This week’s article features RPG crowdfunding projects end between May 30 to June 6. In addition to projects for the Cypher System, 5e, OSRs, and more, I include a one question Q&A with Christopher Robin Negelein about converting his The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park RPG from the Cypher System to 5e. To learn more, check out the end of the article.
The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park RPG from Ganza Publishing
The Emporium of Wonders 5E from M.T. Black Games
Knave RPG: Second Edition from Questing Beast
CHAINSAW WIZARDS, HECATOMB CREEPS & OTHER UNGODLY BASTARDS from Planet X Games
The Legendary Bundle: Kong: Skull Island and Pacific Rim from Evil Genius Games
The Mosidian Temple: an OSRIC/1E Adventure from Darklight Interactive
Gimmick Zero from Rookie Jet Studio LLC
EGG EMBRY: That’s awesome. That said, there are seven days left and the news about this stretch goal is unlikely to reach as many 5e fans as, say, a separate Kickstarter campaign. Do you have any concerns that you're leaving money on the table by running this here instead of running a separate 5e campaign after this one has fulfilled?
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN NEGELEIN: If this was a Kickstarter was focused on traditionally printing a 5e fantasy setting in 2021, I would be more inclined to agree with your assessment.
To break it down, smaller publishers have really felt the changes in traditional printing. Now a days, many of us are on waiting lists with no idea how long it will be before our projects get printed, leading to frustrated customers who may eventually move on to play and become more enamored of other games.
Since Ganza Gaming is small shop with no warehousing, we are offering the 5e product as a print on demand offering, which often also impacts sales.
For many consumers D&D is intrinsically tied to the fantasy genre. In manning the Alligator Alley Entertainment booth for Esper Genesis over the years, I've been told, with an air of authority, that guns have no place in a "D&D" game based on experience in 2e D&D, or that EG must be a "home setting" since it is sci-fi. So anything not fantasy is an uphill battle.
And finally, the OGL debacle has hit 5e. It might be a small dent but I have felt it with a huge uptick in interest for Cypher and my Cypher community content products.
So while I agree there is still a huge 5e audience, offering a horror/satire product 5e is a much chancier proposition. We will leave the Backerkit options open for a while to help those who find the Kickstarter too late and if the demand really exceeds expectations, we can always run a second Kickstarter for a traditional 5e run.
Thanks for your time and the question.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park RPG from Ganza Publishing
- END DATE: Thu, June 1 2023 7:56 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Cypher System
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $45 for the POD version of the book
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: At the end of this article, I asked him about the $60,000 stretch goal to convert The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park to 5e
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is the story of a creator working for years building up his profile in order to be an “overnight” success. If you’re a fan of Monte Cook Games’ Cypher System Creator Program, you may know Christopher Robin Negelein’s work, some of which I reviewed. He’s a creator associated with Alligator Alley Entertainment’s 5e sci-fi RPG, Esper Genesis, and third party Cypher System content. If you know, you know. But if you don’t then it seems like he came out of nowhere with his first Kickstarter. He’s paid his dues and in June 2022, I spoke to Christopher Robin Negelein about the initial concepts for this project. Combining the Cypher System and Trevor Roberts’ setting, you’re getting a weird world where there’s a living attraction, an entire park of flesh. Hike, explore, but avoid the evil corporation that is exploiting the unusual properties of this park. If you’re in need of a nasty roadside attraction powered by the beating heart of the Cypher System, this is worth your time.
The Emporium of Wonders 5E from M.T. Black Games
- END DATE: Thu, June 1 2023 3:58 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: AU$15 for the Emporium of Wonders PDF as well as the discount POD code and the Iskandar Player's Handbook PDF
- DISCLAIMER: M.T. Black freelances for EN World
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 400 magic items for 5e from M.T. Black. This book includes 200 new-to-this-book magic items and 200 taken from The Books of Wondrous Magic. If you’re a fan of M.T.’s work and interested in a stack of magic items, check out the campaign page to see a list of the items and to get a sample.
Knave RPG: Second Edition from Questing Beast
- END DATE: Thu, June 1 2023 4:00 PM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): OSR
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $35 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Knave 2e Kickstarter Preview is free at DriveThruRPG
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Read Charles Dunwoody’s interview with Ben Milton on Knave 2e
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN?Knave is one of those OSRs that took the core rules of D&D and simplified them without losing the dice-determine-fate old-school feel of those early games. Keeping the rules tight, Ben Milton managed a streamlined RPG that lost none of the adventure that gamers expect in a fantasy RPG. I reviewed the first edition of Knave in 2020 and concluded it was a winner. This version gives you 80 pages of dungeon exploring guides and modular rules to add to your campaigns. Plus there are zines to augment the experience. If you’re a fan of streamlined OSR, explore this project.
