This week’s crowdfunding sampler looks at campaigns on Kickstarter that close between August 27 to September 9. You’ll find the 25th and 30th anniversaries of some important games, an actual play studio, horrors, Shadowdark, and more.

Stat Block Studios - A DND Studio from Roll From The Hip

• END DATE: Fri, August 28 2026 5:00 PM EDT.
• PROJECT TYPE: Actual play
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £25 for access to 'Stag' Part 2, early access to The Plagueround 2 trailer, main theme for Roll Against The Machine (digital soundtrack), Studio Creation BTS updates, and studio ribbon cutting ceremony video
• AI STATEMENT: “Everything we do is made by real, hard-working people and we’re overjoyed to be working with them. So we’re committing to never use generative AI that steals work and recognition from creators. So, for clarity, it’s a ‘Hell NO’ to AI.”
• LISTED CREATORS: Roll From The Hip (Tom Midgley, Teo Tomasso, Gareth Tempest), 12 Sided Studios (Chad Pytel, Jasper William Cartwright), Sam Russell, and Katharine Bennett-Fox
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The improv comedy group Shoot From The Hip, after completing two TTRPG actual plays (The Plagueround and Lock Stock & Two Smoking Fireballs), are combining forces with 12 Sided Studios to build a studio to film future actual play series. The Stag and Roll Against The Machine are actual plays coming to backers of this campaign. The Kickstarter campaign page offers a reasonable guide discussing the costs of running a professional actual play studio in the United Kingdom. If you’re interested in watching comedians play games, this campaign may make you laugh.

Deadlands: Mysterious Maze - Savage Worlds from Pinnacle Entertainment Group

• END DATE: Fri, September 4 2026 9:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Savage Worlds (Deadlands variants)
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG boxed set
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $120 + S/H for the Deadlands: The Weird West Pawns Boxed Set 3, Deadlands: Curse of the Maze Queen, Deadlands: Red Tide, Deadlands: The Mysterious Maze, maps, character sheets, and a Dracula (STL)
• LISTED CREATORS: Shane Hensley, Brian Reeves, Darrell Hayhurst, Chris Hussey, Scott Woodard, Philipp Christophel, Ben Giles, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? As part of the Deadlands 30th anniversary, Pinnacle is offering a third Trail Guide. The Curse of the Maze Queen boxed set follows a steamer hosting a poker tournament in the weird west. Add to that, Deadlands: Red Tide brings dracula to the setting as he seeks revenge and power across the west that never was. If you’re a fan of Deadlands, check out this Kickstarter to see if the latest boxes set is speaking your name.

Midnight Press: Ultimate Detective Noir TTRPG in Newspaper from Midnight Press RPG

• END DATE: Fri, August 28 2026 2:59 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $59 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the Horror Noir Campaign, Surreal Noir Adventure Pack, Big Heist Adventure Pack, and Midnight Press: Full Newspaper Rulebook
• AI STATEMENT: “I [Step Tranovich] guarantee that all of our art and designs are being done 100% by awesome humans and that no AI generated images will be part of this game at all!!!”
• LISTED CREATORS: Step Tranovich, Killian, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? The rulebook is a newspaper, and that’s awesome. When it comes to novel formats, I’m interested in different ways to create TTRPGs. This detective noir comes as a newspaper, which will look cool at the gaming table. Is it practical? Hard to say, but newsprint is a great way to convey the atmosphere of a 1940s San Francisco. Boosting 36 historic locations, 50+ slang terms, and a game designed for one-shots, you’ll investigate crimes in a foggy past. If you’re a fan of TTRPGs in various printing formats, this Kickstarter campaign is worth unfolding.

Ultimate Horror: Blood & Terror for D&D 5E & Pathfinder from Legendary Games

• END DATE: Fri, September 4 2026 9:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons 5.5e, Pathfinder 1e and 2e
• PROJECT TYPE: Adventures
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $59 + S/H for the PDF and hardcover versions of the book in the gaming system of your choice
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Legendary Games offers a book of horrors for your tabletop TTRPG. Do you need new horror subclasses, 160 spells and magic items, over 40 monsters, adventures, or new rules for madness, curses, and cults? If so, Legendary is printing a collection of tools to enhance your game. If you’re looking for something to add darkness to your D&D or Pathfinder games, these books offer tailored rules to your system of choice.

Forgotten Foes for Shadowdark RPG: 250+ Classic Foes Reborn from Merry Manticore

• END DATE: Thu, September 3 2026 8:29 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Shadowdark RPG
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $15 for the PDF of the book
• AI STATEMENT: “I [Michael Benoit] will never use AI-generated content. All content in this product is 100% human made.”
• LISTED CREATORS: Michael Benoit and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Do you need 250 monsters for your Shadowdark campaign? If so, this 110-page book offers the monsters plus 40 adventurer stat blocks. The book includes guidance for converting monsters from other systems to Shadowdark. For a third-party project, this is ambitious. If you want to see monsters, monster, and more monsters, this book may be the bestiary you’re looking for.

GG#3: Servants of the Dragon Lord - Zine for Shadowdark RPG from Grim Games

• END DATE: Thu, September 3 2026 3:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Shadowdark RPG
• PROJECT TYPE: RPG zine
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $20 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the zine
• AI STATEMENT: “All my zines are the product of human creation.”
• LISTED CREATORS: Alexey Gorboot, Tae (aka Bigeggs Black Pen), Per Janke, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? More Shadowdark, this one a third-party zine with expanded Ranger and Bard classes plus a wild-shape Druid class. This zine is 64 pages of content including a 5th-level adventure with spells and new monsters. If you’re a fan of Shadowdark, this zine offers a variety of options to add to your game.

HackMaster 25th Anniversary Edition, a Fantasy RPG from Kenzer & Co

• END DATE: Thu, September 10 2026 5:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): HackMaster 25th Anniversary Edition (XXV)
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $290 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the HackMaster GameMaster's Guide, HackMaster Player's Guide to Adventuring, Hacklopedia of Beasts, Hackmaster Player Character Codex, and the PDFs of HackMaster basic and Any Port in a Storm adventure
• TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Bundle of Holding offer the early editions HackMaster here
• DISCLAIMER: I freelance for Kenzer & Co’s Knights of the Dinner Table; I am not involved in this project
• LISTED CREATORS: Jolly Blackburn, Barb Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, David S. Kenzer, and more
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? HackMaster led to the OSR movement, and now you can back the 25th anniversary edition. If you’re a fan of old school violence and D&D in-jokes, this Kickstarter offers the adventures that will excite your gaming table.

See you in two weeks.
Egg Embry does not use AI in any of his writing. He participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, Kobold Press Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, Kobold Press, and Amazon. If you like the articles at EN World please consider supporting the Patreon.

In Our Dreams Awake #3 - Jason Byron lives in a world of mystical tyranny and another world, a drown cyberpunk horror. Both are nightmares, but which one is a dream? Issues 1 to 3 (of 4) of this cyberpunk/dreampunk/fantasy comic book series are available on Kickstarter.

------

Egg Embry is part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program as well as a columnist for Knights of the Dinner Table, d20 Radio, High Level Games, the Open Gaming Network, the Tessera Guild, and GAMA's magazine, Around the Table. His area of focus is tabletop RPG crowdfunding campaigns. In addition, he blogs about Ghostfire Gaming's Grim Hollow setting. His RPGs can be found through Egg Embry Publishing at DriveThruRPG (PDF) and Itch (PDF/Print).
If you enjoy the articles on EN World, please consider backing the EN World Patreon. Every dollar helps to make these articles possible.

• #10