4 RPG Kickstarters You Should Back – Life on Gaia, Runewild, Whispers of Persephone, and Secrets of Starfall

Friends and acquaintances ask me to look at their Kickstarters, and so I did. In this roundup, there’s an audiobook based on an RPG, and products for 5e, including one I did an interview about on the Open Gaming Network (here). Normally, I give my thoughts on these but time is short (this is the second roundup of the week after looking at some RPG-related comic books). For this article, I’m looking at:

Enjoy!

 

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Life on Gaia: An Audio Anthology of Post-Apocalyptic Stories by Shades of Vengeance
Ends on Sun, October 7 2018 4:00 PM EDT.

 

“Leo Cosh voices an audio book of short stories in the world of Gaia, where Infection runs rampant and humanity is a dying race.

At Shades of Vengeance, we don’t just create games, we create worlds! 

We love building huge, expansive environments and bringing them to life through different types of media.

We also like to allow everyone in our team to express their creativity. A chance for Leo Cosh, a professional voice actor in his own time, to bring one of our games to life was too good an opportunity to miss!

And so, we have detailed the world of Gaia, a post-apocalyptic world where zombies and mutants roam, threatening Humanity and often causing them to turn on each other!

This audio book is our first attempt at a major audio product, bringing over 4 hours of material to you.

A hundred years ago, there was a cataclysm. Maybe a biological weapon was set off, or a parasite evolved… honestly, no-one really cares any more.

What matters is that the parasite was airborne, infectious and could live in any warm-blooded creature. Those affected are driven insane and mutate, becoming a threat to those around them. This doesn’t even end with death: corpses of those Infected are reanimated and will wander the world, seeking nourishment.

Humanity is a dying race now. In another hundred years, there won’t be any of us left. A bite or scratch, or a breath in the wrong place spells doom.

We have made some progress, however. The development of a drug, known as Injection, means that humans can encounter the Parasites and live to tell the tale.

People have adapted to this situation in different ways – some choose to fight it, preserving as many lives as possible, or searching for a cure to the Infection. Others, lost in the hopelessness, turn to stealing from any who cross their path. With the loss of communications, Runners have begun carrying messages as the only form of long-distance communication. Still others try to burn everything that stands in their way, cleansing it, or hide underground in concealed bunkers, waiting for the Infection to burn out.

In this world, surviving is a matter of wits and cunning…

The stories in this anthology explore the different factions of this detailed world, and the experiences of various people as they try to survive.

Want to hear what the stories sound like? We'll be adding more throughout the Kickstarter!
Want to hear what the stories sound like? We’ll be adding more throughout the Kickstarter!

The Runner (Story 2)

Nihilist (Story 3)

The High-Rise Slums (Story 5)

  • It’s an Audio Book!
  • The total length will be around 4 hours.
  • It’s an anthology: each story takes place from a different perspective.
  • Each story varies in length, but most are around 6 minutes.
  • It will be delivered in .mp3 format.
  • It has been voiced by a professional voice actor, using different voices for each character.

Leo Cosh is the voice actor who has brought the world of Gaia to life. With a wide range of experience on different types of projects, he was the perfect choice to give voice to the people of Gaia!

Ed Jowett is the creator of the world of Gaia, director of the audio book and writer of many of the stories. Primarily creating roleplaying games, he has published over 50 books through Shades of Vengeance.

Jennifer Martin has worked with Ed Jowett to bring the characters of Gaia into sharp focus. Having worked with Ed for over five years, her chilling style sucks the listener into the world!

Mikhail Greuli is the artist who supplied the various images used in this Kickstarter. His incredible talent for bringing the mysteries and creatures of Gaia to life have been invaluable in creating this project!

Martin Popovski has brought the world of Gaia to life through the title video! We’re very grateful to him for his work on this project!”

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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The Runewild – A Dark Fairy-Tale Setting for 5E by Sneak Attack Press
Ends on Thu, October 18 2018 10:00 PM EDT.

 

“A 5e setting book and hexcrawl in a forest filled with witches, fey, and things that go bump in the night.

Beyond the kingdom of Aruanda, there is an untamed land. It is a place where witches walk, where goblins cavort, where the borders between the realms of mortal and fey grow thin. For some, it is a place of unspeakable wonder; for others, only madness and death lie within its trackless depths.

It is the Runewild, and it is both beautiful and cruel.

The Runewild Campaign Setting is a dark fairy-tale hex-crawl for use with the 5th Edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game. Designed for character levels 1 through 10, it provides locations, encounters, and NPCs to support a campaign lasting months or years, or to be adapted into other campaigns. The full-color book will be at least 160 pages long and includes:

  • A history of the Runewild and its surrounding settlements.
  • 100 detailed encounter areas for player characters to explore.
  • New optional rules for exploring and resting.
  • Advice for running a hex-crawl campaign.
  • A new feat: Fey-Touched.
  • 8 new Runewild-specific backgrounds (including hag-owned, Runewild folklorist, time-lost knight, and polymorphed animal).
  • 13 unique magic items (like witch embers and the staff of clarity and confusion).
  • 32 new monsters (including clockwork dwarves, fey lions, giant forest sloths, and the terrifyingly beautiful Golden Bodach).
  • Detailed descriptions of the histories, motivations, and weaknesses of the witches of the Runewild, including the Whitebone Sisters; Missus Switch, the swine hag; Korthsuva, the Witch of Hours; and the hag-queen Griselda, Mother of Ogres.
  • Dozens of random tables designed to help GMs make the Runewild campaign their own.

