Kick ALL the Starters, Part III: Fund ALL the Crowds!

[Mamorien]

We rolled over to page 13 without quite noticing, so I'm starting a new thread, and implementing the title change I proposed a while back. And just in time, because this campaign is on Crowdfunding by BackerKit!

The Age of Man is long over. Cats – uplifted from our clever feline companions to use tools and language – now rule the world. In the Monarchies of Mau, cats study relics the Old Ones left behind to create new wonders, expand their understanding of the world, and combat the monsters and minions of the Unseen that threaten catkind. Curious cats explore ruins and set sail on the Acid Sea, or participate in games of intrigue against other houses, the dogs of Pugmire, and other rival species.

The world is full of mysteries and dangers, which excellent cats are eager to face.

Welcome to The Curious Cats of Mau. This book details the lives of the cats in the city-states that make up the Monarchies of Mau as they explore the world, plan daring heists and feats of intrigue, learn what they can about the Old Ones, and pounce on the sinister entities called the Unseen. You’ll need Realms of Pugmire to play this game and learn more about the dogs of Pugmire, who have sometimes been the cats’ allies, and often been their rivals.

The cats of the monarchies believe that the Old Ones served them, and the cats’ ancestors granted Man great responsibilities as a reward. Though no one knows what happened to the Old Ones, they left many wonders behind to help the cats in their endeavors. Adventurous cats explore ancient ruins, hoping to discover artifacts they can study — sometimes by breaking them apart to discover how they work.

Several decades ago, the formidable Trillani Persian von Mau united the monarchies at a time when conflict threatened to tear catkind apart. With her clearheaded leadership, she guided the great houses as they worked together, and eventually helped bring about an end to the War of Dogs and Cats. Trillani died recently, and her successor (Threnody von Mau) struggles to keep the hard-earned peace. Cats are expert at schemes and spycraft, and secrets are power. Some plot against other houses, while others seek to renew hostilities between the monarchies and Pugmire. Meanwhile, the threat of the Unseen is ever-present, waiting to strike should the cats’ vigilance waver.

Will you be an excellent cat?

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/ony...ats-of-mau

[Shepherd]

TABLETOP FOG MACHINE w/ custom bases for your RPG. Get either physical rewards or STL files so you can make your own.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lim...escription

[Mamorien]

She may have finally defeated the kung-fu ghost of Rene Magritte, but it'll be a while yet before the author of Hitherby Dragons and the Sidereal Scriptures gets to settle down and live in that house made out of macaroni. While she waits, though, she continues to design games.

This project funds production on the tabletop roleplaying game, the Far Roofs. With your help, we'll put the finishing touches on a rich and beautiful 220-page game book complete with core rules, setting, and a sprawling, multi-year campaign!

In the Far Roofs, heroic talking rats and monster-god "Mysteries" have taken up residence on your city's roofs ... and, on moody fantasy roofscapes extending beyond them. You'll play as humans who get swept up in the rats' adventures, confronting wonder and horror in this magical, secret world above.

Welcome to the latest game by Jenna Moran, creator of Nobilis, Glitch: A Story of the Not, and the Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG; major contributor to Exalted and the Weapons of the Gods RPG; and contributor to the In Nomine game line.

Building on the system developed for CMWGE (and the other games set in places where prosaic reality breaks down and the servants of the True Thing come riding through) and a concept introduced as far back as the Chuubo core (the rats of Fortitude), it promises to be... very hitherby.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jen...-far-roofs

[Shepherd]

The makers of the Spinnerette webcomic have launched an Indiegogo campaign for their White Heron graphic novel:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/white...novel--2#/

From writer Krazy Krow (Spinnerette) and artist Fernando Furukawa (Starcraft: Ghost Academy, Dragon Age) comes the epic military/metahuman drama five years in the making!

Set in the 1980's, White Heron is a coming of age story for fans of military and metahuman adventures.

In 1982, a young female metahuman made a daring escape from North Korea. Known by her code name, WHITE HERON, she joins forces with the 707th to fight back! But her time-bending powers come with a cost: she could be frozen in time for days, weeks, even years...

