There’s many interesting items to be found on Kickstarter, and here are the coolest ones this week.

Lovecraftesque
There are a lot of games out there that let you create your own Lovecraftian story. But I’m really excited for this project because it’s taking Lovecraft and making it much more inclusive by removing the racist stereotypes found in much of Lovecraft’s work and taking a much more modern view on mental health. This is the sort of game that I can see fitting very comfortably in TRF’s game shelf, and I can’t wait for it to be released.

“Lovecraftesque is a GMless storytelling game of brooding cosmic horror. You and your friends will each contribute strange clues to a slow-building mystery, culminating in a journey into darkness that ends in a climactic scene of horror. You will be surprised and creeped out by your friends’ contributions, but the game is designed so that it will feel like one person was GMing it, even though you never had to break the tension by pausing for discussion. In short, Lovecraftesque is the GMless, indie-style Lovecraft game you’ve been waiting for.

When you play Lovecraftesque you’ll be creating your own mystery, and your own unique monsters that will feel like something out of Lovecraft’s notebook. There won’t be any Mi-Go or Deep Ones – you’ll get a completely fresh take on the genre.

The game focuses on a single Witness, who is at the mercy of strange and terrifying events. Lovecraft’s stories rarely featured parties of investigators, and the hero rarely wins – that’s how our game works, too. You rotate responsibility for playing the Witness, but the role is much more about revealing their inner thoughts and fears than solving the mystery or beating up cultists.”

 

Bad Neighborhood Jigsaw puzzle
My family always puts together puzzles at Christmas time, so they hold a certain sense of nostalgia for me. And when the man behind Calamityware makes a puzzle, I can’t help but be interested. This puzzles shows a bad neighborhood, full of monsters, that you might actually want to live in.

“I designed the BAD NEIGHBORHOOD puzzle to give you abundant colors, beguiling details, and mild mystery. I hope you enjoy the challenge and delight in exploring this strange neighborhood.

What’s included in the drawings? This is my first venture into urban planning. I created several streets with a variety of buildings. Like most towns, there are signs, vehicles, and shop windows. All a little odd or twisted, but nothing to harm the delicate sensibilities of children. On the streets and in the buildings you’ll find an excellent demonstration of diversity—monster style. ”

 

Tales of the Caribbean
This collection includes at least 6 1920’s Call of Cthulhu scenarios set in the Caribbean. I think these would be a great way to take your campaign somewhere new and interesting, and all of the set ups sound fascinating.

“Across the azure waters of Caribbean Sea, under the warmth of the tropical sun, are more than seven hundred islands which make up many nations. Their citizens are a mix of native and colonial peoples, with unique cultures and traditions. But, there are many dark shadows in paradise. For upon these same islands are, unknown to most people, countless horrors which lurk just beyond the perception of mankind. Under the waves and deep in the jungles, beyond coral reefs and within smoldering volcanoes, stalking through sugarcane fields and banana groves, are the dark powers of the Cthulhu Mythos.

As always a few brave and resourceful men and women learn the truth. These heroes then stand before the darkness to face the untold horrors beyond human understanding. These are a few of their stories. Golden Goblin Press is very proud to bring you Tales of the Caribbean.”

 

Zucati Dice
This is another set of really pretty dice that are available. They come in aluminum, brass, tungsten, steel and copper, as well as several colors.

“These dice are made from solid metal and engraved using a CNC mill to be the finest, best looking and best rolling dice ever made. There’s nothing extra involved here… no gimmicks, no plating, no paint, only solid metal in either its natural state or anodized on one of several vibrant and amazing colors.”

 

Strange Nations
I think this looks like a pretty awesome guide to help you with worldbuilding in any campaign you’re building. This collection has write-ups on thirty different cultures that you can integrate into your games. I really love that he put a lot of details into each culture, like the ingredients for carrot whiskey or the salinity tolerance of plants. This is going to be available for everyone, he just needs help to pay for the art.

“I am putting together a worldbuilding resource book with detailed cultures designed to fit into your setting with only a minimum of adaptation necessary. Everything will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 License, so that you can use it even for commercial projects.

Strange Nations will hold detailed write-ups on thirty different cultures running the gamut from high fantasy to space opera to alternate history and the post-apocalypse.

There is the city-state of Iditt, where necromancy is accepted and self-mummification is the first step to repaying your lifelong debt to society. There are the Balas, whose buildings hang off the edge of a flat world. There are werejaguars, mad fairy refugees, and wagon-drivers with a religious injunction against touching the ground.”

 

Still active!

Project Bombshell
Recall of Cthulhu
The Incredible Chemistry Set
Ferroflow – A ferrofluid sculpture
The Cloud Dungeon: A DIY Paper Craft RPG Game
Shadow Over Sol: A Science Fiction and Horror RPG
BitCrates Component Boxes
Wargaming Basing Accessory Molds
Galaxy Incorporated RPG
Fire and Bone 3
LittleCLUUs Custom Dice
Charm City Blues: A Detective Noir Game