We have entered the final 24 hours of the Kickstarter for Beyond the Pale!
BACK THE KICKSTARTER BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
I'm proud to say that we've hit every stretch goal (so far):
- £10,000/$12,660: An intricate ex-libris bookplate for this book.
- £24,000/$30,384: OSE stat blocks.
- £32,000/$40,512: Zine of the Night Wanderer.
We have only one more to go: at £38,000 ($48,108) we will release the entirety of the text for the adventure as CC-BY-SA.
As an add-on to the hardcover level, backers can also purchase a Jewish Monster Hunting Kit by Jack Zaientz, with an included zine by John Baltisberger!
This kit is a small sampling of what a Jew, whether Sephardic, Ashkenazi, or Mizrachi, might carry or have on hand. Also included with the kit is a short zine which provides additional background on the elements of the kit, Jewish magic and monster lore, and points to additional resources to start learning about this fascinating part of Jewish life.
About the Kickstarter
If you need a recap about this adventure is about:
Beyond the Pale is an Old School adventure inspired by Jewish folklore and mysticism. The adventure takes place in a tight-knit but divided religious community, steeped in the perils of orthodoxy, magic, and fear.
The module includes themes like: Kabbalah, Jewish folktales, pre-Shoah Eastern Europe, belonging, prejudice & xenophobia, and survivor syndrome.
In terms of design, we focused on critical thinking, problem solving, and player agency. The adventure is location-based, revolving around a central mystery, a town, and two dungeons. One of the dungeons is modeled after the Sefirot (Tree of Life), and we are excited with how the design turned out.
Art
We have also been very lucky to find some incredibly talented people to help make the setting feel real and (hopefully) quite horrifying. One of the goals of Beyond the Pale is to highlight Jewish folklore and belief and present them in an Old School RPG setting. The adventure has themes of oppression and persecution, hope and love, and idyllic country life, which the artists have captured beautifully.
Monsters
But beware, for MONSTERS abound! As the PCs explore the town, the forest, and the dungeons of the Pale, they will encounter beasts unfamiliar and wild: an unrelenting dybbuk, a vengeful mazzik, the malicious Alukah, and many more.
The Book
The book will be printed by Lost Pages, an esteemed publisher of multiple award-winning supplements such as The Book of Gaub, Wonder & Wickedness, Wulfwald, and more. The book will be printed in Estonia on thick Swedish cream paper, cased in hardcover, clad in black bookcloth, and given an embossed cover with white lettering.
The print copy also gets you a PDF, so you can read the PDF version of the adventure while the hardcover gets made (delivery in July of 2024). The PDF is fully complete, and will be sent to backers by e-mail upon the success of the Kickstarter.
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