Note that during the checkout process, Indiegogo will 'ask' for a donation to their site, but you can manually set it to $0 if you want.

[Mamorien]

I might've missed out on The Life and Art of Mort Walker if a creator I follow hadn't backed it.

Mort Walker, the "Dean of American Cartooning," left behind a legacy that extended far beyond his Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois fame. For the first time ever, Hermes Press and Bill Janocha (Walker's assistant) present a rare selection of gags and art from Walker's early years, before Beetle-mania took over the world. This historical book contains examples of the work he did prior to Beetle Bailey, and explores the evolution of his style and showcases his many gags, from his early comics in Showme magazine to the work he did for the Saturday Evening Post. This tome also contains historical essays detailing his life and career, up until his death in 2018 as written by Janocha. This special project has been nine years in the making, and is something any fan of Mort Walker will need to own.

The regular edition of this book includes the finished book, shipped to any backer in the world.

The Limited Edition of this books includes the finished book PLUS one (1) original Beetle Bailey or Spider head sketch done in black and white, hand-drawn specifically for this project by Mort Walker prior to his death. There were only 100 created, and 90 are available for this project.

At press time, 36 of those 90 sketches remained. At $60 for the regular edition or $150 for the limited, it's your nickel(s).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/her...ort-walker

[Shepherd]

True Tales of The Illuminati: Season 3!
An audio comedy podcast about the misadventures of the most powerful secret society in history!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/true-...season-3#/

In 2020, we created an audio sitcom adventure about conspiracies gone disastrously wrong--a show where we follow the misadventures of a band of Illuminati goons as they careen helplessly through history snatching defeat from the jaws of other, weirder defeats.

Our first season followed our protagonists as they tried, and disastrously failed, to keep the secrets of the pyramids in ancient Egypt. For our second season, we killed Stanley Kubrick, defamed our only non-controversial national heroes (astronauts, not that dog who fights fires)(also that dog is really ableist) and nuked our way to the moon.

Now, we want to take things back… to the 18th century, and show you what happens when our world-spanning conspiracy runs into a bunch of nerds in Bavaria, who keep talking about things like “truth” and “freedom” and “enlightenment.” A bunch of nerds calling themselves… The Illuminati?!

Tasked with taking down the low-rent secret society of their staggeringly prestigious counterparts, Beck and her team will face their toughest challenge yet. What’s thornier than manned spaceflight? Feelings! But what could go wrong? After all, some upstart group of monograph-publishing debate-havers couldn’t possibly compete with a secret order as old and vast as human civilization itself. Right?

But despite their confidence, they find themselves slipping into the world of the enlightenment intelligentsia… a world both decadent and deadly!

The money will allow us to record our third season in the beautiful Bridge studio, letting us achieve the ensemble-style chemistry we crave, nay, demand in order to make the perfect conspiracy entertainment experience. Backer tiers include rewards as exciting as selecting additional minisodes for future seasons, exclusive cut scene recordings from the "word graveyard," and sweet pins! That’s right, pins!

[Shepherd]

The latest Kickstarter for the Girl Genius webcomic is here.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gir...phic-novel

An Entertainment In Londinium: A Girl Genius Graphic Novel

Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE! The next volume of Phil & Kaja Foglio's acclaimed graphic novel series!

[Norgarth]

Free Stars: Children of Infinity
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pis...f-infinity
a long awaited sequel to the classic video game Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters

29 days to go and already at nearly 250% of their goal

[Inquisitive Raven]

Steve Jackson Games: Munchkin Big Box on Backerkit. Given that I have yet to play with the cards I've already got, I'm not sure I'm going to back this one.

[Mamorien]

"Come on, grab your friends
We'll go to very distant lands
With Jake the Dog and Finn the Human
The fun will never end
It's Adventure Time!"
(spoken) The Roleplaying Game!

If you’re not familiar with 5E rules, don’t worry! Roleplaying games are about letting your imagination run wild as you create your own characters and stories. The rules provide support for your imagination and structure for your hero, but take a back seat to the FUN play at the table.

