The Cost of a Hobby - Kickstarter Strategies for the Consuming Backer

 I had a brief exchange with a Kickstarter creator for a product I backed, then a few days later (well before it was ready to close) decided to back out on. He asked why I backed out and I explained the problem from a consumer/backer stance: the product was not overly expensive (about $70 for two books....specifically Dragonbane books for the Lone Wolf setting) and I am interested in it. But a couple issues prompted me to back out: the first being it was scheduled for November 2025, and I have learned, time and again, that backing a Kickstarter you are interested in today does not equate to it being a Kickstarter you will be excited for a year or more from now. That is, of course, assuming the project is not delayed; about 75% of the Kickstarters I have backed are usuallly delayed a few months or even a couple years. 

The second problem I pointed out to him is that when a Kickstarter has a big ask and a distant date, I know its not a project that has effectively started; its a project looking for money to get off the ground. This means there's no written text ready to go, no artist on board yet, no editor, no playtesting. The KS is effectively advertising a concept to backers willing to take a risk on it happening. Other Kickstarters I have backed, the most successful ones (imo) are the ones that have maybe only a couple months to completion after the Kickstarter is done. These are projects which are practically ready to go, and the publisher/author is using KS to build interest and sales before the release, or maybe the bulk of the work is near completion and they just need that last funding push to pay for art/printing or something. These Kickstarters are great - they reflect a commitment ahead of time, and get a product out within the window of interest for the prospective consumer/backer. Examples of this (with kudos) go to D101 Publishing (Newt Newport), Matt Finch with Mythmere and Steve Jackson Games (with their smaller KS's at least).

In any case, the point is that if I'm going to back something, years of backing other Kickstarters have taught me that I need to look for scenarios where the KS is just "the final push" and not "ground zero." Ground zero requires a lot of commitment way down the road, and in a twist, the few publishers I might consider backing are also very good at getting those products out to retail once released so backing the KS becomes more a matter of convenience or solidarity than anything else. Steve Jackson Games, Monte Cook Games and Pinnacle Entertainment are all examples of publishers using Kickstarter to start off products that I know will appear eventually, but the motivation to Kickstart them is low for me because I am confident their product will eventually arrive and be purchasable by me down the road, assuming I am still interested in it. And if it turns out they fail? By not backing I am not out of the product if it fails.

There are a couple other strategies to being a backer to consider. For example, I always look at what the creator has done before; if they have no prior Kickstarters? Unknown risk, don't back it. If they have lots of Kickstarters that seem to be incomplete? Bad sign. As an example....the creator of the Lone Wolf books for Dragonbane seems to have at least one Kickstarter that appears to be 7 years overdue (and people are very pissed about it). Even with my two prior items of logic, this alone is a huge red flag against backing another Kickstarter by the creator, when it is clear they can't finish the existing projects.

Another peeve I have about backing things is unrelated to Kickstarter, but rather its competitors,  Backerkit and other crowdfunding venues. Notice how it is atypical of a creator on those venues to even put a deadline in place? Yeah, that's a deal breaker right there. At least with Kickstarter it requires you to provide a month and year on when to expect project completion. 

Honestly....I'd love to back the Lone Wolf adaptation for Dragonbane for what it is. I just can't reconcile all the risks involved, and based on the creator's prior history, I now realize it is probably destined to be a 2031 release, to go by his other projects.

Swords & Wizardry Boxed Set on Kickstarter!

Not just any old Swords & Wizardry edition....it looks like Frog God Games is offering up a four-volume boxed set edition of S&W Complete, with some extras such as a GM screen, monster book and stretch goals. S&W Complete snagged me as my preferred retroclone OSR edition of D&D a long time ago, and the look of this boxed set is too cool to pass up, so count me in!

Kickstarter Page Here!

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Kickstarter

It's in the wild, and as expected it's already funded! Savage Worlds will have its first new edition in 15 years...take a look:

I'm in at the $150 level for sure. Savage Worlds remains one of the "go to" games in my arsenal.

Cypher System and "Your Best Game Ever" Kickstarter nears closing

If you're like me and love this game, or want to check it out, head to the Kickstarter and back it!