Forest of a Thousand Stories

The Runewild Campaign Setting is a hex-crawl first and foremost, but as the player characters explore the Runewild, they’re sure to find themselves caught up in the many conflicts that threaten the ancient forest. Here are just a few of the larger story arcs that might become a part of your Runewild campaign:

Ianto the Red: A powerful bandit lord named Ianto the Red controls a network of murderers and thieves who plague the roads between settlements. Rumor has it Ianto traded his soul to a coven of witches in exchange for eternal life.

The Thistlewhip Children: Cort and Cora Thistlewhip’s seven children are missing. Unbeknownst to their parents, the children undertook a quest for King Wobbly-Odd, a Runish lord who fell prey to a fey curse centuries ago. Unless someone recovers the children, the Thistlewhips may become lost in the Runewild forever.

The Broken King: In the heart of the Runewild, a mysterious figure known as the Broken King assembles an army of goblins. No one knows what the Broken King wants, but the trail of petrified victims his goblins leave behind may provide a clue.

The Witch Queen Griselda: Humans and elves united to defeat Griselda’s forces during the Witch Wars, but the hag herself survived and fled into the Cronemarsh. Now she plots revenge and rebuilds her network of allies. Griselda rarely leaves her home, but an ancient curse demands she visit the dreams of anyone who slays a witch within the Runewild’s borders.

To learn more about the Runewild, you can check out our free previews:

Preview 1 – Missus Switch, Swine Witch: The history and statistics of Missus Switch, the Swine Witch, as well as a detailed description of the school house where she teaches her porcine pupils.

Preview 2 – Highvale Blade and Twisted Tome: The Runewild is a place steeped in powerful fey magic. These magic items show how some harness it safely, while others let it get out of control.

Preview 3: Beasts that Lurk in the Runewild: This preview features four new beasts that live in the Runewild: the helpful fey lion, the thought-stealing fiddlehead, the enigmatic Seven-Tail, and the terrifyingly beautiful Golden Bodach.

If you want to see even more, you can back the project and access the current draft of the book by going to this backer-only post. We’ve written the entire book and gone through several rounds of revision, but we plan to do at least one more revision using your feedback.

Finally, we have two products already for sale that tie in to the Runewild.

The Goblin Market:  A magical marketplace full of strange treasures and goblin vendors eager to part the heroes from their coin. (Note: we will incorporate most of the material from The Goblin Market into the final book.

The Marriage at Midsummer: Two star-crossed lovers have gone missing from Caerfell’s Midsummer Festival. Their families are at each other’s throats. Deep in the Runewild, a mysterious figure called the Bishop promises to unite the couple. But the Bishop actually has other plans. This is the first in the Seasons of the Runewild series of adventures.

We love the ways crowdfunding can involve our backers. Everybody who backs at any level can read the current draft of the book and provide feedback. For those who want to play an even bigger role, we offer two backer reward options:

Denizen of the Runewild

The Runewild Campaign Setting will contain a table featuring one hundred random fey denizens of the Runewild. We want to give you a chance to be part of that chart. If you select either the PDF and Runewild Denizen or the Print and Runewild Denizen reward level, you can create one entry on the chart that includes your fey creature’s name, the type of fey, a brief description, and the creature’s goals. (All descriptions may be modified for length, tone, and established setting cannon.)

Part of the Art

If you want to be even more involved with the creation, you can pledge at the Part of the Art level. At this level, we will also include an illustration based on either a photo or description you provide. We will add the NPC to the book, and you can provide as much or as little guidance as you would like. (By pledging at Part of the Art, you grant permission for us to use your likeness in the Runewild Campaign Setting and promotion for it, but not in other products.)

The focus of this Kickstarter Campaign is the Runewild Campaign Setting, but we also want to create adventures you can use to introduce players to the Runewild, either as a one-shot or part of a larger campaign. Each adventure centers around a different seasonal celebration in a different settlement around the Runewild.

The Marriage at Midsummer: Two star-crossed lovers have gone missing from Caerfell’s Midsummer Festival. Their families are at each other’s throats. Deep in the Runewild, a mysterious figure called the Bishop promises to unite the couple. But the Bishop actually has other plans. This is the first in the Seasons of the Runewild series of adventures. (Already released and available as an add-on.)

