RPG Crowdfunding News – Vaesen, Deadlands: Lost Colony, and More

This week, I look at RPG crowdfunding projects that end between November 22nd through Thanksgiving (28th). Of the eighteen projects covered here, six end on US Thanksgiving eve or the day of Thanksgiving. It's a bold decision and I’m eager to see how many final 48 hours bids they pick up.

Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying by Free League Publishing

• END DATE: Wed, November 27 2019 3:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Year Zero Engine
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: SEK 650 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the game plus all stretch goals

“A New Roleplaying Game of Gothic Horror from the Makers of ALIEN, Forbidden Lands and Tales from the Loop. Welcome to the Mythic North – northern Europe of the nineteenth century, but not as we know it today. A land where the myths are real. A cold reach covered by vast forests, its few cities lonely beacons of industry and enlightenment – a new civilization dawning. But in the countryside, the old ways still hold sway. There, people know what lurks in the dark. They know to fear it. Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying is a brand-new RPG line from Free League Publishing. Written by award-winning author Nils Hintze (Tales From the Loop RPG) and based on the work of Swedish illustrator and author Johan Egerkrans, Vaesen presents a dark Gothic setting steeped in Nordic folklore and old myths of Scandinavia. The game mechanics use an adapted version of the award-winning Year Zero Engine. We are raising funds to produce a lavishly illustrated and beautifully produced book with more than 200 pages of content. This core rulebook will contain all you need to roleplay in the Mythic North: rules, setting and an introductory scenario.”

Deadlands: Lost Colony by Pinnacle Entertainment Group

• END DATE: Mon, November 25 2019 8:00 PM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Savage Worlds
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $100 + S/H for the boxed set

“Travel Way Out West, on and around the planet Banshee, after Hellstromme Industries' Tunnel collapse left the Reckoners behind! Deadlands Lost Colony is a roleplaying game setting for the Deadlands universe and uses the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition game system. It takes place in 2097, thirteen years after the Last War in Deadlands Hell on Earth. Hellstromme Industries created a “Tunnel” between Earth and a distant star system later called Faraway. Millions of colonists settled on asteroid mining stations and the only inhabitable planet, Banshee, before the Tunnel collapsed and left them stranded. Now the humans must fend for themselves against a rogue military, ruthless pirates, angry anouks, the rise of an evil alien presence, and worst of all, the arrival of the Reckoners—made flesh on Earth and exiled to Banshee! Deadlands Lost Colony is the long-awaited relaunch of a line first published in 2000 for the original Deadlands Classic system. It's been rewritten from the ground up, reimagined, refocused, and adapted to the latest version of the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. The core book for Deadlands Lost Colony is a 192 page "graphic novel" size hardback and full-color throughout.”

5th Evolution: Whitechapel (5E Gaslight London in 1888) by Limitless Adventures

• END DATE: Sat, November 23 2019 12:59 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons 5e
• PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 + $8 US S/H for the PDF and softcover versions of the book

“A 5th Edition gaslight adventure to catch Jack the Ripper. Go beyond medieval fantasy with 5th Evolution: Whitechapel by Limitless Adventures! Play as gaslight anti-heroes racing to stop the world's most famous serial killer before he strikes again. This 5th edition adventure contains an 8-page comic, a 5e sandbox of London's Whitechapel district in 1888, dozens of encounters, and rules for creating gaslight heroes.”

Space Kings: The Book by SuperTry Studios

• END DATE: Sat, November 23 2019 5:55 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 + $9 US S/H for the PDF and autographed book

“An improvisational playing card based role-playing game. Space Kings is an improvisational tabletop roleplaying game. Players and Hosts use decks of 54 standard playing cards to fight evil space governments, thwart unethical corporations, host fancy dinner parties, and overcome other devious challenges. We made Space Kings for our group of longtime friends who wanted to play a tabletop game every week and not have to plan too much or do a lot of math. We started playing Space Kings in the Summer of 2013 and we've played it nearly every week since then. Though a lot of the content in the book fits a comedic science-fantasy campaign, a game of Space Kings can be whatever you want it to be! We've twisted the rules and set games in sword and sorcery and suburban horror settings. If you're interested in learning the basics, check out Pretend Friends! It's a podcast where I (Kevin Cole, from the video) play Space Kings with my friends from the indomitable web show, Continue?, and it's now in its third season.

Explorers Of The Fantastic by Battlefield Press

• END DATE: Wed, November 27 2019 12:59 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Savage Worlds Adventure Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 for the PDF of the book
• NOTE: In the coming weeks, I have an interview on EN World with EotF co-creator, Darren Watts, former president/co-owner of Hero Games and Indie Press Revolution

“Explorers Of The Fantastic is a setting book for the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, describing an alternate "atomic horror" Cold War. The Allied bombing of Ninoshima island in Japan in August, 1945, opened up an enormous entrance into the Hollow Earth, and from that entrance came the first of a series of skyscraper-sized monsters to plague the world over the next two decades. Fortunately for humanity, a group of action scientists, the Explorers of the Fantastic, rose up to oppose them and to explore the Hollow Earth, the floors of the seven seas, and the depths of outer space. In Explorers of the Fantastic, you create and play these scientists, fighting against the giant monsters and against more human opponents. In this book, you’ll find rules, based on the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition ruleset, for creating your heroic action scientists and equipping them with the highest of high tech—even their own personal vehicles, rules for creating new giant monsters, either for the player characters to fight against or for the players to run, rules for creating individual vehicles for player characters, from flying mini-subs to rocketships, new Savage Worlds races (Intelligent Apes! Emancipated Robots!) and character concepts (Giant Monster Expert! Science Police! Super Scientist!).”