For those new to roleplaying games entirely, we are providing Jake’s Shmowzow Guide to Roleplaying Games with every copy of the Core Book exclusively on Kickstarter. It’s a simple guide to get any person started having fun with the Adventure Time RPG. Written by Ray Winninger, co-designer of the DC Heroes RPG and former Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons, the guide includes the needed core rules from the 5E OGL, a simple step-by-step explanation of the simple ideas you need to understand to begin play, and finally a walk-through of the character creation process. All guided by Jake!

WHY 5E?

Adventure Time has its roots in the older editions of Dungeons & Dragons, with episodes and story arcs that grew from the pastiche fantasy adventure that the second and third editions laid out so beautifully. We believe that the high-quality design of 5E—and its very nature—are well-suited to capturing the open-ended excitement and sense of wonder that are at the core of Adventure Time. If Dungeons & Dragons gave birth to Adventure Time, using 5E for Adventure Time: The Roleplaying Game brings everything full circle and is true to the spirit of the series.

We believe that we can craft and implement the world of Ooo and the features of the Adventure Time RPG best in 5E, empowering you with the feeling that you can be any person you want to be and that anything can happen when you step out your door for adventure!

(Also, there was a lot more demand for the 5E version than for the "Yes, And" ruleset that CZE had initially said they were going to do first, so they swapped positions.)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cze...aying-game

And/or you can go even further with Kevin Maguire's Tanga vs the Kaiju of Cammera!

Hi! My name is Kevin Maguire! You may know me from such memorable series as “Justice League International”, “Man Of Steel”, ”Adventures Of Captain America” and “Batman Confidential”. Apologies to Troy McClure.

When I go to conventions all over the country, heck, all over the globe and I’m asked the same question-

“Who is your favorite character?”

My answer is the same every time.“Tanga!”

And, inevitably, the response is always…”Who?”

A decade and a half ago, I got to write and draw 12 ten-page chapters for DC Comics introducing the world to the purple intergalactic force of nature called TANGA. (Later, I learned that “tanga” in Spanish referred to “panties”. Well, what are ya gonna do. I took French in high school.) She was a wandering space goddess (think the Silver Surfer with some Harley Quinn mixed in) who finds herself on a planet that’s having a bit of a Kaiju problem.

Published in two halves, the first half came out in the anthology series “Weird Worlds” and the second half in a series named “My Greatest Adventure”. In between both, DC did this little thing called “The New 52”, so TANGA pretty much went unnoticed. But I hoped people would be able to catch up with it in the trade paperback.

But they never did one.

So, we’re here to rectify that.

The fine and very organized folks at Rocketship Entertainment and I are doing this Kickstarter to finally, FINALLY put the TANGA tale in a collected edition, all for your reading pleasure! Now, of course, I want everyone to come along, but I know that’s asking too much. But if you’re reading this, I sincerely hope you DO give it a go. We’ve also added a few fun bells and whistles in the hopes it will whet your appetites.

This is my first time doing a Kickstarter. It’s for my favorite project I’ve ever done and I hope you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed doing it.

(signed)

-Kevin

It looks fun. I fancy a flutter. He may have had me at "think the Silver Surfer with some Harley Quinn mixed in", if I'm honest.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roc...in-maguire

[Mamorien]

Guess who's back, back again? Onyx Path! Tell a friend!

In the world of Gaia, magic is everywhere and in everything, but a danger from the Void outside the world has upended the balance. On the continent of Everend, seven nations vie for resources and influence in an uneasy peace after centuries of struggle. A year ago, in an explosive demonstration of power, one nation called forth daemons from the Void. Now all nations fear for their safety and rush to gain daemonic magic for themselves. As the nations struggle, common folk continue their daily lives amid uncertainty of an incomprehensible power and the brutality of war. All the while, magic collides with the Void tainted landscape to create dangerous beasts who threaten everyone’s safety.

Everend needs heroes to stop the march of destruction and help people understand their new place in the world.

Will you heed the call?