Bonedigger: The townsfolk of Ill Hollow practice a strange tradition: each Harvestide, they bury an animal’s bones in a false grave to prevent Bonedigger, a witch’s ghostly hound, from finding his mistress’s true remains. This year, however, something has gone wrong. Not only has someone dug up the real witch’s grave, but a local youth who hoped to spot Bonedigger has gone missing. (Everyone who pledges $3 or more will get a PDF copy of Bonedigger when we release it, just after the Kickstarter campaign ends.)

All Through the Long, Dark Night: Every year the village of Widderspire gathers around Widderspire Pond to celebrate the winter solstice. This year, frost imps attack the celebration, leaving the villagers entombed in ice. To save Widderspire, the heroes must brave the depths of Widderspire Pond, pass through a magical portal into the fey realm, and rescue a powerful fey named Ember John. ($6,000 stretch goal)

Springtime Comes to Kidwelly: Before spring can begin, the halflings of Kidwelly must lure a fey creature called the Monax out of its burrow, but this year the Monax is nowhere to be found. Unless the heroes locate those responsible for the Monax’s disappearance, Kidwelly may be locked in winter’s grip forever. ($8,000 stretch goal)

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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Whispers of Persephone ~ The bloody book of Necromancy 5E by Sinopa Publishing LLC
Ends on Tue, October 30 2018 11:57 PM EDT.

 

“All Original Necromancy Content New arcane tradition, spells, rituals, poisons, magic items & alchemicals. 5E 5th Edition DnD RPG

What this project creates:

This campaign funds the art and backer reward fulfillment costs of Whispers of Persephone,a necromantic source book for use in your role playing game. This book is written for specialist necromancer wizards, and describes a new arcane tradition, Stygian Necromancy. Created as a book of 120+ pages, containing entirely original art in full color by Christian Martinez and all original game content by W.S. “Sam” Quinton. Whispers of Persephone is a wonderful role-playing aid.

*Written for mature role-playing audiences, this book is NOT appropriate for children.

Art for Whispers of Persephone by Christian Martinez
Art for Whispers of Persephone by Christian Martinez

This is a source book for those who like their dark arts, to be DARK!

How far along is the book now?

Writing: The writing of the game play material is complete! This book is presently in its final play testing stage, and will likely see some revisions as this campaigns draws to its end.  All that remains, is to complete the material for those tiers pledged that add the names of backers at The Necromancer, Acolyte of Death, and Fallen Heroes tiers, and to complete those character descriptions (stat blocks, and some narrative biographical text), as well as completing the example of play/use.  That material is expected to take a couple of days to complete and another day or two for proof reading and final formatting.  Character material will be completed as backers pledge at those tiers, so look for messages from me if you are pledging as The Necromancer, an Acolyte of Death, or as a Fallen Hero.

Art:  The covers are complete. The interior art that has been completed thus far is displayed on this page. By reaching funding goal, the remaining art that is essential to this book can be completed. Stretch goals are structured to allow for additional art to be commissioned and added to the book.  Page background art is being revised for better legibility.

Two different covers available:

Screen capture of the "Black Cover"
Screen capture of the “Black Cover”
Spinal cover
Spinal cover

Things you’ll find in the book:

Introduction from play test version 3.0
Introduction from play test version 3.0

Whispers of Persephone contains descriptions of spells ranging from cantrips up to level nine, as well as rituals of the foulest sorts of levels one through eight. Materials on poisons, potions, and alchemicals are included; as are rules for the necromantic practices of the sacrifice of sentient beings. Comments attributed to the Necromancer, Acolytes of Death and Fallen Heroes are found throughout the book.

The Stygian Necromancer arcane tradition: The path to power is soaked with the blood of your victims, and adorned with the cries of their suffering. The brave fear you and the wise flee from you. Whispers of Persephone details a new arcane tradition for wizard characters, Stygian Necromancy. This tradition is designed to lend a new style to the play of practitioners of the darkest magical arts of blood, death, and souls.

 2 New Monsters ~  Darkling Horror and Stygian Mummy

The Stygian Mummy by Christian Martinez
The Stygian Mummy by Christian Martinez

 5 New Feats ~ Dark Prodigy or Hematomancer, which to choose?

 9 New magic items  ~ Enchanted Skull cup, Canopic Jars and more.

 10 New alchemicals, potions, and poisons ~ Would you care for tea?

 12 New Rituals  ~ Blood sacrifice is the just the beginning!

 15 New Spells  ~ Clean HandsIld’s Eye Rot, and the Curse of Spite among others! Bring the pain and suffering to your enemies with these and more searing spells.

Information about the Necromancer and the 13 Acolytes of death: Such as the heinous acts of Kroalish, the first acolyte of the Necromancer. His vile acts are matters of horrific legends!  This section also details the dark prodigy known as ‘Ild’ a young woman possessed of a dark heart and gifted in the arts of murder.

Ild, apprentice of Kroalish and necromantic prodigy.
Ild, apprentice of Kroalish and necromantic prodigy.

All original art created by Christian Martinez specifically for this book!

Why you want this Book:

Whispers of Persephone is a great player aid. Players can use it as a quick reference book for spells and can work the book into their character backgrounds. Whispers of Persephone is also suitable for use as an in-game prop. Game masters can use it as a treasure item recovered in their campaigns. This book can also bring new adversaries into play as the player characters are confronted by followers of the Necromancer seeking to retrieve this valuable resource.