CHAINSAW WIZARDS, HECATOMB CREEPS & OTHER UNGODLY BASTARDS from Planet X Games
- END DATE: Tue, June 6 2023 8:55 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): OSR
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $35 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Need villains for your weird fantasy campaign? Not monsters, but the recurring, main bosses for your adventurers to combat? This book offers 65 pages of strange bad guys to build campaigns around. Designed for OSR play, these enemies will speak to GMs looking for enemies with more motivation and backstory to draw from. Because these are “name” enemies, this book is perfect for GMs looking for enemy Lieutenants and Generals to pit their players against.
The Legendary Bundle: Kong: Skull Island and Pacific Rim from Evil Genius Games
- END DATE: Tue, June 6 2023 11:59 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
- PROJECT TYPE: Sourebooks
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $80 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of both campaigns (160 pages each) and their supporting books (56 pages each)
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN?Everyday Heroes, Evil Genius Games’ modern day cinematic 5e system, is offering two new sourcebooks to put with The Crow and Escape From New York. One featuring Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and the other bringing the current incarnation of King Kong. These are “officially licensed” adventures meaning they’re not homages, they’re authentic setting material for the worlds. These books are adventure paths that take you through levels 1 to 10. Coming a few years after the movie, Kong: Skull Island lets you have an adventure in which you interact with Mason Weaver (Brie Larsen’s character) and James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston’s character). Pacific Rim is a globetrotting adventure in which your Jaeger pilots fight Kaiju. If the idea of 5e and some cool action movies sounds like a great campaign, this page is waiting with books, maps, pawns, and more.
The Mosidian Temple: an OSRIC/1E Adventure from Darklight Interactive
- END DATE: Tue, May 30 2023 10:00 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): OSRIC and AD&D 1E
- PROJECT TYPE: Adventure
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $22 for the PDFs of all of the books, both original and reimagined, plus the POD discount code
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? When he was 12, David Flor wrote an adventure for 1e. 40 years later, he laid hands on it again, decided to make it official, and release it in two formats: As originally envisioned and in a reworked and edited versions. Influenced by Tomb of Horrors and White Plume Mountain, you’re getting a view into a creator’s childhood. If the idea of an adventure plucked from another time and offered for OSRIC and 1e sounds good then jump on this because this quickstarter ends soon.
Gimmick Zero from Rookie Jet Studio LLC
- END DATE: Sat, June 3 2023 10:00 AM EDT.
- SYSTEM(S): An original system
- PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
- MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 for the PDF and POD discounted version of the book
- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Gimmick Zero: Quickstart Rules is free at DriveThruRPG
- WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? 144 pages of giant rogue robots and the living weapons that hunt them down. Inspired by Bubblegum Crisis, Katana Zero, and Megaman Zero, this game offers a system to let your players take on a war against machines determined to destroy civilization. If you are looking for mechs as enemies, this may be the game for you.
The $60,000 Stretch Goal: The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park for 5E
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN NEGELEIN: If our Mystery Flesh Pit Kickstarter hits $60,000, we will add a 5e version of the game! It probably won't surprise you that we'll be using Esper Genesis with a few new tweaks as the 5e engine.EGG EMBRY: That’s awesome. That said, there are seven days left and the news about this stretch goal is unlikely to reach as many 5e fans as, say, a separate Kickstarter campaign. Do you have any concerns that you're leaving money on the table by running this here instead of running a separate 5e campaign after this one has fulfilled?
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN NEGELEIN: If this was a Kickstarter was focused on traditionally printing a 5e fantasy setting in 2021, I would be more inclined to agree with your assessment.
To break it down, smaller publishers have really felt the changes in traditional printing. Now a days, many of us are on waiting lists with no idea how long it will be before our projects get printed, leading to frustrated customers who may eventually move on to play and become more enamored of other games.
Since Ganza Gaming is small shop with no warehousing, we are offering the 5e product as a print on demand offering, which often also impacts sales.
For many consumers D&D is intrinsically tied to the fantasy genre. In manning the Alligator Alley Entertainment booth for Esper Genesis over the years, I've been told, with an air of authority, that guns have no place in a "D&D" game based on experience in 2e D&D, or that EG must be a "home setting" since it is sci-fi. So anything not fantasy is an uphill battle.
And finally, the OGL debacle has hit 5e. It might be a small dent but I have felt it with a huge uptick in interest for Cypher and my Cypher community content products.
So while I agree there is still a huge 5e audience, offering a horror/satire product 5e is a much chancier proposition. We will leave the Backerkit options open for a while to help those who find the Kickstarter too late and if the demand really exceeds expectations, we can always run a second Kickstarter for a traditional 5e run.
Thanks for your time and the question.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