At the Gates is a high fantasy tabletop roleplaying game about burgeoning heroes struggling to survive, fighting for what’s right, exploring dangerous places, and saving the world.

Magic fuels all parts of Gaia, from fields of wheat to the people who sew them. Magic is rooted in the living nature of the world: the elements, the mind, the body, and the soul. The Void stands outside the world, and represents all the esoteric concepts such as order, entropy, and energy. Where the Void meets the world, Outlands grow. These places are warped by the intermingling of two opposite magics, and everything that lives there is tainted and dangerous. Hidden inside these Outlands are gates into the Void, standing as literal tears in reality.

You play as heroes who have chosen to buck the status quo and try to change the course of things. Your characters may attempt to change the course of the war, delve into the secrets of daemons and the Void, fight against tyranny to protect what they love in the world, fight to restore balance to Gaia, or all the above.

You stand at the gates, holding back the tide, changing the course of history.

The backstory indicates it's either a prequel or a sequel to the upcoming The World Below (maybe both, considering that the series they're part of is called The Earthbane Cycle), but where TWB harks back to old-school dungeon-crawling, ATG wears its JRPG influence on its detached, zipper-and-buckle-festooned sleeve.

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/ony...-the-gates

[Shepherd]

From Steve Jackson Games: CARnage 2 – STL Cars, weapons and more for auto combat games.

3D print even more cars, weapons, arena terrain, figures, and other all-new elements to use with Car Wars and other games!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjg...=discovery

[Mamorien]

In the beginning, as a certain subset of grognards will remember, there was Nuclear War. Then things Escalated and Proliferated. Now, 20 years later, it's time for... Nuclear Destruction.

Nuclear Destruction is the 4th release of the Ameritrash Classic Nuclear War.


Building on the foundation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, we've introduced a host of exciting enhancements to improve your gaming experience. Enjoy an array of new cards, expanded player mats, a new propaganda system, and the ability to play with up to six players, ensuring every game is packed with maximum fun. Its full-color cards are compatible with EVERY version of Nuclear War. It is designed as a stand-alone installment or to be combined with the 50th Anniversary edition for even more fun!

Invented in 1965 by Doug Malewicki, Nuclear War has seen many editions and expansions over the years. The folks at Mr. B. Games have acquired the rights and are here on Kickstarter to try to revive this classic and bring it back to print - with your help!

Truth in adver-posting: Nuclear Escalation and Nuclear Proliferation aren't available through this campaign, though they may show up in future; the "Now and Later Supergerm" level gets you the Nuclear War 50th Anniversary Edition as soon as possible (estimated for early- to mid-July, 2-3 weeks after the campaign ends) and Nuclear Destruction in August 2025. If that sounds like a good deal, or if you just want ND by its lonesome, launch yourself over:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrb...f=activity

[Mamorien]

Two campaigns getting near their respective ending , both of which I'm backing, both of which I've been remiss in not mentioning here. First, the one that's coming up on the point where Kickstarter sends you a last-chance reminder: a comic-book adaptation of HP Lovecraft's "Entombed with the Pharaohs" (which you might know better as "Under the Pyramid" {the name it bore, above the byline of narrator Harry Houdini, when it originally appeared in Weird Tales} or "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" {as I first encountered it in the Scholastic collection The Shadow over Innsmouth and other tales of horror}).

Known for his visionary and mind-bending psychedelic Lovecraft adaptations, Nick OG takes you on a journey through the pyramids of Giza! This time around he is joined by Miskatonic High writer Mike Shea!

In "Entombed with the Pharaohs," the legendary magician Harry Houdini is forced to perform a daring escape from within the enigmatic Great Pyramid of Giza. What begins as a fanciful expedition to Egypt twists into a harrowing encounter with ancient powers beyond comprehension. As Houdini delves deeper into the secrets of the pyramid, he confronts cosmic horrors that threaten to shatter his perception of reality.