This is a darkly beautiful book, filled with fantastic art created by Christian Martinez. It looks great in your collection, and menacing on your gaming table.

Drinking from the skull of your enemy is back!
Drinking from the skull of your enemy is back!

Whether used by player characters or used against player characters, Whispers of Persephone is a great resource for your games.”

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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Secrets of Starfall: A 5E Adventure by Dragon-Knight Publishing (DriveThruRPG or Open Gaming Store)
Ends on Thu, November 1 2018 3:01 PM EDT.

 

“Secrets of Starfall: a 5th-10th level adventure for 5th Edition

A 5th-10th level adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game!

Following the events that took place in “Whispers of Starfall”, this adventure can also be used as a filler adventure for any campaign.

Rado, the Gnome wizard, has vanished, leaving the crossroads town of Hyran to grieve their losses. The Elenhodel has given a clue to his possible misguided actions but it is up to you to determine how best to proceed. Expanding on the custom world of Ambaran, players will travel across the new world, over a blistering desert, an angry sea or a treacherous mountain. Filled with options, characters are encouraged to go where they wish and stop the evil that is Rado from destroying Ambaran as they know it.

There will also be 2 new races, the Lydran and the Xrystis! Both of these races are not only NPC’s to interact with, but also able to be played as characters if you choose! The images are still being worked on but we will, which will be included right here once the art has been completed. If we hit a few stretch goals, we will even be able to offer a miniature of both of these races. We have a rough draft of the Lydran race while the miniature prototype is still being processed.

Lydran Warrior Brave
Lydran Warrior Brave

 

NOTE: I interviewed Jon Neddo about this Kickstarter on the Open Gaming Network (here).

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here or the Open Gaming Store here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™
Freelancer for EN WorldKnights of the Dinner TableOpen Gaming Network, and the Tessera Guild.
Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Want to share news? Press releases? Rumors? Sneak peeks? Deals? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or on Facebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).

6 D&D 5e Kickstarters – Spectacular Settlements, The Curse of Roslof Keep, The Runewild, The Steel Road, The Bespoken Bestiary, and Carcosa

I’m on the road to Origins 2018. In other news, there are six 5e Kickstarters worth looking at. I don’t say much (on the road), but these games are worth a look. 😉

 

The Curse of Roslof Keep high level 1E & 5E gaming adventure by Art of the Genre
Ends on .

“Return to high adventure with this upper level (10+) module that features a living dungeon, adversarial NPC companies, and much more!

Join the adventure as Art of the Genre revisits the various curses of Roslof Keep!  This first part of a six part mega-campaign is based around experienced characters levels 10+, and I’ve specially designed the dungeon to breath life into those adventuring levels without relying on old standards like giants, dragons, and constructs.

The Curse of Roslof Keep revolves around an adventuring company moving to the city of Tiefon, capital of the great eastern power of Thalonia, where they will match wits against other great adventuring companies as well as the intelligent dungeon known as The Infernal Machine.

Folio #20 will introduce characters to the setting, the mysterious and ancient Kasbah of Tiefon, as well as the other companies hired by the great houses to clear the magical dungeon that has suddenly appeared beneath their streets.  Dungeon details include 2D standard ‘blue’ hex maps as well as fully 3D renderings of Level 1.  A gazetteer will give background on the Infernal Machine and the city, as well as the stakes that weigh on the characters, and includes a new monster designed specifically for this campaign.  It also features a fully removable stand-alone cover, and two booklets (gazetteer & adventure).

The adventures of Folio #20 await!
The adventures of Folio #20 await!

As with all previous Folio adventures, this is written in classic AD&D mechanics, while also having D&D 5E stat blocks and adaptations as well.

What is Roslof Keep? Roslof Keep is a six part mega-dungeon produced in 2015, and comprises Folios #1-#6.  It is based around an intelligent dungeon known as ‘The Infernal Machine’ that has now spread to other cities with greater threats, thus bringing about the events of The Curse of Roslof Keep adventure series.

Folios 1-6 in the original Roslof Keep Campaign
Folios 1-6 in the original Roslof Keep Campaign

What do Folio dungeons look like? Below you will see a internal Folio removable cover dungeon, rendered in full 3D for easy use by the DM, and well as defined in hex style 2D for mappers.  Rooms are well described, and stats are provided for both AD&D and 5th Edition D&D formats.

Sample of 3D maps on the removable interior module cover!
Sample of 3D maps on the removable interior module cover!
Sample 3D mapping from the original Roslof Keep Campaign!
Sample 3D mapping from the original Roslof Keep Campaign!

What is The Complete Roslof Keep Campaign Hardcover? Produced in 2016, this 128 page compilation book includes all six Folios in the Roslof Keep Campaign as well as 6 bonus mini-adventures that tie in with the set and a Nameless Realms Races gazetteer, as well as the stats for the 7 Iconic characters seen in the series.  It has an original cover by Jeff Easley, and a classic ‘orange spine’ to go along with the TSR AD&D hardcovers of the 1980s.