I'm in at the "I Want it All" level and I really hope they hit the stretch goal for the Fairy Tale sourcebook. As it stands, the package offer includes the GM book "Your Best Game Ever," Cypher System second edition, a SF sourcebook, Horror sourcebook, Fantasy sourcebook, and a mess of character folios....already worth price of admission by cost alone, so with any luck they'll hit the final goal for the Fairy Tales sourcebook, too.

Over The Edge Kickstarter

There are a lot of great Kickstarters going on now...too many, if you're not interested in spending all your money on potential next year releases....but one I feel I gotta back is the new edition of Over the Edge:



The original was a fantastic and rare gem, and I'd love to see what a modern iteration of the game of surreal weird adventure might look like.

The Fantasy Trip Kickstarter!

Just a shout out to anyone not already backing this who might want to:



I'm in at the "I Want It All" level. This is one of those rare, momentous returns you just don't get to see ordinarily, comparable to a few years back when WotC started reprinting classic D&D and AD&D, but with the added bonus being that I bet, if it sells well, that Stave Jackson Games may continue to support The Fantasy Trip with new content.

Kickstarter Countdown for Vaults of K'Horror (Tunnels & Trolls)

I'm really excited to see this one, T&T needs more GM modules:



Chip in! This is a no brainer for T&T fans. According to the latest post, if they hit the stretch goal then the map goes big and poster sized! This will work perfectly with the stretch goal minis rules. I've actually had a great deal of fun using maps and minis with T&T in the past, and the flexibility of the game makes them a lot of fun.

Hall of Judgement Kickstarter for Dungeon Fantasy

SJGames may not have been too happy with the end result and lack of profitability on GURPS Dungeon Fantasy boxed set, but they are kind enough to license out publication of a module for it to Douglas Cole:



The concept of "viking flavored dungeon fantasy" sounds appealing to me. Douglas appears to have done other successful Kickstarters which actually got completed, including one I have (Dungeon Grappling) that is a uniquely exhaustive look on the one subject which we can all agree was a pain in the ass in D&D 3.0.

Tunnels & Trolls: Elven Lords Module New Special Edition Kickstarter

Very exciting news: Elven Lords was one of the better solitaire adventures published back in the day for Tunnels & Trolls. a new Kickstarted edition is now available for an August release date from Liza Danforth, Steve Crompton and Mike Stackpole. This will include a black and white edition for $20 as well as a limited full color edition for $75. I'm backing the regular copy for the moment but the full color edition is very tempting, and the samples look gorgeous.

If you're not a T&T person the new print will include the rules necessary to play, so check it out...T&T remains the best non D&D classic fantasy experience you can find.

Quests of Doom 4 Kickstarter - Funded, but is it worth it?

So first off, here's the Kickstarter:



I have all the prior QoD books as well as the 5E books released by Frog God Games so far. In fact I have almost all S&W and Pathfinder books as well, and about the only stuff I don't currently have are Slumbering Tsar, The Blight and Bard's Gate, chiefly because those books are too rich for me at their price points and their actual use is minimal; they would be vanity collector's purchases if I ever get them, and every time I check Frog God's site I never notice them in print for 5E, anyway.

In principle I think the idea of a collection of 32 page modules is great, and perhaps if I was just a guy looking for a module or three to run I might go in on a few if I was specifically excited about some of the descriptions provided. The problem is, I (and most people looking at a FGG Kickstarter) are not the "casual gamer looking at some random modules to buy and use" crowd. We are avid collectors of our favorite games, and most likely love the Frog God products we've purchased before, whether we use them, stick them on a shelf or simply admire the sheer effort put in to these tomes as fun reading.

Prior efforts by the Frog Gods to produce print modules have led to the following problems from a collector/fan perspective as I see it:

1. Finding them in print is damned hard. They don't tend to keep them in stock and in print, and the print run on softcover modules is lower than hardcover, meaning they are likely going to be hard or impossible to get later on if you don't back the Kickstarter. Examples of what I mean are rife on their site, with prior module collections from the past that are only available in PDF.

2. If you decide to back the Kickstarter, then once again there's a cost issue. The great thing about Quests of Doom 3 was I could put $40 and back it. I can't do that here and get all the content. I unfortunately have a lot of personal expenses and not nearly enough free income to invest in a 16 module collection at the price point they have set ($168 for the whole mess for just one system version). I could opt to grab just a few and then try collecting the rest later out of KS, but I'm leary of the likelihood they will have print copies available outside of the KS fulfillment, or that they will have enough to meet demand. Maybe they will, but I really don't know...y'know?