Drawing on their expertise in all things Lovecraft, Nick OG and Mike Shea weave a tale of suspense, mystery, and existential dread that will leave you questioning the limits of the human psyche. With stunning artwork and Nick's signature electric, mind bending colors, Nick OG and Mike Shea bring Lovecraft's chilling narrative to life in a way that's both faithful to the original work and uniquely their own.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tha...e-pharaohs

For another dose of pulp, the man known on DeviantArt as "McComicker" takes us on a journey beneath the hurtling moons of Barsoom.

As the life of Barsoomians are without natural limit, those that have not met their end by violence or misadventure are permitted 1000 years to live. At that time you are expected to make pilgrimage down the mysterious River Iss, to the Valley of Dor and the Martian after life. So has Kahr Kagut, a Jedwar of Thark made his way to heaven, where he hopes to die...

But Kahr Kagut is not alone! The Princess Phaidor, daughter of the late Matai Shang, Holy Hakkador of the Therns, and presumed dead herself has returned to land of her birth, not to die, but to conquer...

As fate has brought them together, Phaidor recruits the Thark to her own goals, wresting control of her people, the Therns, from the False Hekkador Eretor Thraug.

All before they rescue Isdar, Princess of the first born and a prisoner in the ancient and deadly city of Zalah.

A Queen of Mars is available as three individual issues or one collected edition, with your choice of covers depicting the characters in their full Barsoomian glory or covered in deference to Jasoomian sensibilities.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hmy...s-volume-1

[Mamorien]

Another couple of campaigns I forgot to mention, one nearing its conclusion and one I meant to speak of as soon as it launched.

I grew up in the 90s as a goth kid (even if 20 years of corporate suit and tie life beat it out of me) and I have fond memories of the uniquely 90s culture of supernatural beings in trench coats (vampires, angels, and more) as well as roleplaying games at that time.

WINE DARK NIGHTS is my love-letter to that era. It's a distinctly unique snapshot in time, both in pop culture for me and what I was into, as well as how I gamed. In some ways, WDN an homage done through 30 years of game design growth, with a lens towards understand and reverse-engineering the ideas in a variety of sources. It's both how I wish I'd played games back then, and how I wish I'd learned to make games back then (even if I was only homebrewing). I tried to distill the game as small as possible and ended up with sub-60 pages of content! It's a stripped down, fast, right to the point kinda game, and I hope you love it.

This game is inspired by such games as Blades in the Dark and Trophy Dark, Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Requiem, Undying, King Arthur Pendragon, and Burning Wheel.

Just five buckadingdongs to get the PDF, two more for a print-on-demand code. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gal...ark-nights

Then an upcoming Onyx Path game whose campaign, for once, is coming from a creator other than the official Onyx Path accounts!

Eight worlds, one mission! Adventure in the eight realms and protect the citizens of the Branches from the Blight!

Eight distinct realms branching out from your new home, the Nexus; separated and kept from one another to contain a malevolent force known as the Blight. Bent on sowing chaos and disorder, the only thing that stands between the people of the realms and the power of the Blight is you, the Branch Riders! Armed with your training, your passion and special gifts you bring from your home realm, you must pursue your mission carefully as the realms do not know of each other, the Blight, or the existence of Branch Riders. Protecting them becomes a game of battle and subterfuge, foiling the Blight and then returning to the Nexus to debrief and recover.

Branch Riders is an easy to play narrative driven role playing game built on the concepts of action, investigation, and creative play. Your missions take you to one of eight distinct realms, each based on a different genre. You venture forth from your new home, the Nexus, a respite between worlds.

You may be called to rescue a failed Branch Rider team, start a rebellion, or simply help a fledgling superhero find their place in the world. Players track the team’s Exposure - how aware the Blight is of their presence - and as Exposure increases, the mission becomes more difficult and dangerous. You utilize amazing gifts you bring from your home-realm, but their power risks Exposure - the energy they radiate from another realm is a beacon to your enemy.

Branch Riders is easy to learn and fun to play, encouraging creative problem-solving as well as tactical decision-making and rich storytelling central to the mechanics. Dice-rolls always move the story forward, and condition cards track the consequences of your actions. The Branch Riders will have to use every ability at their disposal to overcome the Blight!

