Kickstarters of Note

I just wanted to highlight a couple of Kickstarters which some people might be interested in before they come to a close.  The funny thing is that I originally intended to do this yesterday afternoon but James Maliszewski happened to the same thing before I could write mine.  Seeing that I'm sure that pretty much *EVERYONE* that reads my blog also reads GROGNARDIA, I decided to leave it be.  Then again, it only makes sense for him to since his Dwimmermount Kickstarter was one of the ones I aimed to point out.


There is less than 48 hours to go and he is close the $40,000 mark -- which means he will have quadrupled his original goal.  By surpassing his initial funding objective, bonuses were set up upon reaching higher funding amounts.  A PDF of the original notes will now be distributed amongst the backers, and a secret / bonus level alluded to is being revealed and added.  At $40,000 +, there will also be an illustration booklet much like the Tomb of Horrors had.  As of right now, he's just over $100 away from this latest goal and I'm sure the project will get there.


I wrote extensively about modules recently and about needed to make some of these stand out.  This is more than just a once-run through mega-dungeon though.  It's a campaign and a ticket to old school renaissance gaming at its finest.  Besides, for a mere $10 you get both the Labyrinth Lord and the Adventurer, Conqueror, King versions of the Dwimmermount once complete as well as the bonuses!!  Check it out HERE.


I've pledged at the Beholder level for the Dwimmermount.

The other interesting Kickstarter also ending very soon (less than 72 hours) is Joseph Bloch's, "A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore".  I've been following Joseph's blog on and off for some time now and, if you've seen the material he's done up for the 'Castle of the Mad Archmage' and like it, then you have an idea of the type of stuff you might be in for.  However, this project deals with one aspect I've read in his blog before -- a 2nd Edition AD&D game had Gary Gygax remained at the helm.  Piecing together scraps of information and articles this basically supplies gaming information to effectively plays into that whole 'what-if' angle.  So new ways of doing things and a few classes to spice up or alter your existing AD&D or similarly designed game.  He promises the effort to be very modular which really speaks to me as a gamer and someone who is working on a project where I hope to offer the same sort of thing... modular rules options to use in conjunction with or just instead of a particular game system.  Mine will be called Ballista, but the line that he is doing which includes this Kickstarter is Adventures Dark & Deep.  At some point, the concepts and material will form a larger whole but for now, this singular book sounds fantastic as-is.  Check it out HERE.

Truth to tell, I was really conflicted on what to pledge on this project.  I like physical copies but I found the prices to be a bit steep in terms of tiers.  If you want a softcover, you will have to pledge a minimum of $30 plus shipping.  If this was the price of a 128 page softcover in stores, I'd really carefully consider if I wanted and needed it or not.  It's not unreasonable but it's always a tricky thing about items which are sight-unseen -- especially if they are just a few rules options which I may or may not use.  At $10 for the PDF you can't go wrong though.  On the other hand, the hardcover is a whopping $60.  That really awesome looking, limited edition gold-foil hardcover of DCC RPG was only $70 by comparison but clocks in at 480 pages.

Of course, you can't really compared Goodman Games with Joseph Bloch's Kickstarter and I can understand a higher price for certain independently produced releases but, I knew I couldn't justify the $60 (plus shipping) pledge.  My compromise was the softcover pledge at $30 since I wanted a physical copy for the bookshelf and, given his approach and nature of the project, I felt I couldn't do any less.

Joseph Bloch is also throwing in a bonus -- an adventure which links to the Dwimmermount campaign.  This was unexpected but very nice since I'm sure there is some overlap with people who are pledging for both.

My heartfelt congratulations to the both of them for meeting and exceeding your goals!

M