Backerkit - Weird Frontiers Reference Guide

Right off the bat, this is from David Baity, one of the nicest creators in gaming. Oh, and he's a huge cst-person, just saying ;)

Weird Frontiers, a weird west RPG powered by the DCC RPG engine, is literally in two volumes if you buy it as POD. So yes, a Weird Frontiers Reference Guide would be very useful ;)

You asked, and we listened! The latest addition to the Weird Frontiers product line is a much-needed resource that compiles all the things you regularly have to go flipping through the book for! Keep the game going smoothly with this must-have resource!

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BackerKit - OSRIC 3.0

I have a genuine fondness for OSRIC. Upon my return to active gaming, when I was thrust into the DM's seat on short notice, I opted to run OSRIC. AD&D 1e is my system of choice, and OSRIC is the clone that cleans up 1e and puts it into an easy-to-reference volume. That worked well with Rob Conley's Blackmarsh (Free OSR Sandbox).

Matt Finch is currently crowdfunding OSRIC 3.0 on BackerKit. So, so tempting...

The 2006 retro-clone of first edition AD&D, rewritten and reorganized for 2025! OSRIC 3 is easier to learn, with more examples of play. This is the beginning of a new product line for Mythmere Games, to include adventure modules and much more!

OSRIC 3.0 is a tabletop fantasy roleplaying game that sweeps you back into the days when roleplaying was an art, when rules were simpler, and when epic adventuring was at its height — this is the game of the 1980s!

OSRIC is a “retro-clone” of first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.* This release is geared toward the 20th anniversary next year. Originally published in 2006, OSRIC has spawned thousands of adventures, sourcebooks, and zines — many of them distributed for free.

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Backerkit - WHPA-13 The Demon Curd of St Uguzo

When I was first exposed to WHPA-13 at TotalCon in 2024, I wondered what this quirky little zine of an RPG was. After reading the rules and flashing back to my youth of black and white TVs, rabbit ears, and public access, I wanted to know where WHPA-13 had been for much of my earlier life. (Note: WHPA-13 is 5 bucks in PDF at DTRPG - you owe it to your younger self to buy a copy)

It's a very special RPG, and Silver Bulette is publishing The Demon Curd of St Uguzo. Rocky and Ian are dear friends of mine, and I expect their entry will be a huge success. Oh, and funny as hell!

This 'zine came together as an adventure and some bonus material you can use at your WHPA table. The adventure contains numerous player handouts and aps to make the investigation of this mystery a breeze. Can your Hosts figure out what is plaguing the town of Fairhaven before Demonic Manifestations overrun the entire place. 

This project is a 20 page zine that will be printed on 80 pound paper with a 100 pound cover. The zine is production ready and files have been uploaded to the printer and are awaiting the go ahead. 

The current estimated printing and shipping time was 4-6 weeks and mailing would happen immediately upon arrival.

"This melts my mozzarella heart, Ian. I love this so much and the experience section is really interesting. Thanks for putting so much personality into this. This has my top-tier blessing. You really get this whole project. WELL DONE" - Rev. Joey Royale

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Backerkit - Castle Zagyg Galleries of the Arch Mage (Castles & Crusades)

Here's a little history of Castle Zagyg. Although published for Castles & Crusades, Gary Gygax wrote it for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and it was "translated" into Castles & Crusades. Much of this material was previously published by Troll Lord Games before Gary's death and removed from sale at Gail Gygax's request after Gary's death.

Now, on to the details of the Castle Zagyg Backerkit!

This is the first of two crowdfunding campaigns. With your help, we hope to return to shelves worldwide Gary Gygax's Castle Zagyg. It is a monstrous project; one with with an incredible legacy! We hope to see all the material in Castle Zagyg released in 5 full color, hardcover volumes, each in its own box with relevant game maps.

The five Box Sets are as follows. The first three are covered in this campaign:

This campaign

Castle Zagyg Vol. 1 The Citadel (the town of Yggsburgh)

Castle Zagyg Vol. 2 The Ruins (the castle, East Mark, Mouths of Madness, and dungeon level 1)

Castle Zagyg Vol. 3 The Cellars (dungeon levels 2, 3, 3a, 4, 4a, 5 and 5a)

Update Backerkit - Stars & Sails - Stretch Goal Added

Well, the more I learn about Stars & Sails, the more I can't wait to give it a play-through at Wizard Con in April. 