The Complete Roslof Keep hardcover edition
The Complete Roslof Keep hardcover edition

What are ‘Bridge’ Mini-Adventures? These three ‘throwback’ style mini-adventures bridge the timeline between the close of The Roslof Keep Campaign, and the events of The Curse of Roslof Keep, allowing players to build on the adventure before it has even truly begun.”

'Bridge' mini-adventures included in the 'Full' backer levels
‘Bridge’ mini-adventures included in the ‘Full’ backer levels

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

 

Love the art as always with The Folio.

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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The Runewild – A Fey-Themed 5e Sandbox Campaign by Sneak Attack Press
Ends on .

“A 5e sandbox campaign. In the Runewild, witches walk, goblins cavort, and the borders between the realms of mortal and fey grow thin.

Beyond the kingdom of Aruanda, there is an untamed land. It is a place where witches walk, where goblins cavort, where the borders between the realms of mortal and fey grow thin. For some, it is a place of unspeakable wonder; for others, only madness and death lie within its trackless depths.

It is the Runewild, and it is both beautiful and cruel.

The Runewild is a dark fairy-tale sandbox setting for use with the 5th Edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game. Designed for character levels 1 through 10, it provides locations, encounters, and NPCs to support a campaign lasting months or years, or to be adapted into other campaigns. The 160+ page book includes:

  • A history of the Runewild and its surrounding settlements.
  • 100 detailed encounter areas for player characters to explore.
  • New optional rules for exploring and resting
  • Advice for running a sandbox campaign
  • A new feat: Fey-Touched
  •  13 unique magic items (like witch embers and the staff of clarity and confusion)
  • 32 new monsters (including clockwork dwarves, fey lions, giant forest sloths, and the terrifyingly beautiful Golden Bodach).
  •  Detailed descriptions of the histories, motivations, and weaknesses of the witches of the Runewild, including the Whitebone Sisters; Missus Switch, the swine hag; Korthsuva, the Witch of Hours; and the hag-queen Griselda, Mother of Ogres.
  • Dozens of random tables designed to help GMs make the Runewild campaign their own.

To learn more about the Runewild, you can check out our free previews:

Preview 1: Missus Switch, Swine Witch – The history and statistics of the Swine Witch and a detailed description of the school house where she teaches her porcine pupils.

Preview 2: Highvale Blade and Twisted Tome – The Runewild is a place steeped in powerful fey magic, and these items show how some harness it safely, while others let it get out of control.

Preview 3: Beasts that Lurk in the Runewild – This preview features four new beasts that live in the Runwood: the helpful fey lion, the thought-stealing fiddlehead, the enigmatic Seven-Tails, and the terrifyingly beautiful Golden Bodach.

COMING SOON! Preview 4: The Goblin Market – A magical, moving marketplace that sells everything from a baby’s wail to a portable mouse hole to the secret you’ve searched for your whole life.

If you want to see even more, you can back the project and see the current draft of the complete book by going to this backer-only post. We’ve written the whole book and gone through several rounds of revision, but we plan to do at least one more revision using your feedback.

We love the ways crowdfunding can involve our backers. Everybody who backs at any level can read the current draft of the book and provide feedback. For those who want to play an even bigger roll, we offer two backer reward options:

Denizen of the Runewild

The final book will contain a table featuring one hundred random fey denizens of the Runewild. We want to give you a chance to be part of that chart. If you select either the PDF and Runewild Denizen, or Print and Runewild Denizen reward level, you can create one entry on the chart that includes your fey creature’s name, the type of fey, a brief description, and the creature’s goals. (All descriptions may be modified for length, tone, and established setting cannon.)

Part of the Art

If you want to be even more involved with the creation, you can pledge at the Part of the Art level. At this level, we will also include an illustration based on either a photo or description you provide. We will add the NPC to the book, and you can provide as much or as little guidance as you would like.”

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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The Steel Road: Exotic Weapons for 5th Edition by Sinopa Publishing LLC
Ends on .

“Role playing game source book ~ 50 exotic weapons and 50 Enchanted Weapons in one beautiful book for 5th Edition D&D RPG DnD Fantasy

50 Exotic and 50 Enchanted weapons, in one beautiful book!

That’s what this campaign is about.  Your support will fund art, production, and print costs for backer rewards.  This book is being produced and released for the fifth edition game mechanic.

Each weapon is fully illustrated in the style of sketchbook in keeping with the narrative throughout the journey. Yes, this means there are 100 pages of illustrated weapons in the book!

Image capture from first draft formatting of the book
Image capture from first draft formatting of the book

Narrative text is in 12 point font for ease of reading and to best simulate natural handwriting while maintaining legibility.

