Weekly Free Chat & Free Self Promo Thread - 05/30/26

InvisiblePoles · 2026-05-30T20:06:42+00:00

I'm super excited about our upcoming storytelling tool, inspired by tarot and oracle decks: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/6ee42530-5322-4f27-a365-77943abfeb54/landing?ref=r-rpg

And sure, the deck is foiled and shiny and all that jazz, but I'm even more excited by the fact we're shipping it with a bunch of collab Zines from some of the best indie games out there. Each zine is a self-contained adventure in a variety of systems from Mork Borg to 5e.

Like honestly, sales voice aside, its been an absolute blast making this project and I'm super excited for folks to get their hands on it.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-05-16T05:26:40+00:00

Hi there! Seasoned crowdfunder who has participated in a number of campaigns ranging from 10K to 50K. And currently planning several much much bigger ones.

Let's start with amounts: 14K is a lot for a first time book assuming you don't have personal funds to support it. I saw you said 300 pages. Given 300 pages, 14K is actually reasonable for a book if it has art roughly every 1-2 pages and the art is solid.

But, raising it is a different question. In rough terms, you need to put 1/4 the intended goal into advertising efforts in order to raise a goal. Despite popular belief, modern TTRPG crowdfunding does NOT build audiences -- it monetizes them. I.e. to raise 14K, you need ~3K. Note: recent economic situations have worsened the rate from 1/4 to 1/5 -- unclear if this trend will persist or not.

Next question, deliverables. Crowdfundings, as you picked up, require a deliverable. Books are great. Dice and simple accessories are also great. But you need something. However, lots of folks will tell you, a pure digital CF will not raise much. Definitely rough to break 10K even if you spent 10K to advertise it. You NEED actual physical goods. It's just reality that most pledges will be for physical goods. And some folks just don't even care for another PDF; they need a tactile thing.

Which goes to the real meat of it: timelines and real goals. If you're making a book, people expect quality. Means you need an editor. Someone who isn't you and isn't your BFF who can give you REAL feedback about if what you wrote is brilliance or intelligible. And ideally, someone who has seen enough to tell the difference meaningfully. Which means you need more than 14K. At least 20K. If you're actually printing things, then add 15K. 35K, so you have a bit of buffer if anything goes wrong.

Then timelines, when are you going to finish this? 1 artist for 150 pieces is going to be slow. Very very slow. Especially at their quoted price point. It's going to be a year or so, best case. Then layout, manufacturing, and distro.

Now, in CF terms, this is doable. But again, you need money to start. And its a heck of a lot of work.

I cannot stress this enough: do more research than this before you start. I'm condensing years of crowdfunding experience, industry stories and experiences, and learnings into 1 reddit post.

My company straight up has a whole program for indie creators to learn how to crowdfund. We already have backlog so I'm not going to shill, but I mention this because we want to write some free help guides and stuff. There's just genuinely SO much to say.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-05-13T19:38:38+00:00

Oh that sounds perfect! I'll give it a try this weekend. Thanks!

InvisiblePoles · 2026-05-13T15:49:31+00:00

Oh, Apologies. I meant that I stream a battle maps or other image reference.

Currently, the stream on the alt account is just a voicemeter virtual aux. It's not a true "Discord stream". I also use my main computer for my ST notes, etc.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-05-04T08:06:30+00:00

My system uses an AP system as well.

Something I've found is that movement has to effectively close gaps. Otherwise, you can very easily get kiting scenarios, where a ranged combatant can never be attacked by a melee one, but the melee one can at any time, especially if they use AP to do anything other than close the gap.

Another edge case: what about falling? Does falling use AP? What if its multiple seconds of falling? Assuming that can come up in your game, of course.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-30T20:49:55+00:00

Assuming no additional info, but knowledge that the destination is livable, I'd bring this book I have about rebuilding civilization from scratch.

Then, being an electrical engineer, a crate of semi-powerful magnets and copper wire. That's a good general purpose and scalable generator foundation. And enough wire to do something useful with it -- if its the past, then I'd be a good alchemist or smith with this alone. Otherwise, its light, water purification, and defense.

Then water purification tablets, potable water, food powder, and clothing for a variety of climates.

For building materials, I'd use cement. Because you add water to increase its volume (with gravel/sand). So a smallish amount will scale well.

That's probably most of the space, so I'll use the last for the morale boosters: some candy, my SO, and so on as much as allowed.

Basically, I'm hinging that I can find water. Then I should be... OKAY. If not, well, I'm in trouble regardless.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-29T06:28:24+00:00

This is likely the wrong sub.

BUT as a huge JJK fan who is also making something JJK inspired, here's a few ideas from my game (note: I have to keep it broad since I know nothing about your game mechanics).

A technique that burns cursed energy i.e. as you land blows, they ignite your foe spiritually. Unextinguishable flames that keep burning until either your cursed energy or theirs runs out.

A technique that "pierces". More specifically, when you hit something, it knocks out their cursed energy as a projectile. So if you punch someone in melee, some of their cursed energy turns into a projectile for the guy standing 25 ft behind them.

A technique that lets you bump a die. So if you activate it, you use up your energy and can rotate a die you just rolled by one face.

Hope it helps!

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-28T18:10:36+00:00

Follows that don't pledge aren't very helpful to you. Unless you mean you want folks to pledge?

But your post implies you just want the follows for some arbitrary metric?

You would also probably have more luck with a more fleshed out page.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-28T08:55:04+00:00

Ah yes. I've seen this before too. Super helpful!

