Kickstarter: Part 6 - Updates, Numenera, Tenra Bansho Zero and 13 True Ways

This is the sixth part in an ongoing series on crowdfunding. Overview and Index.

Almost a month has passed since my last update on crowdfunding projects, so let's jump right in.

If this was White Wolf and
the 90's, I would think it was art.

A couple of projects have arrived: Outlive Outdead and Our Last Best Hope. The former is a zombie survival game and my copy was... curious. But let it never be said that Mr. MacGuffin is nothing less than a gentleman and a new copy should be on the way. Our Last Best Hope is cooperative storytelling game for the disaster movie genre. A game has been scheduled for tomorrow, so look for more on that later this week.

Moving on to updates for projects that have been previously discussed. SteamCraft has been successfully funded and Dungeons Unleashed really needs some help. I think that this game looks adorable and positively a lot of fun, but I wish the creator would post some more information about it. Leave a comment if you would consider backing it if you knew more about the game; there is just over a month left, so we can still get it funded. <Update> Dungeons Unleashed has been cancelled. Better Angels has succeeded at all of the stretch goals, which means a full color hardback for $35, as well as a hell of a great game (pun intended). There's five days left, which means you can still get in on it.

The three most recent projects I'm watching are Numenera, Tenra Bansho Zero and 13 True Ways.

Numenera is Monte Cook's new sci-fantasy game. I don't know how much really needs to be said about this game, it is already well over $100,000. The premise is that it is in the far, far distant future (1 billion years, give or take I would assume) and works on the premise that any science, sufficiently advanced, becomes indistinguishable from magic. Art for this game is what really sold it to me. It is difficult to describe, but evocative and makes me want to know more about the setting. The system is advertised as being fast and character creation simple. It, of course, uses a d20 for resolution.

Tenra Bansho Zero is a Japanese game that has been in translation for around seven years (!). The art is amazing, though clearly manga in nature (this may not be for everyone). It is described as hyper-Asian fantasy, taking place in the far future with both super tech and magic. The game play is fast and cinematic, designed to be more like a movie, and there is a strong emphasis on interpersonal relationships. Also the craziest character types ever, like Onmyuji that use abacus-computers to summon and bind demons, or the beautiful Kugutsu that are crafted from tree-spirits to be art, but want to become human.

13 True Ways is an expansion for 13th Age that includes druid, monk, chaos shaman, multiclassing, summoning, and... dragon riding. The last bit is really what sold me, I will be honest here. 13th Age is a re-envisioning of 3.5E D&D done by Rob Heinsoo and Johnathan Tweet and if you like fantasy gaming in anyway, you owe it to yourself to at least take a look at this game.