration and layout by Jeremy Mohler)
