There’s many interesting items to be found on Kickstarter, but these are the coolest ones this week.
Cortex Prime
I’ve played a lot of Firefly, and sort have a love/hate relationship with the Cortex Plus system. Cortex Prime uses the same base mechanics, which means it should be backwards compatible with a bunch of games you already love. The great thing about this release, is that it’s setting neutral, and can bring it into any world you want to. You’ll even be able to publish your own setting material on Drive Thru RPG, using the Cortex Creator Studio. I’m really interested to see the changes that Cortex Prime makes!
“Cortex is an award-winning tabletop roleplaying game system that traces its origins back to the Sovereign Stone System in 1999, and the Serenity RPG in 2005, from which it takes its name. Over the next five years it appeared as the engine powering a series of other licensed RPGs, at which point it was rewritten from the ground up as Cortex Plus. Various iterations of this newer system were used in RPGs based on Leverage, Smallville, Firefly, and Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.
Cortex Prime is the newest version of this much-loved set of game rules, refined and redesigned by Cam Banks under license from Margaret Weis Productions. It embraces its roots as a means of adapting your favorite movies, television shows, and comic books, while emerging finally as a truly multi-genre modular roleplaying game in its own right.
Orc revolutionaries! Giant mecha! Swashbucklers of the far future! Hard-boiled police detectives! Whether you’re a fan of genres and genre mash-ups, any of the older Cortex-powered games, or you’re just looking for a tabletop game system you can customize to your own specifications, Cortex Prime is primed for you.”
Button Men
Button Men is a two person dice game where you play button men, choosing which group they belong to, which gives your character different abilities. You can get the full game, or if like me, you own way more polyhedral dice then a normal person, you can get just the cards. Aser and I have really enjoyed Kill Doctor Lucky, another came we got from Cheapass Games, and I think this will be great addition to our collection.
“Button Men is a quick, strategic dice game designed by James Ernest. It’s easy to learn, while still being one of the cleverest games we’ve ever made. In Button Men, each player selects a single character card, and uses the dice described on the card. Players start by rolling all of their dice, and then take turns capturing each other’s dice. You score points based on the size of the dice you capture (and keep), and the player with the most points wins. With endless variations of character recipes, unusual die types, and some simple new ‘campaign’ rules, Button Men is a game you can enjoy again and again.”
Bagthulhu
Speaking of dice, there’s always a need to store them. This dicebag can keep almost 100 dice and I’m pretty sure your dice will be cursed if you store them in here. Or maybe Bagthulhu will curse your GM’s dice to protect you. I suppose it all depends on what you choose to sacrifice to him.
“Bagthulhu is an unspeakable horror in the form of a cuddly soft toy dicebag for the most discerning of cultists. He likes dice, souls, and comfy places to wait dreaming. In his earthly form Bagthulhu is made of super soft microfleece or plush, and stands 20cm/8″ tall. Flip back his head to reveal a dicebag belly with a double drawstring closure. His monstrous appetite has been specially upgraded for this campaign to devour up to 100 standard sized dice with room left over for an innocent soul.”
Competition Kitchen
I love competition cooking shows. We had cable for a long time and pretty much only watched Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen. So this game definitely caught my eye. You draw cards for your ingredients, and the judge will give you a secret ingredient. You have to come up with the best dish you can with what you have. They have a bunch of celebrity chefs that gave them ideas for ingredients to include. This seems like a quick and easy game to plat at a party. Maybe you can even cook up something nice to eat while you play!
“Each round, one or more players are the judge, and the rest of the players are chefs. Every chef gathers ingredients from the Protein, Vegetable, and Flavor decks and, after the judge reveals the challenge, they choose which ones to get rid of and which ones to keep. Then, before the chefs can share their creation, the judge unveils the Secret Ingredient that must be incorporated in some way into each dish. After hearing what each chef has prepared, the judge will determine who wins each round. Then, the next player at the table becomes the judge – and at the end, the player with the most challenges won is the champion of Competition Kitchen!”
Remarkable Inns and their Drinks
Adventures always start in a tavern, so why not pick a fun and creative place to start your campaign. This book will give you the taverns, inns, and bars you need for your world, as well as the people who drink and work there and what they have on the menu. If you need something quick, or if you want some inspiration, this book is a great place to start.
“Our book contains eight richly detailed inns – at 5 pages each – complete with a history, notable NPCs and unique food and drinks. Chronicled by famous adventurer Quilla Bladesong, in these pages you will discover famous places such as The North Call Inn, Fizzlenozzle’s Hall of Wonders and The King’s Coin. Each includes a number of secrets and rumors to provide story hooks for many new adventures. Each tavern is written so that it can easily be dropped into your existing campaign world and become a place your players love returning to, time and again!”
Still Active
The Imposters
AcadeCon 2017
A Forest: Lovecraft-Based Choose Your Own Adventure
The Obelisk Deck and Dice Box
Eclipse Phase 2e
The White Box: A Game Design Workship in a Box
The Book of Contemporary Things
Sigil & Sign
The Adventurer’s Kit
TerrainCrate