Now that we have a sneak peek at an S&S character sheet, we can learn more about Stars & Sails. Apparently, resources are essential (rations and water have their own tracking boxes ;)

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Backerkit - Stars & Sails RPG

“Stars and Sails” is a swashbuckling role-playing game set in a setting that combines planetary romance, pulp science fiction, and old-style adventures on the high seas.

Stars & Sails is $35 in Softcover plus digital and $55 in Hardcover plus digital.

Thank you for helping see this whimsical and magical Role Playing Game by Pauli Kidd come to life. We would like to introduce you to Pauli who is a legendary author and game designer.

Pauli has been in the RPG / Game industry for over 35 years. Pauli was the writer, director and lead designer of Nightshade, an action-adventure title for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and  she was the lead designer for the mega hit video game Shadowrun. 

Pauli has written novels for Wizards of the Coast such as Descent into he Depths of the Earth, and also White Plume Mountain. Stars & Sails is her full line Role Playing Game, that is a stand alone game. This means, you get everything you need to play the game in ONE book, so there is no other hidden charges or materials you will need.

Backerkit - Gaslight Victorian Fantasy Revised and Expanded for 5E

Imagine a Victorian world, but not as history tells us it was, but as the literature implies that it was. Believe that the literature from the period was more than just stories; instead, it was first-hand accounts of the events that happened in the world.

At NTRPG Con this past June, I talked about the forthcoming Gaslight Victorian Fantasy Backerkit with Jonathan Thompson. I told Jonathan I was very much NOT a 5e player, but the more he pitched the setting, the more I was tempted. I am still very much NOT a fan of 5e D&D, but I do expect I'll be adding Gaslight Victorian Fantasy to my gaming shelves, digital and/or physical (but damn, I'm running low on space for new physical purchases)

Sixteen years ago, Jonathan M. Thompson and Stephen Miller introduced the world to Gaslight Victorian Fantasy. Battlefield Press is proud to bring you the revision that Jonathan was working on when we lost him. A fully updated and revised version for 5E Fantasy. This edition features an all-new cover brought to us by William W. Connors! 

Imagine a Victorian world, not as history tells us it was, but as the literature implies that it was. Believe that the literature from the period was more than just stories, but instead first-hand accounts of the events that happened in the world. Imagine a world populated by the lost boys of J.M. Barrie, the Beast Men of Dr. Moreau, and even tales of an immortal vampire named Dracula. Included in these are organizations bent on determining what is best for humanity, and they have launched a secret war against others so that only one will prevail. 

In Gaslight, you will find:

• A History of Gaslight Earth
• Races detailed for Gaslight Earth
• New interpretations of Victorian Economics, including both a cash and target-based wealth system 
• Rules for Social Standing
• Weapons and equipment from the Victorian era
• A Reliquary containing a few artifacts from the history of the Earth of Gaslight.
• A detailed Gazetteer and Timeline, including *NEW* information on other parts of the world, both the British Empire and its adversaries.  
• *NEW* Secret Organizations 

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BackerKit - Worldographer 2025 (World Mapping Software Plus)

I've been using versions of Hexographer / Worldographer for the better part of a decade, and I'm excited to see what the latest version of the Worldographer software offers.

You can back Worldographer 2025 for 60 bucks, and it should release before the end of 2024.

If you haven't heard of Worldographer and its predecessor Hexographer, Worldographer is a map-making program that lets you create and edit world and region maps; city and village maps; as well as dungeon, building interior, and other battlemats, plus cosmic sector maps.

What makes Worldographer different from other map-making software?