The World's Greatest Roleplaying Game: The Zine by Broken Ruler Games

• END DATE: Thu, November 28 2019 7:52 AM EST.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons 5e
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: CA$20 + S/H for the PDF and print verions
• “Warning: This zine contains references to altering a game you may already think is perfect. It includes depictions of players adding complications to failed rolls, romance-inspired adventures, and more ideas that may shock and disgust grognards. Backer discretion is advised!”

“A Zine that puts an Indie Spin on the 5th Edition of the World's Greatest Roleplaying Game! [T]his is The World's Greatest Roleplaying Game: The Zine. It's a zine providing an "indie spin" on the 5th edition of this tabletop behemoth, a chance to try out something new for those of you who like to dabble or are finally willing to cave in and play the world's most popular RPG with a few story game ideas in hand. Maybe you'd even like to play a game of players as they actually play the world's greatest roleplaying game to become the ultimate meta roleplaying game! With WGRG: The Zine, we want to take some of the revolutionary story-driven mechanics from some great indie games and designers you might never have heard of and merge them into the core rules for 5e. Read about the concept of "failing forward" from Powered by the Apocalypse games and how it can be applied to your 5e game. Have you ever compared a dungeon crawl to mysteries? So, let's talk about how the GUMSHOE system can merge with 5e to enhance the experience. Each issue will be produced in a 24-page (approx.) 8.5" by 5.5" booklet format in both PDF and POD from DriveThruRPG. Everyone who writes original material for WGRG: The Zine will be paid at 10 cents per word CAD (or 8 cents per word USD) because miniatures ain't cheap and that cotton ball with toothpicks sticking out can only go so far.”

RPG QUICK HITS

Feast of the Gobbler by Frog God Games

• END DATE: Fri, November 22
• NOTE: For those concerned about coverage of a project from Frog God Games, I’m linking the Joint Statement of BJ Hensley and Frog God Games
• NOTE 2: This project is available on IndieGoGo
• “Thanksgiving Special RPG Adventure.”

Dungeon of the Steel Golem - A 5E DND and Pathfinder Module by Zan’s Adventures

• END DATE: Sun, November 24 2019 4:48 AM EST.
• “Deep in an ancient dungeon, a long-forgotten soul is building a tool of revenge. Can he be stopped in time? An RPG adventure.”

The House of the Red Doors (DCC RPG) by James A. Pozenel, Jr.

• END DATE: Mon, November 25 2019 11:59 PM EST.
• “A Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG one player funnel adventure.”

The Aarakocra Incident by Marco Mazzei

• END DATE: Wed, November 27 2019 7:21 PM EST.
• “A Mountaineering Adventure for the 5th Edition Ruleset.”

The Races Among Us - ShadowMyths Elementals for RPGs/DnD by Doug Hoppes

• END DATE: Thu, November 28 2019 7:58 AM EST.
• “Journal of 35 races and diseases present in Ozul. Generic descriptions for any role-playing game or DnD.”

RPG CONVENTION

New MexiCon 2020 by Matt Bohnhoff

• END DATE: Mon, November 25 2019 1:59 AM EST.
• CONVENTION DATES: April 17th through 19th, 2020
• CONVENTION LOCATION: Ramada Hotel Midtown in Albuquerque, New Mexico
• “This is the 7th annual New MexiCon indie roleplaying convention!”

SECOND CHANCE

VAST KAVIYA by Mike Myler

• END DATE: 12/01/2019 21:59 (GMT-5) [Extended from its original run]
• NOTE: Mike Myler writes for EN World and EN Publishing’s EN5ider Patreon
• NOTE 2: You can listen to Mike talk with Morrus and Peter Coffey here
• NOTE 3: Try before you buy with the primer at DriveThruRPG
• NOTE 4: This campaign is available through GameOnTabletop
• “A primordial sword and sorcery campaign setting of low magic and high adventure for D&D 5E!”

RPG ACCESSORIES

The Box of Holding by Woodgrain Gaming

• END DATE: Sat, November 23 2019 6:00 AM EST.
• “TTRPG kit which holds all your dice, mini's, notebook and pencils. It doubles as a dice tray and tracks your fast-changing stats (DND5E)”

The Modular Village Book | Tokens & Tiles for Tabletop RPG by Jean Francois Senay

• END DATE: Sun, November 24 2019 10:51 AM EST.
• “Build amazing village map with more than 1000 beautiful hand-drawn tokens, tiles and building facades. Unique role-playing game module.”

A Better DnD Campaign Notebook by ShadedAreas.com

• END DATE: Sun, November 24 2019 11:59 PM EST.
• “A Campaign Notebook that is designed for narrative consideration, information referencing, and accessibility.”

The 5E Player Screen! by Shaun Beehag

• END DATE: Sun, November 24 2019
• NOTE: This project is available on IndieGoGo
• “Streamlined gaming for new and Neurodiverse players alike! Stress less and play more!”

Sugar Realms: Candy Golem STL files and a new 5e race by Axolote Gaming

• END DATE: Thu, November 28 2019 5:41 PM EST.
• NOTE: Try out the new race mentioned in this campaign for free at the DMsGuild here
• “3d printable files for a new race: the Sucrons, whom adventure around a land full of candy monsters and landscapes!”

NOTE: This article includes affiliate links to DriveThruRPG. As a DriveThruRPG Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.