A Deeper Game
Branch Riders originally was born from our work as a non-profit as well as our love of tabletop games. The Bodhana Group utilizes tabletop games for education, capacity building and therapy. A large facet of our work is providing training for practitioners, educators and parents on how to best use games in this way.

During these training sessions we are asked how we come up with settings that match well to therapy. Some counselors and therapists found creating settings to be a challenge when running tabletop RPG. We envisioned a game that could provide a way to match settings and in-game situations with therapeutic concepts.

Branch Riders was designed for fun but built for therapists, educators, and parents who, if they wished, could use the system to help players work on important goals. Telling good stories is at the heart of Branch Riders. Using it for therapy is just one more benefit it provides.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tbg...aying-game

[Shepherd]

For people who do Kickstarter but not Indiegogo, the makers of the Spinnerette webcomic have put White Heron vol. 1 up in soft cover, hard cover, and PDF formats. They're fully funded with a week and a half to go in the campaign, and expect to ship the books before the end of the year.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spi...escription

[Shepherd]

Only three days to go for this Steve Jackson Games Kickstarter:

Welcome to Hexagram, the zine for fans of The Fantasy Trip. Each issue features articles, adventures, and other content that can help you add excitement to your tabletop roleplaying experiences with TFT and other Old School Revival games. This 13th issue of Hexagram includes new spells, new scenarios, and much more!

You’ll find plenty of great stuff in the pages of Hexagram 13, including:

"The Farthest Isle" by Stefan Jones: An adventure with a bit of puzzle-solving and a lot of combat, set in an island paradise plagued by challenging new monsters.
"Gift of Tongues" by Steve Jackson: A note about a TFT spell that could possibly be added to the system without invalidating any existing mage characters. Comments will be welcome!
"Healer’s Coffin" by P.D. Haynie: In which the goblin wizard Perf does a thing and makes a friend . . .
"Questions Three": For the first time, this interview section features its first fictional subject – Tollenkar, the powerful mage and pretender to the throne who is the antagonist in Tollenkar’s Lair.
"Wilderness Walled Complexes" by Jean McGuire: Peruse this complex table for "rolling up" adventures and encounters; use it for a one-shot or let it support a longer campaign.
"Skarg’s ORQ" by Steve Jackson: Create a quick-roll adventure set in Skarg’s orcish tavern. The table tells you what happened . . . WHY you woke up with half your head shaved is a question for the GM to answer. Or perhaps not!

But that’s not all! Hexagram #13 also features articles by Howard Kistler, John Paul Bakshoian, and Henry Cobb to help bring your campaign to life.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjg...-trip-rpg/

[Mamorien]

I just remembered we're almost halfway through the latest Onyx Path campaign.

The World never truly ends, it merely shatters. Each fragment giving birth to new possibilities, new futures within whole new realities as they fall. Every time the World is saved, it continues on in one reality while other possibilities propel forward into another tomorrow. When we sleep, our souls travel to other worlds and realms. Our imaginations touch the shards and run rampant. They are not merely dreams. These Mythic Shards are as real as the Divine Realms, and the realm we live in. All myths are true.

Scion: Mythic Shards presents alternate realities for the World of Scion and provides new rules for players and Storyguides to incorporate into their games. Each chapter explores a single shard of reality at varying tiers of Scion gameplay. These chapters are standalone from each other and don’t need to be consumed with the other chapters in order to start playing. Mythic Shards requires the use of Origin, Hero, Demigod, and God in order to play.

Scions rise as costumed superheroes fighting against the forces of Evil. They tear across a barren wasteland trying to rediscover their lost divinity and restore the World. They are the pariahs of society, hunted despite their best efforts to make the World a better place. They explore the vast expanses of space trying to find their way back home. They attune to Divine mecha in a highly technological age to battle Titanic kaiju and devilish corporations subjugating and hording the resources of the planet. These are just a sampling of the myriad of shards living and breathing in a reality parallel to our own.

Previews have so far unveiled the post-apocalyptic (After the End) and sentai-punk (Cyber-Scion) shards; Farewell to Heroes, Four-Color and Space Odyssey will follow in alphabetical order, and a poll is open to determine which of three additional settings will be added should the campaign clear the US$35,000 mark.