• It installs to your computer: Unlike a web app, if the company goes out of business or if you're just on a bad connection, you can keep using it. Use it on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, or anything that supports Java (it is written in Java, but has native installers for the most common platforms).
• Worldographer has many built-in generators. Want to create a world? Just choose a few settings and it creates one in seconds! Or generate a region, city, village, tower, shop, dungeon, and more! The results are fully customizable.
• Have a specific world or region in mind? Start a blank map, then rough in a fraction of the terrain. Next use our "Terrain Wizard" tool to fill in the rest of the map and edit the result.
• It doesn't just help you create and edit the map.  It also creates data about the world or city. For a world, it will generate a few bullets for each of several cultures, nations, and religions as well as details of cities, villages, forts, and other points of interest.  For a city or village, it generates a list of residents or staff/patrons/prices for a tavern or store.  All the data is fully editable.
• It can also generate locations of interest for a sandbox or hex crawl style campaign.

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Backerkit - Netcrawl (Cyberpunk RPG)

I remember my first experience with the cyberpunk genre, reading Gibson's Neuromancer. It wasn't what I expected—actually, I'm not sure what I expected—but I was excited. Then I saw that GURPS had a Cyberpunk sourcebook and an RPG titled Cyberpunk 2020, and I had to grab both. I never ran them, but I must have read that sourcebook a dozen times and the RPG at least that many times.

Seeing that Netcrawl was funding on Backerkit brought back memories of my initial exposure to Cyberpunk. It looks like it is time for Cyberpunk again inn the Tenkar household ;)

Did I mention that Netcrawl is compatible with the DCC and MCC RPGs? Wait that means it's also compatible with Weird Frontiers. The mashups are endless and come to mind...

Netcrawl RPG is a TTRPG about adventuring inside a computer system. Everyone goes in, seconds pass in the meatspace as players spend hours conquering a cyber-dungeon - together. 

Netcrawl RPG uses the d20 System and Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG rulebook that can run as a cyber sidecar to your current game or as a stand alone game with little or no notion of an outside meatspace world. 

Inspiration for Netcrawl RPG is drawn from William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer, among many other works of science fiction and cyberpunk.

 

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Backerkit - Our Golden Age (OGA): An Ultraviolet Grasslands RPG Sequel

I was stunned when I found Our Golden Age on Backerkit. With a funding goal of 50k, it is currently nearly $350k in funding. Part of the well-spoken Ultraviolet Grasslands series, OGA still has 26 days left in its funding. Holy shit!

BTW, I'm in for the Gold Box at 95 bucks, which includes all of the below.

The Gold Box includes:

Our Golden Age and the Mother Machine — the main book. The heartwood of this campaign. Sized to match the UVG (2nd Edition) on your bookshelf. Illustrated by the author. A4 hardcover, 250 pages.  Also available separately. Includes the Circle Sea Travel Map (UNLOCKED) - a folded road atlas map of the Circle Sea region inserted into the book. Perfect for the leisure tripper! 

The Vastlands Guidebook — the rule book, campaign exclusive A4 hardcover, 144 page version laid out by Guilherme Gontijo. Free digital A5 version also available.

Circle Sea Grand Map — a two-sided map. Classical postmodern map on one side, fantascience illustrated map on the other. 22” x 22”, six panel fold. Compatible with the Grand Long Map in the UVG. Sized to fit with the main book.  Also available separately.

Yellow Nemesis Dice Set — an heirloom polyhedral set from Long Ago, before the fall of the Cathedral Order. Including an extra d6 for morale. Also available separately.

Tour Guide's Screen — a referee screen for the GM. Lovingly illustrated by the author with help from tiny space rats with human hands. Designed to help you improvise, pirouette, strategize, and amaze your players. Or just to hide your dice. Also available separately.

Vastlands Reference Cards (UNLOCKED) — Handy dandy cards to keep track of the loose, crumbly rules and locations. 

 Circle Sea Post Cards (UNLOCKED) - Show your homebody friends how cool you are because of the places you visited! Warning: may include adventure hooks. 

 Nemesis and Ministry Cards (UNLOCKED) - Know your enemies! Generate your friends. Bonus game included? 

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Backerkit - Caverns of Thracia Legendary Adventure 5E+DCC

By popular demand, new add-ons are available! 5E edition of "Beneath the Isle of the Serpents," DCC edition of "Sacrificial Pyre of Thracia," and a slipcase! Crowdfunding backers get the exclusive stretch goal booklet packed with stretch goal material! Plus great deals on bundle pledges, free PDF with print purchase, the exclusive art folio, and special crowdfunding covers! 