Our introduction begins the narrative found throughout the book
Our introduction begins the narrative found throughout the book

The Steel Road

  • The Steel Road, is created to resemble the sketch book of a traveling weapons merchant.  This book details exotic weapons from Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe, India, China, Japan, and the lands of the Pacific.
  •  Each weapon is illustrated, making this book a fantastic resource for game masters and players alike.
  •  Each weapon is described from the point of view of the narrator (our fictional weapons merchant) and the descriptions include statistics for game play use.
  •  An enchanted example of each weapon is also described within as the legendary version.
  •  Each legendary weapon is of Unique rarity.  There is only one!

Game mechanic data for these enchanted weapons is provided for easy use.

The book is printed in 8.5 by 11 inch size, in dtrpg.com’s premium color option. The print copy of the book is released in soft cover but check out the stretch goals below!

Experience the world on the edge of a blade, travelling The Steel Road.

Featuring Weapons from ~

Africa

Art Layer: Each weapon has a mundane version and a legendary version
Art Layer: Each weapon has a mundane version and a legendary version

Eastern Europe

Art Layer: The Dacian Falx
Art Layer: The Dacian Falx

India

All of the weapon stats are original content
All of the weapon stats are original content

China

Exotic weapons from China and the surrounding areas of Asia
Exotic weapons from China and the surrounding areas of Asia

Japan

Great attention to detail is seen in the sketches of these exotic weapons
Great attention to detail is seen in the sketches of these exotic weapons

Lands of the Pacific

Cultural elements were honored within page space capabilities
Cultural elements were honored within page space capabilities

 

Egg’s Thoughts: 

 

Sam Quinton of Sinopa Publishing LLC is working hard to make some unique 5e offerings. This is another example.

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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Spectacular Settlements for 5th Edition! by Nord Games
Ends on .

“The ultimate guide to creating amazing trading posts, villages, towns, cities, and capitals populated with versatile & detailed NPCs!

Spectacular Settlements, the latest addition to the Game Master’s Toolbox, is the ultimate guide to creating compelling locations for your adventures and campaigns.

Contained inside are chapters devoted to various settlement types, from the smallest trading posts, to massive capital cities. Within these chapters are all the steps needed to craft a settlement with both depth and originality.

Creation takes just a few easy steps, each of which has multiple options to detail your settlement. These options are presented as tables from which you can select the outcome yourself, or roll for a random result.

Step one covers basic information, such as its age, size, environment and recent history. Step two details aspects of the community, such as resident and visitor populations, disposition, politics and crime. Step three establishes points of interest, including shops and services that can then be populated with proprietors and patrons taken from the ‘Interesting NPCs’ chapter.

The resulting settlement is both dynamic and detailed. The book has great utility, designed to also be an engine of inspiration for storytellers and world builders, sparking creativity and prompting GMs to delve deep into what their settlement is, how it came to be, and how aspects that might be at odds with one another may just give clues about its most compelling elements.

The book is available in full-color PDF and hardcover formats for 5th Edition. We have multiple pledge levels to best suit your gaming budget, so please check out the project, share it with your friends, and help us hit our goal.

1. Creating Great Settlements. An overview on settlements, when to use them, how to use them, and how to keep things both dynamic and interesting.

2. Trading Posts. One of the most important settlement types, trading posts are often hot spots for information, quests, intrigue, and excitement!

3. Villages. Often the home of simple folk with simple lives, villages dot the landscape. They can however, be the jumping-off point of many a fun adventure!

4. Towns. The beginnings of urban development, towns can be lawless communities ripe for powerful influence, or the birthplace of the next world superpower.

5. Cities. More people, more problems. Cities are teeming with all manner of folk. Some good, some bad, some just trying to mind their own business. No visit to a city is ever without potential dangers, or potential rewards.

6. Capitals. Seats of concentrated power, home to mighty bastions and the focal point of both politics and war alike.

7. Keeps. Keeps are single large fortified buildings such as towers. The nature of these structures dictates that villages and towns usually spring up around them, due to the protection they offer. They are modest when compared to full castles, but are much more attainable for smaller communities in terms of costs and resources.

8. Castles. A large, imposing group of buildings, castles are fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, and towers. They typically have a town or even city surrounding them, with homes and shops perhaps directly outside its walls.

9. Strongholds. Like a castle, but larger still, strongholds have greater fortifications. Built to be as impenetrable as possible, these bastions are the pinnacle of what one could expect from a physical structure.

10. Shops & Proprietors. What is a settlement without shops? In this chapter you’ll find all the shops you’ll ever need, as well the folk who operate them.

11. Interesting NPCs. Over 100 pages of NPCs who can be dropped right into a shop, service establishment, or encountered on the streets of your settlement.”

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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Dark Naga – Carcosa for 5th Edition by Dark Naga Adventures
Ends on .

“A non-linear adventure in the classic Sandbox style where the party (Level 11-12) fights to escape the lair of an Old One–Hastur

About This Project
About This Project

Carcosa is an adventure for three to seven characters about level twelve. It is designed for use with the Fifth Edition version of Gary and Dave’s RPG. It can be adapted to any fantasy RPG.

