RPG CROWDFUNDING NEWS – World's Largest Dungeon, Cosmic Dark, Neon City Outlaws, and more

This week’s TTRPG crowdfunding sampler covers campaigns that close funding between June 12 to 18. Get the world’s largest dungeon crawl, an RPG where you create the characters as you play, a cyberpunk world where you create the city through gameplay, and several other systems, settings, and more.

The World's Largest Dungeon from World's Largest RPGs

• END DATE: Jun 13, 2025 at 8:00pm EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (2014)
• PROJECT TYPE: Adventure
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $299 + S/H for the PDF, audiobook, and print versions of the slipcase, books, maps, GM screen, and more. There’s also a pay over time option for this pledge level
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? For character levels 1 to 20, this is a huge dungeon delve. The campaign page shares that this is the 5e version of their “Guinness World Record-winning dungeon crawl.” Coming as 4 books with over 1,600 pages, this is all 5e dungeon to crawl. Originally released 21 years ago by AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group), this campaign updates the contents for 5e (2014 with a “free 2024 Conversion Guide PDF to all backers”). If the idea of a massive dungeon with levels upon levels and rooms upon rooms alongside maps and more appeals to your gaming table, check out this Backerkit campaign page for more details.

Cosmic Dark from Graham Walmsley

• END DATE: Tue, June 17 2025 6:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £36 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This is weird space horror from the creator of Cthulhu Dark. In the 180-page core rulebook, you’ll start playing without the need to create the characters of the world first, those elements will be generated during gameplay. You work for an amoral company that has sent you deep into space. Across six scenarios, you’ll learn about the corporation, the horrors of space, and more. If you want a space horror game where you start playing without the need to invent characters before play begins, check out this Kickstarter page.

Neon City Outlaws from Scratchpad Publishing

• END DATE: Thu, June 12 2025 12:49 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): “Neon City Outlaws builds off of the game structure of Dusk City Outlaws”
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $90 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the two books, GM screen, slipcase, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Cyberpunk heists in a city that you’ll design as you play through the game, Neon City Outlaws brings a chrome-twinged version of Dusk City Outlaws to your gaming table. The campaign provides the 240-page hardcover Neon City Outlaws: Core Rulebook as well as the 96-page perfect-bound Neon City Outlaws: Setting Book. In this game, each job/adventure is self-contained, but can be strung together to form a campaign. The campaign page points out a few elements that sets this game apart from other cyberpunk offerings: You build the megacity as you play, you change bodies as needed, VR for all, and a mechanic that lets you influence the coming cyberpunk revolution. If you want to try out a cyberpunk RPG made of connected one-shots, this may be for you.

Setting Off! Any Character, Any Setting, Any Way from Tim Leiner

• END DATE: Jun 13, 2025 at 9:00am EDT.
• CROWDFUNDING ON: Backerkit
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: €45 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the core rulebook plus additional PDFs
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Setting Off! offers a setting agnostic, universal RPG system for your game of choice. Claiming the ability to work with fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, this game promises modular character creation, intuitive mechanics, and more to let you conquer all genres. Using skill trees, you’ll be able to accomplish all tasks including spellcasting. For the characters, there are attributes and origins allowing you to create an elf-draconian or the like. If you want a universal system with rules for exploration, conversation, combat, crafting, housing, romance, and naval combat, this game may speak to you. Check out the Backerkit campaign page to learn more.

Songfall Survivors Relaunched from Genesis of Legend Publishing

• END DATE: Wed, June 11 2025 10:24 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): After the War
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: CA $15 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Building on After the War, a sci-fi RPG of “memetic horror and rebuilding in the aftermath of galactic conflict.” Billions died in the war with some of the reminder gathering on a world to create a peaceful, safe future. This sourcebook expands on those ideas. Songfall Survivors brings 240 pages of lore and rules to your game. This book gets deeper into the history of the universe, the war, its aftermath, and the factions that dominate what remains. If you’re a fan of sci-fi in which hope is the only way forward, this campaign may be for you.

Royal Society of Mythology from Fainting Goat Games

• END DATE: Fri, June 13 2025 8:42 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Savage Worlds Adventure Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $7 for the PDF version of the book and the POD discount coupon
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? All of the world’s myths, stories, and nightmares are true, if you know where to look. The Royal Society of Mythology knows the truth about dragons and the fey, and so does that rivals. In this 34-page setting book, you’ll learn how to hunt and study the myths, learn what they mean and how they can serve our world, or destroy it. At the same time, you’re competing with factions to control this information. If you’re a fan of research into mysteries, this Savage Worlds setting may be right up your alley.

