Savage Worlds Freebies, A Kickstarter, and Chupacabra Con

We have two free products, a Kickstarter, and a Con to announce.

Visionary Comics produced a new web comic titled What A Man's Got To Do written by Pinnacle Entertainment Group's own Matthew Cutter. The 67 'page' work gives a nice taste of Deadlands for any of you unfamiliar with Pinnacles Weird West setting. You can also find a large number of Deadlands product reviews on this blog.

The second free product is a primer for PEG Inc's newest setting, The Last Parsec which corresponds to the full product's Kickstarter. The primer discusses the foundational aspects of the setting such as travel, communications, races, governments and corporations. Like the comic above, it's only a taste of the setting but would make a good handout for your players.

The Last Parsec was inspired by the Shane Hensley's play of TSR's Star Frontiers. I loved that setting. We played everything they published for it and then some. For more information, check out The Last Parsec design diary PDF.

The Kickstarter for The Last Parsec is well underway. At the time of this writing is is $30,000 over goal with 380 backers. Pinnacle handles Kickstarters in a very smart way but this isn't unusual for PEG. They know their audience well and found a way to fund additional content for their settings before release. I always pick the $35 level which gives the PDFs but I'm tempted to go print with this one.

So, big things are a comin'.

Speaking of which, I'll be at Chupacabra Con running a few sessions including one on Savage Saturday night. Come on out if you can. The guest list includes some Savage heavy hitters:

• Cam Banks
• Clint Black
• Daniel Burrow
• Shawn Carman
• Jamie Chambers
• Jeff Dee
• Preston DuBose
• Brian Engard
• Sean Patrick Fannon
• Emily Foster
• Sean Hanson
• Malcolm Harris
• Shane Lacy Hensley
• Kenneth Hite
• Steve Kenson
• Geoffrey Kuhns
• Diesel LaForce
• Robin D. Laws
• Steven S. Long
• Caitlin Mills
• Cory Mills
• Jason Morningstar
• Kevin G. Nunn
• Donna Prior
• Jennifer Rehnay
• Michael Satran
• Ross Watson
• Ed Wetterman
• John Wick

We look forward to seeing you there.

Weird Wars Rome - Savage Worlds Kickstarter

Weird Wars Rome - A new Savage Worlds Kickstarter Launched!
They're at it again!  This time it's ancient Rome. Given how much I got out of the Deadland Noir Kickstarter, its a no-brainer and I'm glad to jump in. Pinnacle is, however, taking a different approach this time.  They've already done the heavy lifting (writing, art, layout) so the KS is about getting the book printed as well as all the goodies that are unlocked in the stretch goals.  They blew past their $6,000 pledge goal the first day.

The main blurb:

Weird Wars Rome is a setting and campaign book for adventures of violence and horror in the ancient world. It includes new rules for Spoils of War, Campaign Interludes, and Legacies that allow characters to pass down their deeds and treasures to future generations of their bloodline.

War Masters will also find our comprehensive Adventure Generator and TWO mini-Plot Point Campaigns.

NOTE: Further down you find out this is the only way you can get the limited edition Hardback.

So far, the total set of offerings, before stretch goals are:  PDF Book, Hardbound, Softbound, GM screen, Noctis Germanicus Adventure, double-sided full color map laminated so you can mark on it, and Custom Red Chessex Dice.   The digital extras will probably be music, figure flats, one sheets, new monsters, etc.  I personally jumped in at the $40 Decanus level. I get the PDF the day the KS ends and the Hardbound by December. I also look forward to all the digital goodies. I almost cheaped-out and went with the $30 level for the PDF & softbound but the Hardbound will only be thru the KS. 

Other news:

I still can't wait for the forthcoming SciFi Setting, Solo-Adventures, and all the other Pinnacle Stuff coming this year. They are a busy crew.

Kickstarter is new for Pinnacle, but not Savage Worlds

Pinnacle Entertainment Group used Kickstarter for its latest project: Deadlands: Noir.  A very active support base pushed the project well past it's $8,000 goal in a matter of hours.  Kickstarter fits well in with the close community feeling of Savage Worlds.  While this is a new direction for Pinnacle, it's certainly not new for others in the Savage Worlds family.

I am no longer a Kickstarter newbie.  I've supported 6 projects and enjoyed them all. I have, however, started to see some interesting differences in the various approaches. With Pinnacle entering the fray, I'm both excited and a bit quizical.

Note: This blog is only concerned with the gaming projects on Kickstarter with a special focus on Savage Worlds projects.