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/ony...hic-shards

[Shepherd]

Spinnerette Volume 9: As The Crow Flies
Ohio's #3 Superhero returns for book 9 of her adventures!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kra...escription

[Mamorien]

One path reaches its end and a new one begins.

In 2017 Onyx Path unveiled the Storypath System, the rules engine that has come to power many of our games: the sci-fi universe of hope, heroism, and peril known as the Trinity Continuum, the modern-day stories of old gods and titans called Scion Second Edition, and the trope-focused exploration of genres that is the They Came From! series, and more.

We're extremely proud of what we’ve done over the years with Storypath, but felt it was time to tighten up the rules, smooth off the rough edges, and get rid of anything that got in the way of telling amazing stories. As a result, we’ve created the Storypath Ultra Core Manual.

Storypath Ultra isn’t a new edition, nor is it a replacement rule set — many of the concepts we developed and refined from the Storypath System are still there, even as they rearrange or rename things to make them as clear as possible. Think of it as a new take on Storypath: It’s the same great game but spruced up and tweaked to be the best possible version.

What makes Storypath a great system for our role playing games?

First, competence. Player characters are assumed to be competent in their area of specialization. These rules aren't always meant to assume success or failure. They're used to determine influence over the story and to the degree to which the character succeeds.

Next, enhanced combat. Storypath combat uses range bands, area effects, and tricks, allowing players to contribute more to a fight beyond just damage. They're also convertible to miniature play or for use with virtual tabletops.

Then there's bonding. Storypath uses group mechanics to create a collaborative storytelling experience. Bonds formed during character creation and over sessions bring new overarching mechanics and collaborative themes into play.

Finally, there's scaling. Gods or superheroes can fight each other on mostly equal grounds, while the mere mortals can do the same to one another. It's only when the psychic superhuman deals with an average person, the mechanics such as advantage come into play.

This will be, as far as I can tell the first truly generic TRPG rulebook based on a fork of the Storyteller System, but it will include three worked examples of settings: one fantasy, one sci-fi (both of which will be voted on by backers), and one... lower fantasy?

Pinfall from Grace, Bodyslams from Hell is a darkly humorous setting featuring player characters with unusual powers and an angelic companion hunting down demons that have controlled the world. It’s Street Fighter meets Fist of the North Star via professional wrestling. We also provide a lot of sidebars explaining the reasons behind some of the design decisions of the setting, to act as a comprehensive example of creating a setting and adapting Storypath to that setting.

If this sounds like your cup of beverage: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/ony...les-manual

[Norgarth]

Lord of Metal - A story-driven Rock Festival game
"Lord of Metal is a story rich PC and Console game where Rock music festivals bring a dystopian world back to life."

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lor...&gr_x=a62b

one of the people behind the game is Par, guitarist for Sabaton, and part of the kickstarter freebies are Sabaton themed skins for the tourbus and chief roadie.

currently has 18 days to go and well into stretch goals already

[Mamorien]

I couldn't not mention this, no matter how upended my life got.

Douglas Adams: Explaining the World - What is It?

Douglas Adams: Explaining the World is an original Audiobook drawn from Douglas Adams' archive, brought to you by leading audio company Pushkin Industries and written and presented by Douglas' one time protégé and chart-topping Audible author Arvind Ethan David.

Douglas Adams, the legendary creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, saw the world differently, and when he described it from his unique perspective, he made all of us feel smarter.

Douglas also loved the medium of audio. He revolutionized radio drama with the original HITCHHIKERS and throughout his life was obsessed with sound and music. When he died in 2001, Douglas left behind a large archive of recordings - most of which have never been digitized and have sat unheard all this time. We've been given access to that archive and this Kickstarter will support its digitization and proper cataloging -- the process has already begun, and we can't wait to share what we've been finding.

