Ok, so there is a YouTube guy called Trevor Devall.  His channel is called "Me, Myself, and Die".  He solo roleplays for his content on his channel.  Overall, he is an experienced RPG player, a voice actor, and a bit of a showman.  He loves doing quirky voices.  So, between acting gigs he records YouTube content for his own channel and plays things like Ironsworn, or Savage Worlds.  He is even a fan of Palladium Fantasy RPG.

Me Myself and Die YouTube channel.

Well, now he is writing his own RPG called The Broken Empires, and is using Kickstarter to fund it.  Or should I say he already is funding it.  He asked for $10,000, but he busted thru that amount already by a country mile.  His kickstarter is only a few days old and already has over $190,000 for support, with the rest of October to raise even more.  So, he's popular, and funded his project.  Big time funded.

Broken Empires Kickstarter page

At it's core,  his game is going to be a collection of all of his favorite bits and pieces of other RPG's he likes, such as Forbidden Lands and others.  It is D100 based, has travel rules, social combat, skill based characters, free-form magic that can cost you, and other things like that.  His combat system is going to be viscerally brutal, including things like hit locations, and locational damage that matter.  A stab to a thigh can sever the femoral artery, and the victim will bleed out, or a hit to a kneecap will force a person to limp forever after, and so on.

I wanted to just add this up here.  Like I said, the game is funded.  He doesn't really need us, but who doesn't like getting in on day-1 of a good thing, provided you like his stuff.  I do.

Will I back it?  I'm still on the fence.  The last two games I backed were Bear The Forever GM's Heroics super hero RPG based on a fixed up Marvel D100 system (and TenBones knows all about that one, as he became one of Bear's biggest supporters afterwards), as well as a game by The Scrying Dutchman for a D20 game setting for modern times.  Orcs with AK-47s and such.  Both funded.

Do I need yet another fantasy RPG?  Probably not.

However, I still think it is fascinating to watch things like this go from start to finish.  Maybe somebody here will want to know about it.

I'm pretty much onboard with this Kickstarter, though likely at just the Core rulebook level as I'm working to downsize my collection.  I've watched enough of the system to know it's up my alley, but I'm also fairly confident it's a bit crunchier than my current gaming groups will stand for over the long term.  Still, it's got a lot of clever mechanics I can pillage for other games when needed.

Gladly backed.  I like his take on world design, combat, social encounters, magics, and travel.  Broken Empires is 'sim lite' in that its systems are simulationist but designed to play quickly.  For example, one d100 is used to hit and from that single roll you get hit success, degree of success, and hit location.  I think that's clever.

For those solo curious players, he's recruited Tana Pigeon and Shawn Tomkin to help create a chapter the solo rules and tables for the (traditionally multi-player) game.  These two are big names in the solo scene known for their quality GM emulation systems and tools.

Looks good but after being screwed on a kickstarter I don't kickstart anymore.  If it becomes available after they are done fulfilling then I will take a look at it.

Personally it looks like just another modern rpg when it comes to esthetics, and I get hooked what I like visually. This does not cut it unfortunately. It is probably a good system but it doesn't have that feel I am looking for. But cool to see small games become big overnight.

Quote from: GhostNinja on October 02, 2024, 04:47:00 PMLooks good but after being screwed on a kickstarter I don't kickstart anymore.  If it becomes available after they are done fulfilling then I will take a look at it.

Just curious, was it Kickstarter the company or the creator that dropped the ball?  I've had some projects fail over the years, but it was always at the individual level and never the company or when the creator was a known name or working with a team.

Quote from: zircher on October 03, 2024, 10:35:16 AMJust curious, was it Kickstarter the company or the creator that dropped the ball?  I've had some projects fail over the years, but it was always at the individual level and never the company or when the creator was a known name or working with a team.

It was for The Great Kingdom which after 10 or 11 years is finally being released.  For free.  Of course, the supporters will get access to the files first.  That pisses me off and I will now going forward only buy things that are already out and in print (I am print only, never .pdf).

Wow, kind of reminds me of Far West which took forever to finish.

Quote from: zircher on October 03, 2024, 12:57:34 PMWow, kind of reminds me of Far West which took forever to finish.

Yep.  When you back a kickstarter you either get a product or your money back.   I don't need anything new so if there is something I really want to get I can just pick it up when its done and printed.

I like the core concept of the game.  The gritty/graphic combat system sounds interesting as well.

Having actual rules for social interactions and traveling is also appealing.

The downside for me is that I'm not really interested in complicated rules and giant page counts.  I'm into rules lite games for three reasons.  I am okay winging it to fill in those holes.  I typically play with my son, who is too young to deal with crunchy rules.  Im lazy, and don't want to read and memorize a million pages of anything.  Not even a good RPG. 

But, then I swing back because I like Trevor, and his game sounds fun.

I think I'll wait. <runs off to check the kickstarter>

It's at $270,000+ right now.  That's a lot.  Trevor doesn't need my money just yet.  I'll wait and see.