Kickstarters Thread

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Mike Myler said:
Eventually it will be a pivotal resource for a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen one shot. ;)
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The last week is here, there's scarcely 4 days to go with more than $131,000 raised (over £102,000) unlocking 10 stretch goals all of which have immediate rewards available in the project updates—if you are pledging to get this book, now is the time to do it!
 
Just came across this. I don't need it, I already have Call of Cthulhu and Chronicles of Darkness, but man this looks like a fun take on it!

 
Here I thought this was going to be a thread about Kickstarter projects you thought were dead (*coughfarwest*)
 
Looks cool, 70s horror is probably my favourite, I think 70s Hammer is also underrated. It says this is Onyx Path's Storypath system so that is CoD right? Not a fan of what I've seen from that system unfortunately, I'd rather have in a modified V5 or BRP system.
 
Voros said:
Looks cool, 70s horror is probably my favourite, I think 70s Hammer is also underrated. It says this is Onyx Path's Storypath system so that is CoD right? Not a fan of what I've seen from that system unfortunately, I'd rather have in a modified V5 or BRP system.
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It's a slight variant of the CoD system. Dice don't explode, and skills at 3 or above get little mini-feats.
Already used in Scion 2E.
 
They reference 70s horror but then namedrop Hammer and Amicus, who aren't really what most horror fans think of when you mention that decade so I'm a bit unclear on the tone they're shooting for.

In the 50s and 60s Hammer horror was actually considered rather disreputable, trashy and gory but these days is seen as rather tame, campy and classy. I think that view is mistaken when you consider the time those films were made (and reading contemporary reviews that were offended at the 'extremes' of Hammer confirm it).

Now I really like 70s Hammer, some of my favourite Hammer films are Twins of Evil, Vampire Circus, Demons of the Mind, The Hands of the Ripper, Straight on til Morning, etc.

What makes those films stand out is a combination of the traditional Hammer virtues and a more appropriately visceral, perverse and ambigious sensibilty that you can see coming to the fore even in the late 60s (particularly Frankenstein Must Be Destoyed, Frankenstein Created Woman).

I'll have to dig into who is working on this as some of what I've seen from Onyx Path designers online makes me doubt they have the right sensibility for the proposed genre. The 70s are when horror became a lot less 'comfy' in general.
 
Voros said:
I'll have to dig into who is working on this as some of what I've seen from Onyx Path designers online makes me doubt they have the right sensibility for the proposed genre. The 70s are when horror became a lot less 'comfy' in general.
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In general I find Onyx Path tend to miss the mark in what they write. The books are a bit too long with too much fiction, the system has a bit too much spinning wheels and the tone is somewhat off. It's a pity as I really think with more stringent editing they're on the edge of great games.

Scion for example is well researched and there's obvious passion but when you read the given gods say there's just something off. Everything feels too close to a modern "kids at college" comic rather than actual ancient gods living in the modern world.
 
OHT said:
That's the only Hammer film that i consider mean-spirited. It really is quite unpleasant.
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Have you seen Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed? It is even more mean-spirited. Some Hammer fans hate it because Cushing's Frankenstein is an evil bastard but I think they just weren't paying enough attention in the earlier films.

I find there is a nasty streak in the Frankenstein series that actually makes it my favourite in Hammer, the strength of the series to me is that like the original source Frankenstein is the real monster and he only gets worse as the series progresses!
 
Voros said:
Have you seen Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed?
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Don't think so. As you say, the Frankenstein hammer films are pretty grim compared to most of their output. Dracula: Prince of Darkness is another one that is pretty full on considering the time when it was made.
 
Agree, Colin Clive's Frankenstein is a lot more sympathetic. He is a scientist overcome by his discoveries, he isn't above a little grave robbing but he is still a decent person. Cushing's Frankenstein has no problem arranging for a murder to further his ambitions.
 
Zzarchov is doing a second compilation of his adventures including the great Scenic Dunnsmouth and Thulin Echoes, formerly LotFP releases.

 
I'm not familiar with COD, is that the system used for the White Wolf's Vampire et al?


Since there doesn't seem to be much faith that this will hit the mark, just curious what factors make something 60-70s horror (Hammer, Roger Corman etc).

For me Hammer tended to be loosely based on the 1930s "classics" (Frankenstien, Dracula etc) add Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (the better ones anyway) plus buckets of blood. Other than his series of EA Poe films in the 1960s Roger Corman doesn't really seem to have any recurring themes tying his films together, beyond setting B movie standards.
 
Toadmaster said:
I'm not familiar with COD, is that the system used for the White Wolf's Vampire et al?


Since there doesn't seem to be much faith that this will hit the mark, just curious what factors make something 60-70s horror (Hammer, Roger Corman etc).

For me Hammer tended to be loosely based on the 1930s "classics" (Frankenstien, Dracula etc) add Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (the better ones anyway) plus buckets of blood. Other than his series of EA Poe films in the 1960s Roger Corman doesn't really seem to have any recurring themes tying his films together, beyond setting B movie standards.
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I'd say 70s horror is pretty distinct from 60s horror.

I think Kim Newman makes a convincing argument in Nightmare Movies that Night of the Living Dead (68') is the seminal film indicating the sea-change, after that horror becomes more violent, intense, political and often nihilist: TCM, Last House on the Left, Black Christmas, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Halloween, etc.

I don't think 60s films are as well defined, like American film in general they are more transitional films moving from the slightly more conventional approach of the 50s to the more modern-feeling films of the 70s.
 
Generally speaking, 70s horror strikes me as more gritty and edgy. A title like They Came From Beyond The Grave sounds more 50s/60s than 60s/70s to me, because it implies a retro/camp element. YMMV

That said, I'm somewhat tempted by this Kickstarter. Really love the cover illustration and that almost sells it...