I almost missed this, as Goodman Games went straight to Backerkit (and skipped Kickstarter) for this project. And what project is that? Caverns of Thracia Legendary Adventure for 5E+DCC. Yep, that's a mouthful. Yet with 10 days left in its funding, Caverns of Tracia has already raised over $475K. That's huge!

Caverns of Thracia Legendary Adventure 5E+DCC is based on Jennell Jaquays' classic, originally published by Judges Guild for use with Dungeons & Dragons. 

The end of one empire sees the birth of a new one deep within the earth. Born in the forgotten chambers and caverns of age-lost Thracia rises a formidable foe: the Minotaur King, along with his host of dog brothers, gnolls, lizardmen, and others. Some say that even Death itself lingers in the Caverns of Thracia, ready to claim any who stumble upon its unholy chapel. The secrets of Thracia are manifold, its treasures thrice that. Do you have the mettle to survive… the Caverns of Thracia?

The Caverns of Thracia is a complete mega-dungeon setting that supports a full-year campaign! 

• Takes characters from levels 1-10 (5E) or 1-5 (DCC)
• 6 vast dungeon levels
• 250+ encounter areas
• 125+ new monsters
• 40+ new magic items, spells, and curses
• Stretch goals expand the ruins and an overland archipelago
• Combat, exploration, and social interaction

 

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Crowdfunding - HEROIC the Role Playing Game (FASERIP Clone)

I'm finding it really interesting to see the number of projects going straight to Backerkit for funding )and totally bypassing Kickstarter). All I've heard from creators using Backerkit is simply how much better the service is.

HEROIC is a clone - of sorts - of the old Marvel SuperHeroes RPG from TSR. Famous for its color-coded charts, my experience with the system was the Conan RPG, and it worked well.

HEROIC is a Neo Clone of the old-school MSH Advanced game by TSR that combines aspects of modernization as well as parts of the Astonishing Super Heroes RPG by Tim Bannock.

In its final form it will be a 200 page full colour game book, available as PDF, as well as softcover and hardcover POD (Print on Demand) by DTRPG (Drivethrurpg). Everything you need to play will be in the book, including an introductory adventure and characters from the Zenith Comics Universe.

There are essentially three tiers for backing HEROIC - PDF at $25 - Softcover print plus PDF at $50, and hardcover plus PDF at $70, shipping not included.

I must say, I really appreciate the highlighted art, as it reminds me of the later days of the silver age of comics in the late 70s and 80s.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

Crowdfunding - Saethor's Bane: A Dungeon Fantasy RPG Solo Adventure

It looks like several creators have moved to using BackerKit over Kickstarter. Douglas Cole/Gaming Ballistic is just the latest, and it's a topic I'll be bringing up with Doug on tonight's Talking Crit Live!

As always, I'm letting you know that I consider Doug a friend. He was part of my infamous B-Team about a decade ago, making their way through Castle of the Mad Archmage. Doug has been a guest on prior Talking Crit Lives! as well as the Random Party Generator Livestream.

I've been a fan of the GURPS System since first finding Man to Man and OrcSlayer in the mid-80s. Dungeon Fantasy sits on my bookshelf as a game I really want to be a player in, and Saethor's Bane solo adventure may be just the way to finally accomplish that goal :)

Saethor's Bane is 10 bucks in PDF and 20 bucks in Print plus PDF. Those are good, honest prices for the material you get.

You won't need a GM - you follow the branching pathways as you make choices. If these choices lead to violence, resolve conflict using the Dungeon Fantasy RPG rules.

You can still use a GM! This "solo" adventure follows the path of four mercenary soldiers who have signed up to oppose Saethor, the titular Dark Lord, by force of arms. One person can play all the roles, or several can play through the scenario, dividing roles as needed.

Use Saethor's Bane to:

• Keep gaming when you can't get together with your usual group
• Learn the Dungeon Fantasy RPG game rules at your own pace
• Run players through a scenario with near-zero prep - they can experience roleplaying within moments of sitting around a table. 
• Great for bringing in new players, or even stress-free convention play.

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