Kickstarters Thread

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The art is certainly terrific, but I have a few doubts about the rest of this. First of all, this sounds like a try-hard Lamentations of the Flame Princess with a dash of The Black Hack (player-facing rolls, etc.). I haven't heard enough about the rules to think that this wouldn't be better as a supplement for Lamentations.

And they are getting Patrick Stuart to edit/re-write the English translation. First of all, it's a shame to hire Stuart for a project but only for editing. Second, it sounds like they're not sure if he's going to edit it or re-write it from scratch. I've noticed that most successful Kickstarters write the text before starting their campaign. That's clearly not happening here with the English edition, at least, so there is a significantly higher degree of risk. Editing and re-writing are pretty different, and you have to layout the whole thing afterwards in either case. Backers should anticipate a high possibility of delay.
 
I'm glad someone is finally producing a "Weird West" RPG. Ideally it'll have American Indian shamans, werewolves, gamblers making deals with the devil, undead, etc.
Not sure if you're being cynical. There's more weird west games out there than straight western ones.
 
This isn't either of the two principals first rodeo, but I think it is a good thing that they're aware they can't produce the same quality text in English as they can in Swedish. But unless one of the team members happens to be a native English speaker, they're going to need someone to do a translation, or edit their translation for them (personally, I would always suggest having an actual translator do the translating, trying to fix a document is often more work than translating it from scratch).
 
Anyone in here who is backing this? I'm not familiar with DCC. How do DCC's mechanics compare to other OSR rules?

DCC is mostly famous for being super deadly, with a "Character Funnel" zero level adventure where players are expected to bring 5+ characters and hope one survives.

It may be secondly famous for using some of the more weirdo dice out there: D5, D7, D14, D16, D24 and D30 in addition to the standard D&D dice set. It does some interesting things, since penalties and bonuses will step you up and down the dice chain. As you level up you may gain extra "action dice" so a fighter can attack with a d20 attack and a d16 attack. The system pings off everything, from magic spells to special feats.
 
Dumarest Dumarest I'm not really sold either, but at first glance, I like the tone of this one better than, say, Deadlands. This is the first one I have seen that has luchadores and calaveras.

They're not taking it all too seriously, which is a good thing IMO.

I'm averse to weird tech in my weird west, so I'd ignore that part. Then there seems to be some Cthulhu Mythos stuff going on... Yeah, I dunno about that.
 
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DCC is mostly famous for being super deadly, with a "Character Funnel" zero level adventure where players are expected to bring 5+ characters and hope one survives.

It may be secondly famous for using some of the more weirdo dice out there: D5, D7, D14, D16, D24 and D30 in addition to the standard D&D dice set. It does some interesting things, since penalties and bonuses will step you up and down the dice chain. As you level up you may gain extra "action dice" so a fighter can attack with a d20 attack and a d16 attack. The system pings off everything, from magic spells to special feats.
It sounds rather fiddly. What makes it particularly popular?
 
It sounds rather fiddly. What makes it particularly popular?
Magic is very "wild" and uncontrollable. Magic-Users basically get a randomly altered version of spells. So two Wizards might take Fire bolt, but for one it makes those around him sick, for another it causes seven parallel versions of himself to appear from other timelines. The firebolt itself can have several possible outcomes depending on the die roll from being enough to kill a cow to enough to blast open a frotress. Wizards can sacrifice their own flesh to a patron to up the power of their spells and bind themselves to the patron for different spells. The patron can punish you with mutations.

Fighters all get "special signature moves" they can perform on certain rolls.

There's more stuff like this, but basically it's very random, swingy, table based and gonzo.
 
I understand that...I'm saying that I'm surprised they Kickstarted before obtaining the translated text. It makes me less confident that they will deliver on-time.
 
Sometimes you don't have much of a choice though. If neither of them can translate it into English themselves, they've got to hire someone to do it for them, which takes money, which they won't have until the kickstarter funds. Is it more risky? Sure. But I don't think it is anywhere close to the risk taken when the project isn't complete in any language.
 
The game itself looks fun. (Wordy classes, grimdark setting.) The art, fantastic. Their playlist is a bit heavier on the guttural growling vocals than I prefer but there’s a couple bands that I’ve enjoyed in the past in there.