3. Discussion about the cost effectiveness has been discussed on the KS site, but as others pointed out, the entire module set is about as many modules as was released in the QoD Volumes 1 and 2 set from a couple years back. I'm not trying to begrudge their right to make more money on their work.....and this would be 16 modules at 32 pages each, of course, which is likely more content than the prior QoD series combined......but the problem is one of expectations.

4. I really think a series of hard covers, each containing 4-6 adventures, and structured to avoid some of the "reprint" modules that appear to be an issue for Pathfinder, would have been a smarter way to go. As it stands, I'm just not sure I can back this one at all unless I get lucky and have a windfall in my disposable income. And make no mistake....I would like to.

Anyway.....just some thoughts/musings. I suppose there wouldn't be much difference if they had simply said, "Now for a QoD 4 in the form of a 600 page super book for $160!" and I would still basically be, "I'll get this two years down the road with a coupon on their holiday sale because that's just too much for me to spend on a vanity product." Sigh.....if I had All The Money.....

Top Secret Returns?!?!

Yep...per this article I have just learned that TSR (the new one, which published a revived "Dragon" magazine in the form of Gygax Magazine for a while) is upping a Kickstarter to a new edition of Top Secret, the Espionage RPG. From the Kickstarter:

TOP SECRET: NEW WORLD ORDER is the brand-new espionage role-playing game by Merle M. Rasmussen.

You are an agent of ICON, the International Covert Operatives Network. Working alone or with a team, you are tasked with the missions that other agencies can not, or will not, handle.

TOP SECRET: NEW WORLD ORDER is set in today's world of shadowy organizations, shifting alliances, high technology, and unpredictable threats.

Color me intrigued....the contents look pretty compelling:

I think I'm in at the Field Agent level. They say it can be fulfilled by November this year...that seems optimistic to me, but maybe the majority of the work is already done. Anyone else have experience with a TSR Kickstarter to share?

5E Kickstarter: A Touch of Class from ENWorld

I haven't been backing anything from Kickstarter lately....it's a bad habit.....but I'll make an exception for this: ENWorld's first D&D 5E print book, available through the Kickstarter only, called "A Touch of Class." It's 7 new classes and 45 subclasses for 5E--a must have for steady 5E players and DMs! Cheap, too....about $22 US plus $6 shipping (roughly).

ASTONISHING SWORDSMEN & SORCERERS OF HYPERBOREA 2nd Edition Kickstarter

It's in the wild! The Kickstarter to produce the hardcover 2nd edition of this amazing pseudo-retro-clone is now available. If you're wondering what it is, AS&SH is a rule set derived from AD&D 1E, with some interesting rules modifications for clarity and efficiency similar to the way Swords & Wizardry tweaked OD&D, making for an experience both familiar and new. It's core conceit is a "What if Gygax had based AD&D on all the non-Tolkien fantasy in the Appendix N" sort of approach, and the result is a great rule system with an elegant core setting in Hyperborea that is easy for GMs to flesh out. The modules for this game have all been great as well, and the entire game fits my own style of gaming really well.

Swords & Wizardry 3rd Printing Kickstarter

The Swords & Wizardry 3rd printing (EDITED! Not a new edition) Kickstarter is officially live! The Kickstarter link shares examples of the art that will go in to this edition (same text, different art) as well as the new cover design:

The "news" is that the art design and layout is headed by an all-woman team led by the prolific community driven leader Stacy Dellorfano, and the goal is to make an edition of Swords & Wizardry that breaks out of its current appeal to forty-and-older something men who are recalling the good old days, and show that OSR mechanics align quite well with more millennial ideals. Laudable stuff, and I am eager to see what the new edition looks like so I can put it next to my Otus cover 2nd printing.

Some have criticized the cover....and I admit, I am not sure I like it all that much, if only because I sort of have no clue at all as to what is going on in that picture. It looks neat....but beyond that it looks to me like some sort of decoration a druid might hang on his or her wall? I really can't tell what it is. But it does look neat in an abstract way.

The interior art is really cool, and given that a fair portion of S&WC's prior art has been long established as part of royalty-free clip art packages, some original art is welcome. Here's one of my favorite examples so far from the KS page, samples of the monster art to come:

The Kickstarter is also including two new modules as add-ons, and some classics as well.