Special Note

The Physical Catchup Naga reward description at the right is missing some critical text. The description below is accurate; however, the one at the right reads “DNH4-Carcosa” when it should read DNH4-Confronting Hastur, and DNH5-Carcosa” The “Includes” list is correct. I apologize for any confusion this typographical error might have caused. Thx to a backer for catching it early in the campaign. Sadly, I cannot edit that section for KS integrity reasons.

The Premise  

Immediately following the events of Confronting Hastur, the characters wake up in Carcosa and are greeted by a broken man who tells them they only have a day to escape the plane before becoming permanent residents. The way home appears to require them to confront a demon lady and the three demon brothers who constantly vie for her attention and their domains within Carcosa. A land teeming with minor demons, humans, and three powerful Abrar, dreadful demon lords. Pressed for time, the party members find themselves pawns in the petty games of the brothers as they claw their way to worship before the lovely Grushka, the Abrar who runs Carcosa while Hastur slumbers. Their search for a way home reveals rumors of a way to trap Hastur in a longer, deeper slumber, giving their world peace from his attempts to invade for hundreds of millennia to come. Will they work to go home, or will they chance eternal damnation to save their world?

Who We Are
Who We Are
Cover for DNH5 - Carcosa (with thanks to Randy Price's keen eye for typos)
Cover for DNH5 – Carcosa (with thanks to Randy Price’s keen eye for typos)

Who is Dark Naga Adventures? Why should you trust me?

I am Kevin Watson, and Dark Naga Adventures is my company. It exists to create and publish adventures that are a combination of the classic sandbox adventures of the early days of the hobby combined with modern features. I have probably written 30 adventures and designed about a dozen fantasy worlds in my life as a Game Master.

This project is the fifth adventure for commercial release and my fifth Kickstarter Project. This concludes the Haunting of Hastur series. As a young company, I am motivated to produce quality products and intend to leverage the experience gained from several Kickstarter campaigns to mitigate potential complications in production.

Previous Kickstarter Projects from Dark Naga:

The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil  

The Buried Zikurat  

The City of Talos  

Confronting Hastur  

As a one-person shop, the buck stops with me. Art, cartography, and editing are all being done by top-notch freelancers. Expect regular updates and as much transparency as we all can handle.

Freelance Artists

Catia Fantini, Cover Art

Justin Andrew Mason, Cartography

Brian McCranie, Interior Art

Front Cover - Full Image
Front Cover – Full Image
Back Cover - Full Image
Back Cover – Full Image
  • Saddle-Stitched 24+ page adventure
  • Detached Color cover with color maps on the interior. These maps are far too elaborate and gorgeous to produce in monochrome.
  • 5 full-color maps
  • 3+ pages of black and white art, more when we unlock stretch goals.”

 

Read my interview with Kevin Watson on the Open Gaming Network.

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here or at the OpenGamingStore here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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The Bespoke Bestiary – A Custom 5e Monster Book by Mithrilpunk Press
Ends on .

“Following our successful Legacy’s Wake Kickstarter, we are bringing our style to a book of monsters for 5E designed by our backers!

Final Cover
Final Cover

When it comes to your table top game, there is always room for another monster, but so often you find yourself throwing the same tried and true creatures at your players. Orcs, Goblins, Dragons; the classics are classics for a reason but sometimes you really want something fresh and new. That’s just what the Bespoke Bestiary aims to provide.

Think back to your earliest experiences with the game, before you knew what resistances that ooze had or what spell to NOT EVER cast at that golem. Remember those breathless sessions, not knowing if your party would determine the right tactics and techniques to bring down the terrifying new beast your game master threw at you?

We want to bring that back! We present to you, the Bespoke Bestiary, a monster tome done up in true Mithrilpunk style. Inside you will find dozens of new creatures complete with all the background you need to run them and the mechanics needed to scare your players with fresh terrors unlike any they have seen before.

Final Art to be in Color
Final Art to be in Color

TL;DR: At least 24 new monsters (probably a TON more than that), a new take on existing classic monsters, and awesome new player options, all with the MithrilPunk look and feel!

All art will be in full color, though we’ve intentionally kept all art in greyscale at this stage in order to allow our backers to have influence even on the art direction!

Final Art to be in Color
Final Art to be in Color

At the base level, our goal for this bestiary is to start with at least 100 pages and go from there. Based on stretch goals and sponsored monsters, that count will only go up! We are going to start with 24 custom monsters with new art, 6 of our favorite Skyfall monsters updated and improved, and then we’ll go into some classic monsters and put a great new spin on them! Every single new monster, including sponsored monsters, will be at least two pages each (with “Legendary” monster spreads covering four full pages).

Each monster will have either a 2-page or 4-page spread. That means every standard monster entry will increase the length of the book by 2 pages for every backer, while legendary monster entries will increase the page length by 4 pages! Note that when we say legendary, it doesn’t mean the monster has to have legendary actions or anything, just that it’s got enough content to take up four pages (through multiple variants, multiple player options, bigger monster stat blocks, lairs, etc). Then, we’ll also have a more free form section where we will take classic monsters (orcs, kobolds, ogres, etc.) and give them a fresh coat of paint in the coolest ways we can come up with! You’ll have an opportunity to influence many of the core and classic monsters, though some will be finished prior to the kickstarter to give you all an idea of what we’ll be making, like the Sidereal Stalker below!

