RPG Crowdfunding News - Old Gods of Appalachia, Fiendish Forge (5e), Miami 86, and more

This week, I look at a sampling of TTRPG crowdfunding projects that end between September 19 and 25. Among the offerings are multiple books for Old Gods of Appalachia, new sourcebooks for 5e (2014 and 2024), a game that promises Miami Vice and Scarface stories for your gaming table, a Year Zero Engine cyberpunk game, and a library of sounds to augment your game.

Old Gods of Appalachia: Deeper Still from Monte Cook Games

• END DATE: Sep 20, 2024 at 8:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Cypher System
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebooks
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $110 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of all three books
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Welcome, family. This is a folk horror world, a game where the terrors lurk in the backwoods of the early 1900s. In May, 2022, Monte Cook Games raised over $2 million dollars to produce the Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game. Based on the popular podcast of the same name, these products tell stories of supernatural Appalachia. At Gen Con 2024, I was able to play a session of Old Gods of Appalachia. It was an excellent experience, enthralling enough that my pal, John McGuire, bought the game after the session. This Backerkit campaign expands on the core rules with three new books. Dig Your Own Grave is a book for players with more character options, All Your Gods Are Dead is the book for GMs with monsters, NPCs, cyphers, and more, and Come Hell Or High Water is an adventure and resource with settings and maps to bring into your existing campaign. OGoA creators Steve Shell and Cam Collins provide direction and content for these books. In addition, this crowdfunding offers dice, props, cards, and more to make your games as immersive as possible. If you’re a fan of the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast or the game, check out this Backerkit page.

Monster Trainer's Handbook: 5e Campaign Supplement & Setting from Dungeon in a Box

• END DATE: Thu, September 19 2024 9:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $89 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of both books
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is a professional production 5e monster taming project. Want something like Pokémon but less cute and more 5e? The Monster Trainer's Handbook may scratch that itch. The monsters that you catch, train, and evolve are called “wildkin.” Would you prefer to use existing monsters? There are rules for catching and training nearly any 5e monster. With a new trainer class and subclasses, you’ll bring monsterous competition to your gaming table. The Kickstarter offers two books – Monster Trainer’s Handbook and Legend of the Primal Isles: A 5e Campaign – as well as 160 wildkin and monster cards. There are miniatures, an album to store your cards, and more. If you want to hunt monsters, train them for combat, and fight, fight, fight using a large, well-produced product, this campaign is worth a look.

Fiendish Forge (5e) - Fearsome Bosses, Monstrous Items from Io Publishing

• END DATE: Sep 19, 2024 at 1:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition “This 320+ page book is compatible with 5e TTRPGs (both 2014 and 2024 versions).”
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $60 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This book has boss battles in its DNA. Fiendish Forge (5e) conjures up monsters with new rules such as spawning, phase combat, and the "Bloodied" condition. Magic items are themed around their boss, so they’re both a reward and proof that you defeated this legendary creature. Are you interested in hunting monsters, harvesting their parts, and crafting with them? This book offers a system for gathering and making items from the carcass of your latest kill. Within these 320 pages, you’ll find over 40 final monsters, 150 materials to harvest from them, and 200 magic items. If you’re looking for new combat options and leaders that are ready to beatdown your party, this Backerkit campaign may be for you.

Treasures From The Astral Forge from Scoundrel Game Labs

• END DATE: Tue, September 24 2024 6:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is a book of 160 magic items. Each has artwork, details, story hooks, and providence. Crafted by the Forgemaster in the Astral Forge found in the Astral Sea, these items promise to be memorable. The book contains a map of the Forge, NPCs, adventure ideas, and over 50 Forge boons to reward your players. If you’re looking for 5e magic items, this book may speak to you.

Miami 86 RPG by Archmage Arispen

• END DATE: Thursday, September 19, 2024, 2:00 PM ECT
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Gamefound
• SYSTEM(S): “Core mechanic reminiscent of Into the Odd and Cairn”
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €49.00 + S/H for the PDF and print version of the book, character sheets, boxed set, dice, and pencils
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Miami Vice is one of those shows that I loved in the ‘80s, but any attempt to watch it after The Shield, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Longmire, and other, newer shows that it inspired is, well, it doesn’t hold up. But my memories of the show do, and that’s the gold that can be mined using this TTRPG. This game pulls from Scarface and Miami Vice as well as newer IPs like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Cocaine cowboys, car chases, gunfights, undercover cops, living the “high” life of the ‘80s, this game appeals to fans looking for a taste of the action. You’re the bad guys, you’re the cops, you’re dealers, and you’re trying to get what’s yours using a rules lite engine and randomly generated adventures. If you want to own the streets, you need to own this game. Check out the campaign page at Gamefound.