I won’t back because I no longer back crowdfunding efforts out of general principle. But I’ll keep an eye out for the finished product.
 
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What’s with all the western kickstarters right now? Where do these sudden fads come from in the gaming world? Weird west indeed.
 
What’s with all the western kickstarters right now? Where do these sudden fads come from in the gaming world? Weird west indeed.
Can't blame them for trying to make a fistful of dollars. I've seen all kinds of Western games: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Imagine what you could get for a few dollars more.
 
This looks right up my alley as I'm a big doom and black metal fan, the art is awesome and the system sounds solid. But that it isn't all written or translated does give me pause. I'll try and pick it up post-KS.
 
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I'm intrigued, but am asking some questions about the international backer Nighthawk pledge level.

At the moment it is the same price as the US Gaucho level (which includes the printed book) BUT also requires the backer to pay for a POD at-cost (essentially making them pay twice for printing). Both levels have to pay shipping later too, but the Nighthawk level was supposedly set up to help reduce int'l shipping. I can't see how it helps if Nighthawk backers are double-charged for printing.
 
I'll give them 2 bonus points if that level is named for the lost Harry Carey film from 1924,
The_Night_Hawk_FilmPoster.jpeg
or 1 bonus point if it was named for the 1940s Western comic book hero.
wes36.png
 
It sounds rather fiddly. What makes it particularly popular?
It's not fiddly all. It is very swingy, and random though. A major selling point in my book -- characters are built through dice and play, not careful planning.
 
It's not fiddly all. It is very swingy, and random though. A major selling point in my book -- characters are built through dice and play, not careful planning.
Yeah I'd agree. There's just a ton of tables, but the actual rules are pretty light. The tables are also no real problem with the best app in all RPGdom: The Crawler's Companion.
 
Someone should use that for a Blazing Saddles-style Western game. Maybe throw in a little Three Amigos.
I would play Three Amigos the RPG.
"Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find the Three Amigos!"
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I think I'd rather approach this idea via BRP and CoC.

View attachment 9356

I was just thinking Dark Trails and Down Darker Trails, no that won't be confusing for people.

This is the only weird west game at the moment that interests me. Partly because BRP and should be easy to strip out the weird to run it straight. Also if I'm going to play a western game with weirdness, mythological or Cthulhu horror in the real west would be more of my taste in weird west. So essentially Call of Cthulhu in the old west.

It seems like most of the weird west games go all in and are basically alternate universes with steam punk cowboys and magic, and aliens, and zombies and.
 
Quick update. They said they messed up the original Nighthawk pledge level (basically charging printing costs twice) so they've added a new revised Nighthawk level to avoid that issue.
 
I decided to cancel my pledge. I really don't need this.
 
I played a DCC module one weekend and did die a couple of times. It was OK. I like the weird, wild west, so I got Down Darker Trails and look forward to playing it. I'm on a break from D&D/Pathfinder at the moment, so I'll pass on this Kickstarter.
 
The UX design is brilliant. I love the landscape trim for RPGs. The mechanics aren't really grabbing me, but otherwise the layout is modern, tailored for usability at the game table.
 
The UX design is brilliant. I love the landscape trim for RPGs. The mechanics aren't really grabbing me, but otherwise the layout is modern, tailored for usability at the game table.

It works in actual play if it is done right.

I been using landscape cards for the past ten years.
The problem I was trying to solve was to allow players to create characters during a convention game. The solution I came up with is a series of 11 by 8.5 cards printed on card stock guiding them through the character creation process.

Note: Many of these cards are printed double sided.

I have a general character creation card.

I give them the option for the character classes, and pick a race as well.


So I hand them the card with the races on it. Typically the first one with the traditional races on it for conventions.

I also hand them the class card. Note the PDF have multiple classes each to be printed on their own cards.
Clerics
Fighters
Magic Users
Rogues

Finally the Equipment list

If need be I have booklets for Spells, Equipment available with the details.
Like this one for Divine Spells

I also have a card with the combat rules. But since it boils down to you can take a move and do an attack, sub in something else for either if need be. People rarely feel the need to use a reference.