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[timbannock]

I am not really interested in that product, but the conversion packet interests me in that I find it an odd choice. There really should be a need to include one at all. The only thing I can think of is possibly adding origin feats to new classes? Does the book even have new classes, isn't it an adventure?

EDIT: I just did a quick look and I don't see anything about it including new classes. I really have no idea what they felt the needed to change to accommodate 5e24. An adventure shouldn't need any changes between 2014 and 2024 IMO.

Maybe they are printing all the monster stat blocks...? That would be incredibly dumb but maybe explains the bloated page count (double the original across 4 books).

That...can't be right. Can it?!

 

[mamba]

Maybe they are printing all the monster stat blocks...?

I assume they do it for their own rather than the vanilla ones, but who knows... how large is that conversion packet, any idea?

 

[humble minion]

Tenchikai: The Land of the Unseen (4 weeks, 22%)

Ooh, looks interesting, are we finally going to get a serious 5e treatment of feudal Japan?

<checks campaign page>

AI writing and art.

Barf.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Taking the pledge numbers and dividing that into the total pledge number of World's Largest Dungeon gives us an average pledge value of $428.50 give or take.

Wow.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

After looking through this article I just realized something about myself (and perhaps the hobby). I just gloss over the non-5e products. While I might have the time to adapt new material to my 5e game, I don't have the time or bandwidth to take on a whole new system.

I see a lot of interesting ideas in these posts, but anything not 5e related I pretty much disregard. I just don't have the time.

I'm just not interested in actually backing almost any crowd-funds at all. Part of it's a funds thing; part of it's looking at my shelves of unread and unplayed games I backed; and part of it is a bit of "I think I'm good" when it comes to new systems or even 5e stuff. And part of it is that I've gotten way back into Vampire the Eternal Struggle CCG, so my interests are sort of drifting a bit. In addition, I'm getting into collecting and reading used books.

I still love to RP, both as player and GM; but it's not my top nerd interest anymore. Maybe accurate to say it shares top billing with VTES and SF/Fantasy book collecting/reading.

 

[dave2008]

Maybe they are printing all the monster stat blocks...? That would be incredibly dumb but maybe explains the bloated page count (double the original across 4 books).

That...can't be right. Can it?!

I assume they do it for their own rather than the vanilla ones, but who knows... how large is that conversion packet, any idea?

This the only comment in their FAQ:

"World's Largest Dungeon has been in development for over 18 months, and is developed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (2014). We will issue a free 2024 Conversion Guide PDF to all backers. This PDF will include guidance to beef up the encounters and bosses for balanced 2024 play. "

That seems really unnecessary to me.

 

[Bolongo]

After looking through this article I just realized something about myself (and perhaps the hobby). I just gloss over the non-5e products. While I might have the time to adapt new material to my 5e game, I don't have the time or bandwidth to take on a whole new system.

I see a lot of interesting ideas in these posts, but anything not 5e related I pretty much disregard. I just don't have the time.

Funny, I do the exact opposite.

If I see "5e" or "OSR" I mostly nope right out.

 

[Bolongo]

"World's Largest Dungeon has been in development for over 18 months, and is developed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (2014). We will issue a free 2024 Conversion Guide PDF to all backers. This PDF will include guidance to beef up the encounters and bosses for balanced 2024 play. "

That seems really unnecessary to me.

It seems totally necessary if you trust the reviews of 2024.

Those I've seen who have really dug into it, and not just done a flip-through, agree that PCs have gotten some power creep, and that monsters hit harder to compensate.

 

[dave2008]

Funny, I do the exact opposite.

If I see "5e" or "OSR" I mostly nope right out.

I think you are misunderstanding. It has little to do with the content. It is a time issue. I don't have the time or energy to investigate and play multiple systems. If I was playing PF2e or OSR or Fate or whatever, it would be the same reaction. I just don't have time for more than one system in my life right now. I did 30 years ago, not so much now.

 

[dave2008]

It seems totally necessary if you trust the reviews of 2024.

Those I've seen who have really dug into it, and not just done a flip-through, agree that PCs have gotten some power creep, and that monsters hit harder to compensate.

I have been playing with mixed 2014 and 2024 material since the playtest. It is not a noticeable issue at our table. If you read the 5e forums here then you will see that a lot of people who are actually playing the game agree - there is not a lot of difference between 2014 & 2024 PCs. Pretty much everyone who actually plays agrees that there is more of a power variance within 2014 classes than between 2014 and 2024 classes. It is a non issue as far as I am concerned.