Sample Spread - Final Version may change
Sample Spread – Final Version may change

Every single new monster entry will include a player option as well, themed around that monster. You’ll find new spells, magic items, feats, and more. You could even see a new playable race entry or a new subclass, if it fits the theme of the monster! Again, all our backers will have a say in tons of these new player options. with the player options increasing in complexity based on what makes the most sense for the monster. You won’t see a random item or spell slapped onto the page. Instead, you’ll find spells that use parts of the monster as components, feats based around how the monster lives or fights, and items tied to the monster’s history or physiology.

At its core, your ideas, votes, and pledges will define this book as much as possible! Our goal with this bestiary is to create a tome full of your favorite monsters, pulled directly from your imagination and the imaginations of the backers who pledged with you, and we see three main ways to do that: getting your ideas, letting the community vote on those ideas, and having special add-on levels to sponsor a monster to ensure that your creation makes it to the pages of the bestiary. We will engage with our backers through regular feedback and communication, as well as surveys allowing you to help flesh out everything that goes into the book, and backers who purchase the sponsored monster options described in the Addons section will have a more direct impact on the book!

You supply the ideas, the group votes, and we put in the work!

As we commission art from our artists, we’re going to give our backers an opportunity to submit high level concepts for those monsters. Once we have a handful of ideas, we’ll create polls and allow all of our backers to vote on the concepts they like best! The more input we get, the more we will let the voting drive the process. That way, if a monster’s art really sparks an interest, our backers will have the most say in that monster. In the same way, if the art doesn’t get that spark from the backers, we can and will guide the monster’s design and flavor to make sure that every monster in the book meets our standards.

I want to make my own monster!

Great! We will give you that option, by allowing you to “sponsor” a monster. You can check out the Add-ons section for more info, but at the base level, your add-on will go toward commissioning a custom art piece for your monster in full color, and then adding that monster to every single print copy of The Bespoke Bestiary. That way, every monster that you sponsor will make the book bigger and better for every other backer, and every monster sponsored by other backers will make the book bigger and better for you! When you sponsor a monster, we will work directly with you to create every aspect of the monster, including the flavor, the monster design, the art direction, and the player option that will go with your monstrosity. You can be as involved or not as you want, we’ll always pick up the slack to make sure every sponsored monster is as awesome as possible!

I don’t know anything about making monsters for 5th Edition!

That’s okay too! We’ve got a ton of experience making interesting monsters and compelling player options. No matter how much input you want to give, we’re ready to step up and make sure the writing is great, the monster is well-designed, the player option is balanced, and anything else we need to do. Of course we’ll always work with the artists, handle the layout, and take care of any of the “business” parts of the process. If you’ve got a cool idea, we will help you bring it to life, and we’ll do all the work needed to make sure it’s something really awesome when we’re done!

“Don’t listen to these guys! They wouldn’t know the difference between a carsnuffler and a kilgorean ragebeast if the ‘snuffler sat on their heads! I don’t know how these two idiots got top billing on this kick-whatever, but forget their monster book. It’ll be full of prissy little monsters that wouldn’t scare a burp from a baby goblin. And player options? Who cares? My monster book is 1000 times better than theirs. Some TRULY terrifying wonders, with INCREDIBLE LIFELIKE depictions, and instead of player options, I’ll give you my BEST AWARD-WINNING* recipes using ingredients directly from that monster! Oh you want to vote on stuff? Uh, sure, you guys can send me recipes and I’ll think about putting those in there I guess…”

Well, when you’re making a monster book, you end up with a TON of extra art from various sources. Sometimes the monster you thought would look awesome ended up being a little too silly. Sometimes the art’s style just didn’t fit with the rest of the book. Regardless of the reason, we decided to put all that extra art to use! Sleg is a “popular” goblin wizard-chef in our Skyfall setting, known for his extravagant cooking spells (most of which end up finding better use in pitched combat than in the kitchen; Sleg is subtle like a sledgehammer). Since we have this great NPC, and a bunch of extra art, we thought “Why not make a bestiary that’s also a cook book?”

In addition to the Bespoke Bestiary, you can also pick up Sleg’s Scrumptious Safari Spectacular in PDF or print! This 6″x9″ black and white softcover will contain at least 24 monsters in two-page spreads, and every single monster will include recipes submitted by our friends, family, and backers! Of course, Sleg’s recipes will call for rare ingredients from the monsters on his pages, but we’ll make sure you know what to substitute if you can’t find ground carsnuffler. Check out the example spread below for an idea of just what we have in mind:

Sample Spread - Final version subject to change
Sample Spread – Final version subject to change

 

You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or on Facebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).

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

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

 

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Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

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

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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 a variety of companies:

Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or onFacebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).