A narrative, GM-less tabletop RPG for 3 to 6 players. Take to the skies, loot a suburban home and escape to live like pirate royalty.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
O-M-G. You all have achieved maximum raccoonosity. The 12-sided die will now be a reality! I am so excited. The current design is a black die with gray numbers, and a gray raccoon face where the 12 would be. I'm still working out the details with the dice manufacturers.
I have grossly underestimated the popularity of raccoon-based content—a statement my partner says I should put on a t-shirt. You all are awesome. Thank you for investing in this project and unlocking all the stretch goals!
There are just under 24 hours left in this Kickstarter. If there's anyone you know who's been sitting on the fence, now is when you want to give them a gentle nudge. If you're at the PDF level and you think you would like the zine, the deck of complications and the raccoon die, now's the time to find an extra six bucks (U.S.). The final stretch! Let's barrel over the finish line like a junkyard ship on fire.
Cryptid (Mis)Communication is a LARP written for the pandemic. In it, you and a friend are cryptids, visible only at a blurry distance (think the film of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster). You shout at each other from across a field or parking lot. It's a lighthearted, silly opportunity to catch up with your friend in real space. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/whatnames/cryptid-miscommunication
Trophy Gold is such a fun game, and The Academy Chrysalis is a great adventure (or, as Trophiphiles say, incursion) for that game. Sealed inside a gargantuan opalescent bubble is a school of forbidden magic; you have found a way in. The basic rules for Trophy Gold are included in the zine, so you have everything you need to play. I'm psyched about the eerie story and recurring themes of bubbles and their separate floating worlds. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/academychrysalis/the-academy-chrysalis
Here's my proposed artwork for the "5" and the "12" side of the raccoon die. As a reminder, this die will be a Kickstarter exclusive—although if you find me at a con in the future, I may have some on me. The art isn't final, and I still have to make sure the dice manufacturer can engrave this, but it gives you an idea of what I'm going for. The numbers are rough and junkyard-y, and the raccoon is a mix of feral and adorbs.
Here also is the beginning of the art for the back of the "deck of complications":
Less than five hours to go! So exciting!
Thank you. You. This would not have been possible without your pledge. I'm blown away by the response this game has gotten.
Next, I will have a little drink and maybe a nap. Then, while waiting the two weeks for Kickstarter to release the funds, I'll keep playtesting, getting feedback and revising the game design. But I'll resist my urge to belabor it. Zine Quest has a punk-rock heart, and I want to stay true to that. I'll address the big issues and save my perfectionism for the next game.
More updates to come, as I finalize things with printers and dice makers. I will also send out BackerKit surveys in about two weeks, which I think is when you can order add-ons. Talk to you soon!
Amazing! We just got to the "Luck of the Draw" stretch goal! This lets me print up a complete deck of playing cards that provide complications for your raccoons to overcome. The complications range from the annoying (don't get caught in the power lines) to the disastrous (watch out for that tornado!) to the bizarre (a giant magnet in the ship's hold turns on! Why was it there in the first place?). Each complication comes with a question to answer, to make it easier to see if your action overcomes the problem.
The deck comes with four suits, matching the game's first four scenes: Flying to the Suburbs, Outside the House, Inside the House, and Escaping the Suburbs. Each suit is numbered A, 2–10, J, Q, K, so you can use the deck for card games as well. I'm excited to learn what raccoon-themed card games you come up with!
Anyone who pledges at the printed zine level or above gets a deck of complications with their rewards. If you've already pledged at the digital level, upgrading your pledge by $6 (US) will now get you the printed zine and the deck of complications!
We might still get to the next stretch goal, "Ursus Lotor Iacta Est," a.k.a. the raccoon die. This will let me commission a custom 12-sided die in black and gray, with a raccoon's face where the 12 would be. All print-level backers and above will get one of these dice.
At this point, it looks like the raccoon die will be a Kickstarter exclusive. If I have any left over and you meet me at a con, I will happily give you one! But I'm not prepared to start shipping raccoon dice outside this Kickstarter. Let's see if we can get to $7K and add the die to all print-level backers!
There are less than two days to go before the Kickstarter is done and the raccoons take off! If you know someone you think would like piratical raccoons, please let them know! Regardless of where this goes next, I am so, so grateful for you helping me make this project a reality. Thank you!