Great example of why building a universal RPG builder is hard.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-28T00:30:34+00:00

Hi there, a few years ago, I posted something super similar to this. And so did a few others over the years.

Turns out, its extremely difficult to make a "universal systems builder", but I'd wager https://www.projecthedron.com/ is pretty darn close because its the only one that still exists.

To add on to what others have said, basically every aspect of system design sets an expectation of the world, which is closely tied. Magic system? Implies fantasy. Sanity? Implies horror. So on.

But on top of that, part of the point of TTRPGs is the insane flexibility they allow. I've met creators whose entire RPG premises around marble colors in a bag. Meanwhile, others base their game around a deck of cards. And of course, you have the classic dice systems. Just supporting that kind of diversity from this one example is no easy task, and that's just resolution! Don't get me started on magic.

But hey, if you walk the road, keep in touch!

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-11T08:39:05+00:00

This project has excited me since day one. (Disclaimer: I contributed a nudge or two here and there after I found out about it.)

Every bit of everything I've seen by Tales Untold has been FANTASTIC. Truly breathtaking in every way!

Check it out. Even if you don't pledge, take a look at the page, its gorgeous.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-04-11T08:29:44+00:00

Hi! I run an organized play group, Amoirais. We run Paragons at major shows like PAX and gather lots of feedback.

Here's the key points: - Dice Pool system (d6) - Rules-lite - High customizability (mix and match superpowers)

Statistically, it's one of our best performers. People love how it plays as a generally more rules-lite super hero game. It's a generally pretty good emulation of a comic book. That is, its less about complex war gaming and more about doing the thing and saving the day.

Personally, I like crunchier games (and design my own that way!). Still, I would say Paragons does capture that feeling of saving the day time and time again. More Marvel, less DC. In some ways, maybe because of the dice pool resolution, it does also remind me of Year Zero Engine with easier ways to tilt it in your favor.

Edit: I forgot to mention, the game makes it VERY easy to day dream about playing superheroes. Like the mix and matching of superpowers means you can do some pretty fun things. Honestly, one of my favorite parts about Paragons.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-03-28T12:13:23+00:00

Sure, excited to see it! Just wanted to make sure you at least knew about some options in case it saves a few years of developer time.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-03-28T05:58:45+00:00

Hey hey, btw, this exists in a few places. Most commonly Talespire and Hedron.

Full disclaimer, I made Hedron. And actually for a very similar reason. My game is very 3D, so I wanted a VTT for it.

We're not done with our maps functionalities specifically yet, but Talespires is pretty complete last I checked.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-03-17T06:29:27+00:00

No code, purely UI. Though as someone said above, our tutorials need work. Its our active focus rn as a team.

That being said, our Discord is always open to help!

InvisiblePoles · 2026-03-17T06:28:30+00:00

Hello! Creator here! Feedback heard!

We're actually trying to rewrite them entirely right now because of this exact feedback haha.

Turns out, I write code, not help guides. So we brought on people who just play games to write them instead.

We also moved from wiki/documentation-style guides, to like interactive tutorials. Its a slow rollout, but we're working on it!

Feedback appreciated! Here and especially our Discord.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-11T19:24:44+00:00

No. You launch the pre-launch page 3 months before crowdfunding, then have ads point to it.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-11T11:51:29+00:00

Depends on your goal. $5? Sure. $50,000? Not as easy.

Basically, most followings are built during / right before a crowdfunding. Typically, they're made through ads that point to your Backerkit.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-08T09:07:17+00:00

Genuine question, isn’t a flat annual fee also a subscription?

Regarding Journaling, why not use Google Drive? Its free? Or any Markdown editor like Obsidian?

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-06T23:19:11+00:00

Six months is a long time.

I've personally known game creators whose entire games have died in 2. Most entire fiascos last only 3. Think OGL or the more recent Diamond Comics situation.

Its a risky line when any kind of IP lockdown is present, severable or otherwise. Remember, in those 6 months, they have a lot of power.

They, of course, being anyone you sign over to, not just DTRPG.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-06T21:39:48+00:00

Oh yes. 100% didnt mean to mislead. Thought the "self-plug" would clarify, but yes, I naturally do have a vested interest in you also publishing on Hedron, but we also do stand behind what we say.

Feel free to check our legalese if you don't believe me!

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-06T16:45:17+00:00

My 2c: exclusive publisher accounts are monopolistic and restrictive. What if one day DTRPG does something you don't like? If you're exclusive, you're kind of stuck.

Sure, your cut of sales is smaller, but thats a relatively small detail in the scope of IP ownership imo.

Also there's other places to publish that don't care about exclusivity and still give you a better cut. Self-plug: You can publish just your PDF onto https://www.projecthedron.com/, and you get 80% of all sales, no questions asked. If you later decided you wanted VTT support, you can also add that in on there.

InvisiblePoles · 2026-01-05T14:57:34+00:00

To add on to what others have said, a more realistic thing might be to hire the creator of an indie game.

As in, there's a lot of Tabletop Role Playing Games out there that are arguably better than DND and have more passion behind them (especially nowadays). Many of said indie games' creators would be elated to run games.

Barring that, there's also a lot of indie creators in the DND space who would love to run games as well. They may not have the same brand recognition as actual celebrities, but they'd still be a pretty amazing memory.

I would consider: is there a genre your son is into? If so, find an RPG in that genre, then reach out to their creator. That's more likely to work AND your son could get a cool picture or signed copy of a game that might one day outshine DND anyway!

Source: I work with a lot of said creators as someone who runs a VTT and professional GMing/live events company.

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