Kickstarters of Note
Hello, fellow Portalites!
I’ve found a few Kickstarters for you, and probably missed a few more, but there are a lot of miniatures, a set of busts, some gaming tools and even some stray dice to tempt you with. I suspect the gaming tools will be most useful, but these others are also interesting, and I figured I’d share.
Brendan O’Toole Presents: Game Master’s Tome and Player’s Compendium
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/387668994/game-masters-tome-and-players-compendium/description
Having a notebook for notes is something I think most of us who run games – or play them – can appreciate, whatever your table looks like. These are intended specifically for 5e, but on seeing some previews for Pathfinder 2e, I think they would probably work for that too.
The creators describe it thusly; “the Game Master’s Tome is designed specifically for world-building and session prep.
We are printing this journal, with a highly customized interior and we need money for finalizing the design, which includes getting custom stat blocks made for player characters/NPCs/and Monsters, artwork for the end papers, and more.
The journal is 480 pages long, A5 sized, with sections to record all the important world-building facts that you have created, and over a years worth of session prep sections. With a Hex-Map for your world, and over 100 pages devoted to world-building, you’ll never be unprepared again when a player asks what the name of that tavern was you visited twenty sessions ago.
The journal will help you organize over a years worth of sessions, whether your players want to shop till they drop or they are fighting for their lives in the dankest, darkest dungeon they could find.”
If they pull this off, the price is about right for what this is, and I admit, I’m curious to see if they manage it.
Ouroboros Miniatures Presents: A.I.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/859512613/ai/
Now, I generally don’t do busts. These might have me making an exception. I would dearly love to see a couple of them in miniature form, and supporting them might make that possible.
The creator describes them as; “This campaign is about 3 robot busts with a human touch. We also have some guest stars from the CP Yakuza range later in the campaign, but let’s focus on the robots first!
The range is called A.I. which stands for artificial intelligence. There is no doubt that robots will play more important roles in our future at some point. But what if these robots start evolving on their own? Gain more sentient thoughts than might be good for them? It’s a theme that rises up in a lot of films and books and I guess this range ties into that.
The busts have been created by Oleg Aleinikov, a genius from Russia. He came up with the concepts and sculpts and then digitally colored them in so realistically that it looks like they walked straight out of a movie!”
They are not kidding about the skill of their sculptor; these busts really are that amazing. If any of you do busts, you should definitely consider these.
Reclusive Phoenix Presents: Slumbering Oblivion
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reclusivephoenix/slumbering-oblivion-cthulhu-inspired-game-miniatur
While I don’t generally have a lot of use for C’thulu-mythos inspired miniatures, I’m sure there are some of you out there who either know someone who does, or yourselves have a use for such things. These are nice sculpts, too.
An excerpt; “Welcome to the Slumbering Oblivion Kickstarter! The intent of this Kickstarter is to raise funds to fully realize a new line of highly detailed Lovecraft inspired gaming miniatures. The introductory miniatures are a group of 5 Elite Deep Ones and once they get funded there are many other creatures that can also be made a reality as part of this Kickstarter. The miniatures planned are a mix of both creatures mentioned in the works of HP Lovecraft and also many original concepts inspired by his works.
The miniatures vary in size but are scaled for 32mm, are made of resin and come unpainted and unassembled. These miniatures are part of a developing science fiction and horror miniatures based tabletop war game called Slumbering Oblivion. As such, many will have futuristic weapons but since some backers may want to use these as proxies in other games, most also come with alternate low tech weapons. These are included with each miniature so you can equip them as you see fit. Nothing additional to buy to make them one way or the other.”
Their Shoggoth is kind of cute, if one can say that about a motivated puddle of eyes and slime.
Legends of Signum Presents: Legends of Signum – Battle for Vallor
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2034410916/legends-of-signum-battle-for-vallor
I’ll be honest, I would only be interested in this for the miniatures, so the price is, for me, a bit steep. That having been said, if this kind of game appeals? From the looks, the miniatures are quality, and if the rest of the game follows suit, this should keep you gaming for a good long time.
In the words of the creators; “Legends of Signum is a skirmish wargame where fight the squads led by the heroes. As the events unfold on the Battlefield, the players build their own Cities which help them recruit characters, use spells and relics and employ cunning tactics. With the numerous factions and diverse strategies, each game is really unique.
Each miniature in this game represents a character with unique fighting abilities. Due to such approach, there are no armies of dull and repetitive dummies in Legends of Signum, each fighter on the battlefield looks original, has some memorable special traits and their own story. Our developer team was going for making an intuitive game from the very beginning. There are no complicated rules in Legends of Signum but also no simple solutions.”
This looks interesting. The creators are non-English speakers, so they’re not always perfectly clear, but this is nevertheless an interesting and possibly tempting Kickstarter.
Eyepetizer Presents: Timaze – TTi-D20 Dice
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eyepetizer/timaze-d20-dice
Just one. There does not seem to be an option for a set. However, if you need a serious d20 for something, anything, these guys are singing your song, and they are making metal d20s out of solid titanium, zirconium, 440c steel, aluminum and .925 sterling silver. Perhaps… a gift for your dice-loving significant other?
These dice are gorgeous, and naturally, expensive.
Mythic Games Presents: Solomon Kane
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1162110258/solomon-kane
I can’t be the only one who saw that movie and had a bit of a moment. I might be one of the few that went chasing the books, though; Solomon Kane is not one of Howard’s more common creations.
Looking at this Kickstarter, that may be about to change. “It is the end of the 16th century. This is a turbulent time, with bandits lurking in the wilds of the countryside, and pirates roaming the high seas. Evil taints the hearts of men, and many give in to temptation. Many, but not all. Against this tide of corruption stands Solomon Kane. This mortal hero fights his lone crusade, aided by the silent might of the immortal Virtues. Together they fight against the implacable Darkness. This is the fearless opponent who tries to thwart our hero at every turn, and who must be overcome by the players if Solomon Kane is to emerge victorious.
Darkness has emissaries too, and these Shadows are also attracted by Solomon Kane’s faith. Shadows are not physical beings – they are the essence of the nameless horror that hides just out of sight, the lurking danger you think you glimpse from the corner of your eye, or the secret dread that sends shivers down your spine. This can drive lesser men to madness, and even Solomon Kane could be overwhelmed, for whilst his faith is strong, Darkness is powerful too. Solomon Kane can see neither Virtue nor Shadow, yet he can feel both, and he has his faith. This tells him that Good must triumph over Evil. It is up to the Virtues to ensure that he is right. “
This is a cooperative game, like many that are coming out these days, for four players. I’m interested to see how this goes, as it’s already funded and it looks like it might be a lot of fun.
Like these? Let us know. See a Kickstarter I missed, that you think the rest of the Portal needs to know about? Let us know in the comments, on Rondak’s Portal forums, FB or even sign into our Discord server and tell us all about it.