With that material in hand, we've been interviewing many of Douglas' most famous and influential fans and friends. Actors and comedians like Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, David Baddiel, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Griff Rhys Jones; his collaborators and business partners Robbie Stamp and WiReD magazine founder Ian Charles Stewart; and also the world's leading experts in all the fields that obsessed Douglas: conservation and the mass extinction; the internet and AI; space exploration and alien life.

In other words, we're going to talk to them about the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Mixed into that will be extracts from Douglas' books and work inspired by him, read by actors including Dirk Gently himself Samuel Barnett.

The outcome, we hope, will be a truly unique Audiobook, one that Douglas would have loved himself. One that allows his fans to get to know him better and also brings his unique genius and perspective to a world that feels like it needs him more than ever.

I am giving serious consideration to buying in at the $70 level (which includes not only the basic audio from the $20 level, the expansions from the $42 level that'd be my minimum buy-in, and the video added at $50, but also an official towel, of course).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dou...-the-world

[Norgarth]

A Valheim Boardgame

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/mood-p...1842370080

based on the Steam game of the same name.
over 400% funded

[Mamorien]

The World of Darkness is under new management. The Chronicles of Darkness are increasingly in community hands. It's time for urban horror to forge a new (Onyx, Story) Path (Ultra).

Curseborne is a game about being unapologetic monsters in a world where being monstrous is the least of your worries. In Curseborne, you play as Accursed, descendants of monstrous lineages lurking in a modern world that closely resembles our own. You rebel against the ancient feuds between these entwined families, as well as against the web of curses that bind you, while fending off inhuman antagonists seeking to claim — or reclaim — your power.

The world of Curseborne is full of intrigue, magic, and things that go bump in the night. It’s just like our world, except the reason that things don’t go your way or that bad things happen is that the people are literally living in a world of curses. Some people are cursed more than others, and these are our Accursed characters. They have a particularly large curse that hangs over their heads and makes them more prone to bad things happening to them and around them. The nature of this curse also makes them magical in nature. They have a sense of the thing holding them back, and they can manipulate it in ways that normal people cannot.

The Accursed

• Play as one of the Dead, who are ghosts and poltergeists doomed to haunt their own bodies.
  
• Play as one of the Hungry, who are vampires who crave blood and more.
  
• Play an Outcast, who are angels, demons, and otherworldly creatures exiled to Earth.
  
• Play as a Primal, who are werewolves and shapeshifters beholden to something that burns inside them.
  
• Play as a Sorcerer, who are wizards and mages who take their magic too far.
  

Everyone is Cursed
The curse doesn’t care if you’re a CEO of a big corporation or a beggar on the street. It affects everyone with the same judicious hand.

Everything is Connected
This isn’t just a world full of random bad things happening to random people. It’s a web of curses, and everything is connected. Curses weave an intricate tapestry over everyone.

Family Drama
Some family is chosen, others you’re born into, but all family has expectations for you. You have strands of obligations to each other, and sometimes fulfilling those obligations is harder than you want it to be. For good or for ill, your family is a big part of your life.

Urban Myths
Stories abound about weird sightings, strange happenings, and generally unnerving happenstances. The curse is so prevalent in people’s lives that they brush off weirdness as just another story.

There is Hope
Hope is at the core of any Curseborne story and a power the player characters embody, which is greater than any supernatural gift they possess. The internal drive to do and be something better, even if that is something as simple as searching for contentment, is the way you prove every day that you’re someone special.

Rebellion
At the heart of every character’s rebellion are meaningful actions which shine a light in the darkness. It’s easy to get bogged down in the concept that the entire world is cursed, and it is up to your character to puncture through this sorrowful song with the discordant notes of joy — from a lover’s stolen kiss in the back of a dive bar to a deep belly laugh with a beloved friend.

Community is Key
No one enters this fight alone and a character’s crew and their larger community is there to support them. Your characters are stronger together.

Just 28 hours in and already over 300% funded, unlocking companion Tangled Webs (specifically the "liminalities and shattered spaces based on real places" portion) and the first two stories in a fiction anthology.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200...f=activity

[robkelk]

Dresden Codak presents Dark Science Volume 1: the City of Giants

"Launching soon", and over 1200 people are already following the project.