Anyway......I think this will be a nice addition to my already cluttered S&W OSR bookshelf, and I'll probably snag a second copy once it's out for my wife. Looking forward to it!

The Lost Lands: Bard's Gate Kickstarter

With a few weeks to go the Lost Lands: Bard's Gate Kickstarter is the latest mega-manual to come out of the Frog God Lair. Check it out:



I'm in for the $100 level for a 5E edition. I waffled on The Lost Lands: Borderland Provinces Kickstarter and regret it (when I finally landed my book copies through retail I was incredibly impressed). The Kickstarter is covering 5E, S&W and Pathfinder editions, this time cleaning up the process by letting you elect your preferred edition in the backerkit section. I've cancelled other KS's to make room for it, in fact.

I'm sincerely hoping 5E dominates as a request; I'd love to see older Lost Lands tomes converted to 5E (though converting the S&W versions is easy enough). In fact I'd really love to see Razor Coast converted to 5E although based on the history of that particular production I'll assume such a conversion is likely a pipe dream for now!

Mutant Genlab Alpha Kickstarter -- HOOOOOOOOPSSSSSS!!!!!

Just LOOK AT THIS PICTURE!!!

I have to back it. I wasn't going to (I do love Mutant Year Zero, want to run it) but I'm really trying to A: not back Kickstarters and B: not devote ALL of my money to Modiphius even though they are making that hard not to do.

But....HOOPS. Or the Mutant Year Zero equivalent. I am powerless.

70 hours left! I'm in for the Tribe Elder level, hoping that Zone Compendium print edition unlock goal is reached. saving money instead and making a new househld rule to stop backing Kickstarters, but I really hope this one succeeds and that all the stretch goals are available at retail in the future.

Conan RPG Kickstarter

I've tried --mostly with success-- to avoid backing Kickstarters, chiefly because I am risk averse and also because I am more of a "retail customer" end-product kind of guy. A game which sounds awesome on Kickstarter today may not be so cool or interesting when finally released 13 months later. The same principle guides the pre-order mentality with video games, but with the only risk being the pre-ordered game will turn out to be awful on release; with Kickstarter you have to also worry that the game will release at all.

I'll make an exception for Modiphius's Conan RPG, however. First, Modiphius doesn't just mess around....this is unexpectedly probably one of the leading print-release publishers out there, with books rivalling and exceeding the quality of big boys like FFE and WotC. Plus: they've got the Conan licence, and Conan (Howard, really) remains my single most inspirational resource and fan-favorite source of swords & sorcery fiction. I've got all of the Conan books, both original in pastiche, in multiple editions. I both appreciate the original unedited Howard and also love the various eras his fiction went through, from the period in which de Camp and Carter revived the works and tried to apply a timeline to Conan's adventures to the Tor era of endless 80's era adventures of quality ranging from amazing to tepid. I also had an opportunity to write some of the sourcebooks for the prior iteration of the game (Tales of the Black kingdoms and volumes 2 and 3 of Messantia Adventures), but it was a version done by Mongoose Publishing, which has a reputation for products of mixed quality, especially in editing and consistency.  Conan has long been overdue for a new edition, in other words.

Anyway....I'm tentatively in at the Hoard of Yezdigerd level. I would never back that much (approximately $431 US) print core plus all PDFs level (about $81--changed my mind due to some dental work my son needs; dentist informed us he has weak enamel, and multiple forming cavities...this is, alas, a problem that plague's my wife's side of the family so I guess he got the bad teeth genes).

If I hadn't already seen Modiphius hit it out the park for so many other books, and I want all the print stuff for Conan I can get my hands on.

Kickstarter: Ultimate NPCS - Skulduggery

From Nord Games, which has previously done a card game and bookmark Kickstarter is a new sourcebook of NPCs for S&W, Pathfinder and D&D 5E called Ultimate NPCS: Skulduggery. It looks interesting, and the art on display is very nice....I am not sure of Nord Games rep for book creation but it seems like they have fulfilled prior Kickstarters ....anyone back something from them previously? I'm inclined to take the risk and jump in for a $30 soft cover copy of the 5E book.

