My wallet bleeds for RPG's

Taking a look at all the RPG's I backed on Kickstarter the past year

Kickstarter is my weakness

I decided it would be fun to look at where all my money has disappeared this past year.

That is to say, which Kickstarters I decided to back, what tier I backed them at, and why I chose to back them. I will also look at a few projects that had caught my eye, and that I ultimately decided not to back.

I also want to note that I rarely spend money outside of RPG’s, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t get coffee in the morning, I have very little vices outside of RPG’s. So, if it seems like I spent a lot of money on these kickstarters, it’s because I absolutely did and I carry that shame with me every day. Nevertheless, I live for the days when the mail truck delivers a kickstarter I backed over 2 years ago. Those days are magical.

Enjoy!

The Blades of Gixa by Quadra

Successfully funded on March 19th, 2025. Raising $34,692.

I am a sucker for line-art (you will see that a lot in these projects) and the Blades of Gixa is an absolute standout when it comes to megadungeons. Quadra began this project as part of the Dungeon 23 Challenge: a challenge where participants were asked to draw a new dungeon room every day for the year of 2023.

Quadra essentially took a little notebook calendar and, day by day, created these tiny little dungeon rooms along with their descriptions in a very small square. The result is this epic keyed map comprising of 12-floors and 365 rooms. That’s a lot of content packed into such a small amount of space.

Needless to say, I am hooked by the art alone, and super excited to send a party of 0-level adventures into the depths of this megadungeon.

I backed at the $29 Notebook Knave pledge. Which includes: a wirebound zine of the megadungeon, pdfs, and a few extra’s. I backed this tier for the physical zine only and found no desire to back at any hire tier than this.

Catch Me If You Cant by AJ Hateley

Successfully funded on March 15th, 2025. Raising £15,408

A zine dedicated to teaching you how to speak in thieves can’t. I mean, do I really have to say any more? How fun will it be to use actual lingo and code to transfer secret information the players, how immersive would that be?

I have already received this zine and read it, brilliant stuff. There is a small notecard of symbols and their meanings. My rogue player and I both have a copy and have used it frequently, and it absolutely helps convey the secretive nature of a rogue. Actually, learning all the words has been a learning curve, and my journey has only just begun, but it sure is fun.

I backed this at the £8 Physical Copy pledge. As straight forward as it gets, an amazing zine plus some extra’s at a very reasonable price.

Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches by Kelsey Dionne

Funded on April 9th, 2025. Raising $3,148,567

Shadowdark continue to amaze us all. I backed this project for a few reasons:

• I really have enjoyed playing/running shadowdark

• The western reaches sound rad

• I don’t yet own any of the cursed scrolls

• So much good line-art

I backed this project at the $149 Premium Slipcase Set Pledge. These books are absolutely beautiful looking, and I can now complete my Shadowdark collection. Plus 8 books? For $149? That’s only $19 a book, and have you seen how expensive premium books can be on kickstarter? I have no idea how Kelsey made this work at the cost.

In Ruins by M. Allen Hall

Funded on March 25th, 2025. Raising $13,266

I am always looking to expand my horizons when it comes to rpg’s, and I have played few rpg’s dedicated to worldbuilding or generating locations. The silly art style and the themes of In Ruins immediately drew my eye.

In this game you collaboratively build a castle, destroy it, then stock it up with monsters, setting the stage for a rowdy band of adventurers to clean house.

I backed this at the $20 In Ruins Physical pledge. Get a pdf/print copy of the book, and even a few sticker extras along with. Excited to try this one out.

Mana Meltdown by Shane Walshe

Funded on April 8th, 2025. Raising €18,256

Shane Walshe has this mesmerizing art style that is horrific, ethereal, and metal. I have purchased several of Shane’s books in the past and absolutely needed to complete my collection. This new edition is supposed to provide me the tools to run a high-stakes psionic battle royale with aerial racing and bounty hunters. Super excited to delve into the strange mind of Shane once more.

I backed at the €16 Print Zine pledge.

Rōnin: Densetsu by Slightly Reckless Games

Funded on May 6th, 2025. Raising £142,996

Everyone likes a good Borg-like, and I have been needing a samaurai rpg for awhile as all of my friends are Naruto nerds and I must appease the masses with my GM skills. (I’m biased to rule-lite systems, and L5r is a bit too complex for my palette)

The art in the book is sick, the new mechanics for parrying, honour, seppuku, and resurrection all sound rad, and I’m 99% confident my friends want to be samurai, so all in all this is a good pick up for me.

I pledged at the £100 Slipcase Bundle pledge because it includes all of the core books and none of the extra stuff. I already have too many dice, and far too many dice, trinkets, gm screens and the like. Just give me the books and I’ll be on my way.

Wandering Blades by Plus One Exp

Funded on May 30th, 2025. Raising $43,462

So apparently I was having a big interest in East Asian Culture at the time because I also picked up Wandering Blades around the same time.