Note: The above is all 100% open content under the OGL

I found this general design works well to simplify a lot of RPGs while preserving the RAW rules. Sometimes I use booklets instead of cards like this for 5th edition.

I have card sets for my Swords & Wizardry/Majestic Wilderland hybrid, Classic/Mongoose Traveller, Adventures in Middle Earth, Fantasy Age, my sci-fi AGE variant, Fudge/Fate hybrid, and GURPS as a work in progress.
 
The UX design is brilliant. I love the landscape trim for RPGs. The mechanics aren't really grabbing me, but otherwise the layout is modern, tailored for usability at the game table.

That's how I feel too. The usability is pretty fantastic.

However, the mechanics are still pretty dense though. Stripped of context and the standard 5e terminology that makes certain things easier to parse, the rules seem cold and unnecessarily convoluted.

I also find that it looks to be too brief in places, such as the bestiary, in order to hit their magic 48 pages. Sure, you can just grab the Monster Manual but that kind of defeats the purpose of having everything neatly in a single book.
 
I think this is a great idea, but IMO it needs to be significantly trimmed down quite a bit.
I applaud the creativity, but the finished game needs to be more simple and leaner, so that it is actually worth having.
Otherwise a GM can just run D&D 5E Basic Rules instead.
But that's just me, I can see others liking it how it is.
I'm interested in seeing how this all goes
 
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Why does it have to be 48 pages? There were plenty of old-school books that were 64 pages or even 96.

I don't think there is any real reason other than its a small number of pages.

Its in a weird place where I think some areas could do with expansion and others can be stripped back. It feels like that in trying to maintain compatibility with 5e, they have a lot of mechanics that aren't used in the areas that see play at the table like monsters, treasures, equipment etc.

In some ways that feels like the opposite of what OSR is all about by spending time on an elaborate set of core mechanics, rather than a set of rules for specific use in play.
 
Took me a while, but I finally backed this. The overview in the video made it look so tempting with its additional options and more flexible magic system. I also realised I could use all my non-rules FAL resources with it, like the Dungeon and World Architect Cards.

Seems like a perfect way to introduce young players into an OSR game.
 
Hey there folks, happy to answer questions. The 48 page thing was due to the binding, any more than that and we were advised it would cause a problem from the printer. Originally we had plans on using saddle stitch so it could truly lay flat, but that option is unavailable for the layout / trim size we're going for. After printing a few proofs, once we were up to 50-52 pages it became very easy for them to come unglued in this format (the joys of POD).

As for the lack of end-use rules (such as treasure, monsters, etc): I personally don't find value in that from a core product offering. There are literally an infinite amount of generators, books, and other supplements that do that far better than any core book. This game isn't meant for beginners, it's meant for 5e GMs who have a stubborn group. It's also rarely going to be played 100% as is in the book, all of the pieces are very easy to plug and play into an existing 5e game (with a few terms rearranged, such as "active action" etc). The generator tools in here are more than enough for the experienced GMs I've had playtesting this to whip up a monster of their desire in about 30 seconds. Half of the treasure I've received / give out during a quest is either written into the adventure itself, or made up on the fly.

All of the core mechanics are either present in BECMI, or trying to emulate that style of play philosophically. An abstraction such as Supply raises a lot of eyebrows, but it's much less hand-wavy than say TBH's usage die (or more commonly in 5e, "sure you have whatever you need!").

Jess and my history in game design is kind of weird, as we often try to mash up things or incorporate multiple schools of thought (like Vagabonds of Dyfed). It's rarely 100% pure or successful. FTD is I think, personally, the closest realization to an OSR-ish version of 5e that I've seen (not sure if y'all have checked out the "O5R" movement, there's a subreddit). If I was to actually play my favorite version of an OSR game, I'd do it with something like Into the Odd or Knave.

So, all that is to say we fully know that we aren't catering to the die-hard OSR / post-clone audience. And likewise, we aren't trying to horn in on 5e; it's sort of a weird middle ground and that's not going to get us a ton of fans. BUT, we do think there's a need in the market for this type of design (and it was also a fun excuse for us to try our hand at layout, as this was our first stab at using inDesign from scratch). Anyway, happy to answer questions!
 
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