They definitely do one thing right, which I hope future multi-system Kickstarters do: they are putting different entries in at the front for each edition (letting me pledge right off for a 5E version, for example) rather than making generic entries and waiting for the actual results in the survey at the end of the Kickstarter. Hopefully Frog God will do this for future Kickstarters (there seems to be a connection to Nord Games as I learned about it from  Frog God email).

UPDATE: it's already hit the funding goal (cool). The metrics are rolling in....by breaking out pledges by edition, this gives everyone a chance to see interest level by system and book type (PDF/print). D&D 5E is in the lead, followed by Pathfinder, with S&W a distant third. Interesting stuff....this could suggest less about "system use" and more about "system need," though. Designing quick NPCs for S&W is now a big deal...but the need for stat blocks for D&D 5E and Pathfinder is never-ending and great.

Dungeon Crawl Classics 4th printing: The Stretch Goals Are Making Me Nervous....

UPDATE: I'm sticking with it....merry XMas to me! They've hit over $200K now. Dang!

I'm still backing the Dungeon Crawl Classics 4th printing. I really, really do want an additional copy with that awesome Peter Mullen cover. I was completely satisfied at that point. I was also happy when DCC module #75 was added as a stretch goal because it's the only DCC module I don't own. But...well...go check out the stretch goals that have been hit since (I'll wait):



...satin bookmarks, dust jacket, built-in 4 panel screen, gilded pages, thumb tabs, pocket folder, bookmarks and custom pencils. Also, six module reprints. Plus some add-ons like DCC compilation that I'm snagging.

Now, I am actually very eager to get all of this...even though it sounds like there are so many features in this book it will possibly achieve sentience and join Skynet in a war against us. But these stretch goals make me nervous....I normally DO NOT back Kickstarters with too many stretch goals, as they have a reputation for being problematic, and I feel that the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls Kickstarter was a great example of how too many stretch goals tainted the actual goal of getting an anniversary edition rulebook out.

Have any of you backed a Goodman Games Kickstarter before? Has it been a good experience? I need some reassurance....in looking at the Goodman Games Kickstarter list it looks like the only as-yet unfulfilled KS is the Grimtooth Compilation, which I assume is looking to be about five months overdue right now.

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls has arrived

Today was a hell of a day but I arrived home to discover that at long last my Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls Kickstarter package had arrived. Within I found:

1 hard cover Deluxe T&T rulebook (thick enough to stun an ox)
1 empty 5th edition box to serve as extra protection, but I can use it to store....
1 pack of DT&T character sheets
1 DT&T GM's Screen (with a lot of useful stuff on it!!!!)
1 Buffalo Castle
1 Complete Dungeon of the Bear
1 Deathtrap Equalizer
1 Deluxe City of Terrors
1 Adventurer's Compendium

That is a lot of T&T.

Now, time for a Kickstarter to convert and reprint all the old solos! Especially Gamesmen of Kasar, Mistywood and Blue Frog Tavern. Oh, and Sea of Mystery, too. I mean....I have all of them, sure, but now I want shiny new DT&T versions!

Now, which gaming group shall get to experience Tunnels & Trolls first.....??? Hmmmm.....

If you're late to this party, or a Kickstarter abstainer (wise fellow), you can now purchase the PDF version of DT&T here. I do not yet see a link to order print copies anywhere, so not sure if that means there are none, or if Rick Loomis is just waiting until all the backer mailouts are done, but I sure as hell hope this edition is in print and in stock for new gamers interested in T&T. Thanks to John Stephens for pointing out that DT&T's softcover edition is over on Amazon for ordering!

As a side note: if you love OSR games, and you've seen and found games which try to figure out what an "alternate reality Original D&D" would look like: keep this in mind: Tunnels & Trolls is a real life example of what an alternative OD&D actually does look like. And unlike D&D, T&T has managed to keep its identity surprisingly intact over the decades, so much so that you can use almost anything from any edition with any other edition with minimal fuss. Plus...the DT&T book really showcases what the Dragon Continent (I'll always know it as Ralph) and the rest of the Trollworld looks like....giving you an even more intriguing look at what alt-D&D looks like with alt-Greyhawk (Forgotten Realms is far too new school for this comparison; it's Greyhawk, Arduin, Blackmoor, the Wilderlands and Ralph hanging out back having a smoke after class).