Terminal State from VX2

• END DATE: Thu, September 26 2024 10:30 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Year Zero Engine
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $25 for the PDF of the book
• TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Terminal State QuickStart is free at DriveThruRPG
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Terminal State is a post-neon cyberpunk TTRPG. The game uses the cyberpunk concepts, but foregoes the 1980s aesthetic and leans into a near tomorrow where, since it’s cyberpunk, the corps have gone hyper and they’re in-charge. Money isn’t as important as rep; you want to get famous as you tear the system down because, like Olenna Tyrell, you want the world to know it was you. The core rulebook is 280 pages using the two die Year Zero Engine option. It’s different than Free League Publishing’s detective focused Blade Runner TTRPG, which is cyberpunk using their Year Zero Engine. If you want a dark future where you’re fighting the system, Terminal State may speak to you.

Fantasy+, the Future of TTRPG Audio from Monument Studios

• END DATE: Thu, September 19 2024 9:59 AM EDT.
• PROJECT TYPE: TTRPG accessory
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $249 for a lifetime subscription and so many additional items you’ll need to see the campaign page for details
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Does your campaign need sounds, sound effects, music, NPC voice actors, and more? This project offers over 800 fantasy music tracks, 250 horror movie tracks, and over 100 sci-fi music options. That’s over and above the location sounds and other options. These sounds are copyright free and safe to stream. If you’re interested in getting more atmosphere in your campaign, there are multiple samples on the campaign page to get a sense of the quality.

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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.

 

[sevenbastard]

Miami Vice is one of those shows that I loved in the ‘80s, but any attempt to watch it after The Shield, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Longmire, and other, newer shows that it inspired is, well, it doesn’t hold up

For a show on Network TV in the mid 80s it couldn't hit as hard as a show on cable 20 years latter.

It's still better than most TV.

 

[Egg Embry]

For a show on Network TV in the mid 80s it couldn't hit as hard as a show on cable 20 years latter.

It's still better than most TV.

I acknowledge your POV. If I think '80s crime drama apples versus '80s crime drama apples (and, like you said, most TV), I can't argue your position. ;-)
Still, my memories were better than when I tried the re-watch.

 

[Lalato]

I think there are a couple of episodes per season of Miami Vice that punch far above their weight. But most of it doesn't hold up to a modern viewing. That said, there is no denying the far-reaching influence the show had.

Honestly, same can be said of early RPGs.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The 2006 Miami Vice movie is very much in the mold of the peak TV crime dramas of the early 2000s. It's not perfect, but is very, very cool.

 

[sevenbastard]

think there are a couple of episodes per season of Miami Vice that punch far above their weight

Back when every TV series was 20 plus episodes versus the 8 to 10 episodes we have for prestige shows now you had more filler each season. Your going to get a few Curse of Xanathon, The Endless Stairs and The Forest Oracle each season, still pretty to look at but terribly executed.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Miami 86 looks very fun, but I am going to be drowning in crowdfunding campaigns this fall. I might just pick it up off his Etsy page once it's released.

 

[EthanSental]

That Miami 86 also appeals to me as well….the Crocket and Tubbs look was my Halloween coolness on display

 

[Lalato]

Here are the 5e Campaign Setting and Adventure Path crowdfunding campaigns I'm keeping an eye on right now.

Closed and Funded:

Closed:

• Ordinem (0%)
• Eeyore City RPG (67%)

Open and Funded:

• Monster Trainer's Handbook (1 week)
• Giant's Rage (1 week)
• Creed's Codex: Echoes of a Shattered Age (2 weeks)
• Shadow City Mysteries (3 weeks)
• Terra Incognita (4 weeks)

Open:

• The Lord Navigator's Almanac to Chorus (30%, 1 week)
• The Blue Divide (5%, 1 week)

 

[agrayday]

I am watching and probably backing: Scourge of the Tyrant King, a Dark Fantasy D&D 5e Adventure
and The Evil at the End of the Path – Dragonbane