Though one could probably run this kind of horror perfectly well using Cryptworld, Ghostories or even good old Call of Cthulhu. (Cryptworld and Ghostories are aimed at modern era and unfortunately lack a historical equipment list.)
 
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Voros said:
I'd say 70s horror is pretty distinct from 60s horror.

I think Kim Newman makes a convincing argument in Nightmare Movies that Night of the Living Dead (68') is the seminal film indicating the sea-change, after that horror becomes more violent, intense, political and often nihilist: TCM, Last House on the Left, Black Christmas, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Halloween, etc.

I don't think 60s films are as well defined, like American film in general they are more transitional films moving from the slightly more conventional approach of the 50s to the more modern-feeling films of the 70s.
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Interesting.

I think the 60s horror movies we remember are frequently seminal because they are transgressional - things like Hitchcock’s Psycho and The Birds, Robert Wise’s The Haunting, Polanski’s Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby, for example. Less well known are Les Yeux Sans Visage and Peeping Tom (which is actually 1959, but notably ended Michael Powells celebrated movie career, due to the tabloid outrage). Although Hammer movies were also in their heyday in the same period, there was a general shift in horror to circumvent cliches in terms of old European folklore, into more psychological and modern horror motifs.

The factor that shifted in the late 60s, from many accounts was the Vietnam War, both in terms of the experiences of soldiers who ended up working in movies (like Tom Savini), but also in the visceral nature of the reporting. Because violence became more normalized on the TV, it factored into the movies also. Some movies, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a big example, were definitely more nihilistic, but then other movies like The Exorcist obviously were quite religious. As the 70s progressed into the 80s, movies became more formulated and postmodern - tongue in cheek even (Evil Dead, American Werewolf in London, Nightmare on Elm Street).
 
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Voros said:
I'd say 70s horror is pretty distinct from 60s horror.

I think Kim Newman makes a convincing argument in Nightmare Movies that Night of the Living Dead (68') is the seminal film indicating the sea-change, after that horror becomes more violent, intense, political and often nihilist: TCM, Last House on the Left, Black Christmas, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Halloween, etc.

I don't think 60s films are as well defined, like American film in general they are more transitional films moving from the slightly more conventional approach of the 50s to the more modern-feeling films of the 70s.
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Interesting, I agree with your list as iconic horror flicks from the 70s, but it is very much at odds with the description given in the game summary. Agree with 3rik that the title and description seem more in tune with the 1950-60s.

I'd add pollution horror to the 1970s as well, with movies like The Crazies, It's Alive, Prophesy, The Swarm and Humanoid's from the Deep. Not an entirely a new theme, with radiation being popular in the 1950s.
 
If I were to pick up this game I'd probably mainly use it for trippy Hammer/Amicus/Corman-style horror. Though I wonder if it could pull off the dream-like atmosphere of something like Fulci's Gates of Hell Trilogy or de Ossorio's Blind Dead series.

Has anyone looked into the rules set in more detail?
 


On Sunday August 9th I will be launching a kickstarter for my latest project, the Majestic Fantasy RPG, Basic Rules.

Preview

Since 2009, I have continued to run campaigns and now have enough material and rules to release a new series of supplements. Because of the reality that most classic edition fantasy campaigns are a kitbash of different elements I am presenting these supplements for the Swords and Wizardry RPG and as part my own Majestic Fantasy RPG.

However, there needs to be something that ties these different elements together. A supplement that explains and illustrates how these rules work together as a complete system. To this end, I wrote The Basic Rules For The Majestic Fantasy RPG.


Cover has placeholder art

This is one part of this Kickstarter. The other part is a series of printed aids that I use to allow people to quickly generate characters using these rules. These aids are in the form of cards. I have refined this over the past decade while running convention and game store sessions and found that it will allow a player to completely generate a classic edition character from 1st to 5th level within 15 to 20 minutes.


I hope this interests you and that you will support me starting on August 9th!
 
The irony here is I will probably receive this before the first Kickstarter I ever backed which you also had a part in (and the delay has nothing at all to do with your portion of the work)...City State of the Invincible Overlord.
 
Bunch said:
The irony here is I will probably receive this before the first Kickstarter I ever backed which you also had a part in (and the delay has nothing at all to do with your portion of the work)...City State of the Invincible Overlord.
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I tried with what resources I had but..... So yeah it is ironic.

So for mine the writing is done. I contracted for cover art, I have the interior art, contracted for the editing. I am doing the layout. The only difference between this and my other projects like the Wilderlands guidebooks is getting 43,000 or so words edited.
 
@ robertsconley robertsconley

You worked on City State of the Invincible Overlord? Very cool, I didn't even know it was getting a reboot! I lean heavily on the old school sourcebook for city ideas.

I will add your KS to notifications and wish your project success.
 
Brock Savage said:
You worked on City State of the Invincible Overlord? Very cool, I didn't even know it was getting a reboot! I lean heavily on the old school sourcebook for city ideas.
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I did the cartography for the what was to be its more recent incarnation. But you are in for a treat.

Color Map for the City State of the Invincible Overlord

I also redid the entire original Wilderlands. The guidebooks have the original data but laid out in a modern style.

Judges Guild still owes me for the last maps I did so in lieu of paying me the money he let me sell the maps royalty free until the total equals what owed. Current I am 52% of the way there. Up from 47% last quarter. So any money spent on my stuff it not going to him. When my fee is paid, I will turn over everything and take down that portion of my store.

Brock Savage said:
I will add your KS to notifications and wish your project success.
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Thanks and I appreciate it.
 
I noticed the hard copies of your Wilderlands guidebooks and maps are on pretty deep discount; this is a great time to pick up the set if you are interested!
 
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