A new fantasy TTRPG Kickstarter campaign, Shadow of the Weird Wizard, went live today. It was designed to be an evolution of an earlier TTRPG, Shadow of the Demon Lord.
That very campaign has not only reached its goal within the first day of going live, it has exceeded that goal six times over.
The Shadow of the Weird Wizard Kickstarter campaign
According to the Shadow of the Weird Wizard Kickstarter page, the TTRPG is being developed by Robert Schwalb. Schwalb has had a long career in TTRPG development, his credits including Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying, and Monte Cook Games' Numenera.
Schwalb is also credited as one of the lead designers of Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition.
As for the setup, Shadow of the Weird Wizard is straightforward. You and several of your friends are adventurers tasked with exploring a series of borderlands, protecting refugees escaping their doomed country.
But the borderlands are not safe. Not only do the creations of the Weird Wizard roam free, but there are also cruel faeries, unfeeling undead, and the stirring of ancient evils within the shadows.
Shadow of the Weird Wizard offers streamlined rules, tight campaigns, and deep customization options. Overall, the system will be familiar to those that have played similar d20-style roleplaying games, allowing both veterans and newcomers to get into this game.
In addition, this system will be a tonal departure from its predecessor, Shadow of the Demon Lord. While the latter was more sadistic, its inspirations include Evil Dead and Diablo, this new TTRPG focuses more on empowerment, making the players the heroes of the story.
The Kickstarter campaign will be to produce two books for Shadow of the Weird Wizard. First is the core rulebook. The book will be 350 pages and contain everything you need to make characters as well as the game's rules.
The second book is called Secrets of the Weird Wizard. This 325-page Gamemaster Guide will contain rules for traps and hazards, guidelines for making your own quests, a monster bestiary, and a gazetteer of the borderlands.
The current backer tiers for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are as follows:
- Apprentice Wizard for $14: A PDF of the core rulebook
- Novice Wizard for $49: PDFs of the core rulebook, GM Guide, a digital GM Screen, a novice quest, and all digital stretch goals
- Expert Wizard for $99: Everything from the Novice Wizard tier, as well as physical copies of the core rulebook and GM Guide.
- Master Wizard for $249: Everything in the Expert Wizard tier, a physical GM Screen, and Deluxe Editions of the physical books.
The Shadow of the Weird Wizard Kickstarter campaign went live with a goal of $30,000. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $197,222, which is more than six times the initial goal.
This has led to the fulfillment of several stretch goals including bonus sourcebooks, campaigns, and quests.
The Shadow of the Weird Wizard campaign will conclude on September 7.