While Ronin will be excellent for a grittier dark tale of samurai’s, I think that Wandering Blades will give me that over-the-top Wuxia style of gameplay that will be epic to GM. I also have a feeling this one will allow me to play around with more faction based almost epic fantasy level stuff in an East Asian setting, this is only my speculation as I have not yet received either of these.

I backed at the $37 Physical copy Edition. You may be seeing a pattern here, but I just want the books, nothing else. Make my shelves look pretty!!

BËNTHIC: The Scattered Seafloor by Thomas Zitkevitz

Funded on September 18th, 2025. Raising $7,477

So I actually just received this and my Pirate Borg copy in the mail recently and I am so excited to dive into them and give them a go.

One of my discord buddies Fedmar did the illustrations for this zine and we actually hopped online and talked through a few of the pieces and had an overall good time brainstorming ideas for this projects artwork. And Fedmar killed it, did such a good job, and is certainly a rising star when it comes to illustrating for RPG’s. If you have a project you should check him out HERE

Needless to say I was invested in this project and wanted to see it succeed.

I backed at the $30 All Print Zines pledge. Give me them books!!

Tales from Elsewhere: Clockworld by Peter Lange

Funded on October 2nd, 2025. Raising $48,056

If you are into the DungeonTuber scene on Youtube, I’d be surprised if you have not come across the rising star that is Peter Lange. His youtube channel has easily become a hotspot for game designers, gm’s, and any who seek rpg design theory and advice. In addition to that, Peter has been a great advocate for Peasantry and has helped me playtest the game on several occasions. So when he finally launched his own project over on Kickstarter, you know I had to snag a copy.

The game itself is also stellar. I love running horror games for my home group and I have never seen a weird west rpg that has caught my eye until now. The mechanics are swift, flavorful, and unique! Plus, Peter has been tirelessly studying and reading old folklore from all across the America’s and has a diverse knowledge of the strange mythos that many of us Americans have fallen out of touch with. I think the Bestiary is what I am excited about the most, from what I’ve seen, it’s going to very strange, unique, and horrifying.

I backed at the $60 Physical Rulebook pledge. There was an exclusive green cover too, and normally I am drawn to limited edition covers, but I was enamored by the Red and just had to get it

Raptor Ruckus RPG by Snapback Game Studios

Funded on September 25th, 2025. Raising $99,511

When I was little, maybe 8 or 10 years old. I went to my Mimi’s house, and she had a full surround sound system and a cozy recliner. She put on Jurassic Park on the large tv, and I swear to you that I was in that movie. And for many years after that day, I was having Dino bday cakes that bled cherry filling and I was memorizing all of the cool dinosaur books.

So, give me the opportunity to run a Jurassic Park themed RPG and you know I am going to buy that. It’s the peak of nostalgia for me, a true core memory to this experience I call life. And I can’t wait to chomp down on my PC’s with a Spinosaurus.

I backed at the $95 Physical Books pledge and I am so excited to see all those goodies show up at my house.

Into the Cess and Citadel by Wet Ink Games

Funded on December 6th, 2025. Raising $49,508

An absolute treasure trove of tables and resources to make a strange and wonderful city in your ttrpg games. Published by the great Wet Ink Games and created by the amazing team at Feral Indie Studios including Peasantry’s very own and much appreciated artist Charles Ferguson-Avery.

I’ve been a fan of Fearl Indie Studios games, books, and art for a long time now. It is a wonder I didn’t have this in my collection already. Now I will

Backed at the $50 Physical pledge. Gotta get those hard covers.

Booklet of Bounties by James Holloway

Funded on December 22nd, 2025. Raising £1,549

A fun little zine about 10 different fugitives along with tables for accomplices, alias, questlines, and much more!

I thought this sounded like a fun read to give me inspiration for new villains and brigands to my campaigns. I also adore the artwork of all the wanted posters on the cover.

I backed at the £6 Print Pursuer pledge. Consisting of a digital and physical zine.

2026 is off to a Great Start

Goodness 2025 was a busy book year for me. That doesn’t even count anything I bought at cons, stores, was gifted, bought on other platforms. There are soo many cool books and games to keep track of.

But now 2026 has come and I have already backed numerous kickstarters. Without going into near as much detail, here is a list of the stuff I’ve already backed this year.

• Dungeon Inc. by the Merry Mushman

• And He Shall Eat the Sun by Dale L. Houston

• Under the Shadow of Helfast Spire by Bob World Builder

• Party Backstory Generator 2E by Justin Sirois

• The Spear of Horrendous Iron by Samuel Taylor

• Tavers: The Meow Wolf RPG by Exalted Funeral

• Bad Guys 3 by Scibor Monstrous Miniatures

• Fomoria by Tania Herrero and Johan Nohr

So, in Conclusion…

I have a bit of a problem, but on the bright side I get to support all these wonderful creators. And if any of these projects caught your eye, I’d highly recommend checking them out.