What Kickstarters Excite Creators? Blackest of Deaths, Monsterpunk, Creeping Cold, Brassman’s Adventure Club, and A.R.M.zine

This week five RPG Kickstarter creators (including two from the first article of this column) share what currently funding crowdfunding projects they’re excited about. I talk to the creators of:

 

A.R.M.zine by Reign Dragon Press 

END DATE: Tue, May 14 2019 9:30 AM EDT.

A.R.M.zine is a Fanzine dedicated to teaching kids (of all ages) how to play tabletop Role-Playing Games.”

Sean Hillman (Reign Dragon Press) recommends: 

One Child’s Heart. This seems like an amazing idea. I think this might be one of the KS RPGs we are talking about in two years as a game changer. I know that is a lot of pressure to put on the creator but I feel like it has the juice.

Sundown. Always love an RPG with a great concept behind it. And the way it embraces the characters as different is refreshing. It also does not pull many punches from what I can see. I hope it does well and can gets lots of support.

Coloring Trees. This is not an RPG product per se, but I feel like it is the kind of product I would by to inspire my gaming. It looks beautiful and I am already getting ideas of a game or setting that could feature the trees? I may pitch the idea to the creator at some point.”

 

Brassman’s Adventure Club by Brassman Foundry

END DATE: Mon, April 22 2019 1:00 PM EDT.

“Monthy Subscription Service for DnD RPG Adventures and Accessories”

Matthew Charles (Brassman Foundry) recommends:

“There are three tabletop RPG Kickstarter campaigns that I’m currently following. Oldest to newest they are:

The Party Backstory Generator may be the most interesting conceptually. It’s always a little awkward to get a new party started. In past campaigns that I’ve run I’ve used a simple system where each player randomly draws the name of someone else’s character and chooses how they are related. That often leads to interesting role-play and factionalism within the party that can bring out a more interesting story than the text of an adventure describes. So I’m excited to see a fully-developed system where the players get some agency (and therefore emotional investment) in the world that they’ll probably have to save from… something.

For the Dungeon is a game that turns the tables on the traditional hero vs minion relationship. One of my favorite campaigns that I ran (back in the 90s) was one where the players rolled up several sets of stats, picked the worst one, and made a kobold. It was supposed to be a one-shot while I figured out what was going to happen in the main campaign. Tiamat have mercy, the adventurers are coming! Twenty years later, those sessions are more memorable than whatever the “real” campaign was about. This looks like a lot of fun and the perfect guide for other DMs to do the same.

Odyssey of the Dragonlords just launched this week, and fully funded overnight. This one looks like a great example of excellent production value. I’ll be getting the physical book to see where the bar has been set for our future projects.”

 

Creeping Cold by Silver Bulette

END DATE: Tue, April 30 2019 10:30 PM EDT.

“A 5E adventure that promises chills and excitement!”

Jayson Gardner (Silver Bullette) recommends:

“The first RPG Kickstarter that I would like to highlight is The Grande Temple of Jing for 5E. I own the Pathfinder version, and am excited to see the new book. Megadungeons are my favorite play style, and Jing does everything in the genre well.

The next RPG I want to point out is Ultimate Bestiary: The Dread Accursed. Every game master loves monsters and this book looks to have a unique take on staple undead.

Finally, I would like to mention Old-School Essentials. This project looks to capture the nostalgia from the 1980’s boxed sets. I cut my teeth in RPGs during that era, and am excited to to see this project.

And one more, not quite RPG. Return to Ravingspire looks awesome! Cheesy 1980’s game commercial? Check. Able to play 1 player or 4 players? Check. Packaged in a box disguised as a book? Check. They even have an audible stretch goal! It looks like an RPG disguised as a board game to me.”

 

Monsterpunk by Gegenschein Games

END DATE: Mon, May 6 2019 4:03 PM EDT.

“A post-apocalyptic RPG of humans, monsters and humans becoming monsters.”

Juan Herrera (Gegenschein Games) recommends:

“I don’t go out of my way to look for campaigns these days, but I’m aware of two ongoing RPG kickstarters of which I’ve only heard good things:

The first is Fight! 2nd Edition. It’s a cinematic game with tactical combat about simulating the specific kind of experience of a fighting game as well as its type of storytelling. Fighting games are a very kinetic experience and it’s really hard to translate that into a tabletop format. That Fight!’s 1st edition had a positive reception and is now going for a 2nd edition says a lot to me about the creator’s design chops.

The other is Fellowship 2nd Edition. Fellowship is an adventuring-themed game without a traditional GM, instead there is a player who plays the role of the Overlord who the others must stop. As a result it gives every player a lot of control over not just the narrative but also the worldbuilding, making for an empowering and inclusive experience.”

 

The Blackest of Deaths – A Dire Old School Fantasy RPG by Bloat Games

END DATE: Thu, May 9 2019 9:00 PM EDT.

“The Creator of Dark Places & Demogorgons & Vigilante City brings you a tabletop roleplaying with a bleak chance of survival!”

Eric Bloat (Bloat Games) recommends:

Old-School Essentials by Necrotic Gnome Back when this series of books was called B/X Essentials, I picked all of them up and was blown away. This is not a house-ruled retro clone. This IS the original rules, redesigned for ease of use and re-written for clarity. And now with the Kickstarter, the Necrotic Gnome has once again refined the books and design and added the missing “basic” info, like “What is a roleplaying game?” to be more welcoming to new players. I can’t wait to get this one in my hands!

5×7 Dungeon Card Set by Dan Smith If I a Kickstarter says “by Dan Smith” I back it. Period. Dan is a fantastic artistic and always approaches each project with an artist’s vision in mind.

For The Dungeon by Jordan This one is pretty neat. It’s not your standard run of the mill Dungeon Crawler. In this game, you don’t play as the hero’s, you play as the minions that populate the dungeon. The example art is fantastic, and the tone is light and fun. Perfect for a night where, one of your players can make it but everyone else still wants to game.

From the Ashes by FGFantasy. A twisted OSR project where you start the game as a ghost of a dead character! And you remember your life, you remember how you died. You want revenge! But as you try to fulfill your mission, you might “die” again, and you’ll simply respawn. However, die too many times and it’s off to Hell with your miserable dead self.

Umerican Road Atlas and Unmerican Unnatural By Reid San Filippo Born out of the DCC RPG fanzine, Crawling Under A Broken Moon, Reid and his long list of contributors, continues his commitment to bring you a crazy, over the top, fully fleshed out Post-Apocalyptic setting built on the back of the rules to Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, so you know this one is going to be gonzo and it’s going to rock!”

About Egg Embry

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. NOTE: Articles may includes affiliate links. As a DriveThruRPG Affiliate/Amazon Associate/Humble Partner I earn from qualifying purchases.
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